NFL Power Rankings 2015: How League Stacks Up Heading into Week 3 of Preseason
If you ever wanted to hear a single NFL fanbase simultaneously denounce the preseason in unison, just go back and find the exact moment Jordy Nelson went down with an injury.
Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 of the preseason—who didn't have much better luck in the game after a serious injury to Maurkice Pouncey, as reported by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN—the Packers star receiver suffered a right knee injury that rules him out for the entire season, as reported by Packers.com, a serious blow to the Packers' goals of a championship.
It won’t completely derail Green Bay’s Super Bowl aspirations—a college team would compete for the playoffs with Aaron Rodgers under center—but it does dramatically shake up the league hierarchy.
.jpg?w=256 "Titans Camp Football")
With Week 3 of the preseason just around the bend, let’s see where each team stands right now and take a look at three of the more interesting situations in the NFL.
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 2 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 3 | New England Patriots |
| 4 | Green Bay Packers |
| 5 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 6 | Denver Broncos |
| 7 | Baltimore Ravens |
| 8 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 9 | Miami Dolphins |
| 10 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 11 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 12 | Arizona Cardinals |
| 13 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 15 | Buffalo Bills |
| 16 | Detroit Lions |
| 17 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 18 | St. Louis Rams |
| 19 | Houston Texans |
| 20 | San Diego Chargers |
| 21 | New York Giants |
| 22 | New Orleans Saints |
| 23 | Carolina Panthers |
| 24 | Cleveland Browns |
| 25 | New York Jets |
| 26 | Chicago Bears |
| 27 | Oakland Raiders |
| 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 29 | Washington Redskins |
| 30 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 31 | Tennessee Titans |
| 32 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Most Intriguing Teams in the League
There is a chance that in 10 years team executives look back at the Buffalo Bills as a case study of how to find success despite not having a capable NFL quarterback or a line that can block for him.
On the other hand, there is a chance that the Bills could be like every other team who has tried this model in the past and struggle to score 17 points a game en route to a mediocre finish and yet another season without a playoff berth.
With so much talent on defense and at the offensive skill positions, the Bills have the makings of an outstanding team, with Rex Ryan only making the defense stingier. But it doesn’t matter how good LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins are if EJ Manuel or Matt Cassel are taking snaps behind one of the worst lines in the league:
Starting Tyrod Taylor might be the best option for Buffalo simply because he is an unknown commodity, especially compared to Manuel and Cassel, but that doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in the Bills.
An improved Dolphins team and an angry Tom Brady in New England could mean the Bills slip to third in the division if things don’t break right, but you never know with Ryan as coach. He did take Mark Sanchez to back-to-back AFC Championship Games, so maybe Taylor isn’t that bad after all.
Nobody quite knows how good the Minnesota Vikings are going to be this season, which is what makes them so interesting.
With the Chicago Bears faltering and the Detroit Lions needing to fill gaps on defense, there is a sense that the Vikings could be a dark horse for a wild-card spot in the playoffs if things break right and the young talent continues to grow.
Adding Mike Wallace to a list of weapons that includes Adrian Peterson—who is still one of the two or three best backs in the league until proven otherwise—Charles Johnson and Kyle Rudolph gives Teddy Bridgewater plenty of options to work with on offense.
The defense was decent last season, but in a loaded division in terms of offensive talent, decent won’t be good enough, so some of the younger players like Xavier Rhodes will need to continue to trend in the right direction this year.
In the end, though, it all comes down to Bridgewater and how he builds on a strong start in 2014. If the second-year starter continues to grow, the Vikings have a shot to surprise some people in the NFC; if he regresses, though, it could be a long season for the purple and gold:
Is there really any explanation needed for why the Philadelphia Eagles are the most intriguing team in the NFL this season? Even though the Houston Texans have been plenty entertaining as the subject of Hard Knocks, it would have been so much more fun had Chip Kelly and company been selected.
There are so many offseason moves to talk about that make the Eagles so interesting this year, from trading a quarterback for another quarterback with more health issues to getting rid of a star running back just to bring another to partner with him.
Oh, and they signed Tim Tebow. Let the media circus commence.
The player transactions were just the appetizer, though, as now everyone gets to see if this grand experiment will work or not. This is the season we find out if Kelly is truly a football genius who can win with anyone or if his system’s success was a product of the players that were participating in it:
No Jeremy Maclin could be a huge blow for Philadelphia, who now turns to Jordan Matthews as its top receiving option, but the offense still has the potential to be great. If a defense with a number of interesting pieces can be about league-average, the Eagles should push for a playoff spot.
.jpg?w=480 "Titans Camp Football")
.jpg?w=480 "49ers Eagles Football")
