NFL Power Rankings Week 1: Initial Outlook After Panthers vs. Broncos

Though entertaining and a great way to start the 2016 season, the Denver Broncos' 21-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football doesn't say much about league hierarchy.

In theory, both teams will remain near the top of power rankings all season long—Super Bowl participants don't often fall right off the map the next season.

More interesting is where the rest of the league stands before the rest of the slate unfolds. An offseason of changes on every level—front office right on down to the practice squad—combine with last year's results and simple projections to craft a fresh set of rankings for the new campaign.

Week 1 NFL Power Rankings

Rank	Team
1	Carolina Panthers
2	Arizona Cardinals
3	New England Patriots
4	Cincinnati Bengals
5	Seattle Seahawks
6	Green Bay Packers
7	Pittsburgh Steelers
8	Kansas City Chiefs
9	Denver Broncos
10	New York Giants
11	Minnesota Vikings
12	Indianapolis Colts
13	Oakland Raiders
14	New York Jets
15	Houston Texans
16	Jacksonville Jaguars
17	Dallas Cowboys
18	Atlanta Falcons
19	Washington
20	Philadelphia Eagles
21	Baltimore Ravens
22	Buffalo Bills
23	New Orleans Saints
24	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
25	Chicago Bears
26	Tennessee Titans
27	San Diego Chargers
28	Miami Dolphins
29	Detroit Lions
30	Los Angeles Rams
31	San Francisco 49ers
32	Cleveland Browns

Predicting Early-Season Movers

Minnesota Vikings: Down

This wasn't hard to see coming, right? 

The Minnesota Vikings seemed to have it all going into the 2016 season. Head coach Mike Zimmer, defensive guru that he is, looked like he had a winning unit on his hands. Teddy Bridgewater looked like a promising upstart quarterback. Adrian Peterson still looked like a guy in his prime.

It appeared another NFC North win was in the making, provided the hard-nosed team could upend the Green Bay Packers. That is until Bridgewater went down with an injury and the Vikings decided to ship away a first-round pick for Sam Bradford, who didn't seem like he would get much in the way of playing time with the Philadelphia Eagles.

According to ESPN's Britt McHenry, Bradford has done well out of the gates with his new team:

While great news, it won't be enough to stop the Vikings from plummeting in the power rankings over the first few games of the season. Minnesota starts the season against a tricky Tennessee Titans team before getting into a brutal stretch: Green Bay, Carolina, the New York Giants and Houston Texans.

Such a slate looked winnable when the Vikings had a starter under center. But each of those offenses could put up points in a hurry if healthy, and all the defenses need to do—barring a miracle from Bradford—is key on Peterson in the backfield.

Expect the Vikings to limp through the stretch and consequently fall in the rankings.

Detroit Lions: Up

The Detroit Lions sit tied for the 27th-easiest schedule in the league, so it's not hard to see why the team might start climbing the table right out of the gates.

Coming off a 7-9 season and the offseason's biggest headline, Calvin Johnson's retirement, it's easy to write off the Lions without knowing the strength of schedule and some of the improvements.

Detroit went out and added Marvin Jones and Anquan Boldin to the passing attack while Ameer Abdullah heads into a promising season in the backfield. It helps that the Lions kick off against the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee, Green Bay and Chicago Bears.

At a glance, Detroit could start the season 4-0. The first two games are winnable against teams from the AFC South. The Lions beat Green Bay once last year and lost another game by four points. Chicago sits in the midst of the one of the league's biggest rebuilds.

Keep in mind this note by NFL.com's Kevin Patra too:

It all equates to what could stand as one of the league's most potent offenses.

In what is a weakened division and boasting a favorable schedule, the Lions should shoot up the ranks in a hurry.

New York Jets: Down 

Few teams have a more difficult road schedule this season than the New York Jets, which is in large part what made the standoff between the franchise and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick this offseason so baffling. 

Fitzpatrick is one of the better signal-callers in the NFL when one analyzes the league as a whole, not to mention in a great situation thanks to weapons such as Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.

Yet the impasse dragged on for a long time, and the Jets might suffer as a result. The schedule to start the year doesn't pull any punches:

• vs. Cincinnati Bengals
• at Buffalo Bills
• at Kansas City Chiefs
• vs. Seattle Seahwaks
• at Pittsburgh Steelers
• at Arizona Cardinals

Ouch! This isn't meant to suggest the Jets are looking a doomed season in the eye. Fitzpatrick will find a groove, and the team did add Matt Forte in the backfield. The defense should play solid again one year after allowing under 20 points per game on average.

Alas, New York has a tough climb to the playoffs, and that early slate could see the season go south in a hurry. A hefty drop in the power rankings seems as sure as Tim Tebow MLB headlines for the next calendar year or more.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and are accurate as of Sept. 8. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.