NFL Power Rankings Week 1: Latest 2019 Preseason Standings and Reaction

The 2019 NFL season officially gets underway on September 5, when the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers renew their longstanding rivalry. The rest of the league will be in action a few days later, and by the end of the week, we'll have our first complete standings of 2019.

For now, we can look back at how teams fared in the preseason, how their offseasons unfolded and how their initial 53-man rosters shape up.

This obviously won't tell us how teams will finish the regular season, but it does give us some idea of how the league stacks up heading into Week 1.

2019 Preseason Standings

AFC East

Buffalo Bills 4-0

New England Patriots 3-1

Miami Dolphins 3-1

New York Jets 2-2

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens 4-0

Pittsburgh Steelers 3-1

Cleveland Browns 3-1

Cincinnati Bengals 1-3

AFC South

Tennessee Titans 2-2

Indianapolis Colts 1-3

Houston Texans 1-3

Jacksonville Jaguars 0-4

AFC West

Oakland Raiders 3-1

Denver Broncos 2-3

Los Angeles Chargers 1-3

Kansas City Chiefs 1-3

NFC East

New York Giants 4-0

Dallas Cowboys 2-2

Philadelphia Eagles 1-3

Washington Redskins 1-3

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings 3-1

Green Bay Packers 2-2

Minnesota Vikings 1-3

Detroit Lions 0-4

NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-1

Carolina Panthers 2-2

New Orleans Saints 2-2

Atlanta Falcons 1-4

NFC West

Seattle Seahawks 3-1

San Francisco 49ers 3-1

Los Angeles Rams 2-2

Arizona Cardinals 1-3

NFL Power Rankings, Pre-Week 1

1. New England Patriots

2. Kansas City Chiefs

3. Los Angeles Rams

4. New Orleans Saints

5. Philadelphia Eagles

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

7. Chicago Bears

8. Los Angeles Chargers

9. Seattle Seahawks

10. Dallas Cowboys

11. Baltimore Ravens

12. Houston Texans

13. Atlanta Falcons

14. Cleveland Browns

15. Green Bay Packers

16. Minnesota Vikings

17. Carolina Panthers

18. Jacksonville Jaguars

19. San Francisco 49ers

20. Tennessee Titans

21. Buffalo Bills

22. Detroit Lions

23. Indianapolis Colts

24. New York Jets

25. Oakland Raiders

26. Cincinnati Bengals

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

28. Denver Broncos

29. New York Giants

30. Washington Redskins

31. Arizona Cardinals

32. Miami Dolphins

Cowboys Making Progress With Elliott

Mark LoMoglio/Associated Press

After acquiring wideout Amari Cooper last season, the Dallas Cowboys became one of the most complete teams in the entire NFL. They further bolstered their receiving corps in the offseason by adding Randall Cobb.

With a balanced offense and with a defense that ranked seventh (329.2 yards per game allowed) last season, the Cowboys should again be one of the most complete teams in the league. Of course, having that balanced offense depends very much on getting star running back Ezekiel Elliott to end his holdout and rejoin the team.

Fortunately, the two parties appear close to getting a deal done. It appears to be more about structure than overall numbers at this point, and Monday's negotiations were positive, according to Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson:

Assuming Elliott is back and ready to play by Sunday, Dallas is easily a top-10 team and a playoff contender.

Patriots to Be Without Harry Early

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

The New England Patriots remain the kings of the NFL mountain until someone else knocks them off. However, they are starting out the season with a bit of disappointing news. According to NFL Network's Mike Giardi, the Patriots will begin the year with rookie receiver and first-round pick N'Keal Harry on injured reserve.

This is a bit of a bummer for Patriots fans, as Harry was expected to be a significant piece of New England's new-look receiving corps.

The good news is that the Patriots should still have a dangerous wide receiver group even without Harry. The reinstatement of Josh Gordon was huge, and he should be Tom Brady's top target on the outside, provided he remains eligible to play.

The Patriots also re-signed veteran wideout Demaryius Thomas after initially cutting him to get down to 53 players. With Gordon, Thomas, Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett, Brady should still have plenty of targets with which to challenge defenses downfield.

The bigger question mark is at tight end. Rob Gronkowski is in retirement, and veteran Benjamin Watson will open the year with a four-game suspension.

The Dolphins Insist They Aren't Tanking

Butch Dill/Associated Press

The Miami Dolphins are set to start journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback in Week 1. At some point, they'll likely transition to 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen. Ultimately, their goal may be to grab a new quarterback at the top of the 2020 draft.

According to head coach Brian Flores, though, the Dolphins are not tanking this season.

"I wouldn't disrespect the game with that," Flores said, per Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald. "Again, no, we're not. We're going to try to win every game."

Flores may indeed want to win every game he coaches this season. However, the fact remains that Miami has not equipped him to actually do so. The Dolphins wouldn't have traded starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills if their goal was to actually compile wins this season.

This is organizational tanking, regardless of whether Flores and the players on the roster are a part of it.