NFL Power Rankings 2019: Predicting Season-Opening Standings

Week 1 is often one of the most important weeks of the NFL season.

For some teams, this will be the first time since last December that they have a chance to win an important game. Sure, training camp and the preseason have given a slight indication of how teams might perform this fall, but this weekend will be the first time they're playing in a real, competitive setting since the end of last season.

Here's a look at how the NFL's 32 teams stack up entering the new campaign, followed by a breakdown of the top contenders in each conference.

NFL Power Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints

2. Kansas City Chiefs

3. New England Patriots

4. Los Angeles Chargers

5. Los Angeles Rams

6. Chicago Bears

7. Philadelphia Eagles

8. Cleveland Browns

9. Houston Texans

10. Dallas Cowboys

11. Green Bay Packers

12. Atlanta Falcons

13. Seattle Seahawks

14. Pittsburgh Steelers

15. Baltimore Ravens

16. Minnesota Vikings

17. Carolina Panthers

18. Indianapolis Colts

19. San Francisco 49ers

20. Jacksonville Jaguars

21. Tennessee Titans

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

23. Denver Broncos

24. Detroit Lions

25. Buffalo Bills

26. Washington Redskins

27. Oakland Raiders

28. New York Jets

29. Arizona Cardinals

30. New York Giants

31. Cincinnati Bengals

32. Miami Dolphins

AFC Favorites

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

There are two teams clearly at the top of the AFC, and those are the ones that made it to last year's AFC Championship Game—the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots.

The Chiefs have the reigning NFL MVP at quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. He had a breakout year in his first season as Kansas City's quarterback, and he's poised for another successful season with weapons such as wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce on his offense.

But the Chiefs didn't make it to the Super Bowl last season, and that was because of the eventual champions, the Patriots.

Led by head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, New England's dynasty continued with a championship victory in Super Bowl LIII, its sixth Super Bowl victory since the 2001 season. The Pats have won the Super Bowl in three of the past five years, and as long as they have Belichick and Brady, they'll always be viewed as a contender.

New England may be even more of a threat this year with a talented backfield that features running backs Sony Michel, James White, James Develin, Rex Burkhead and rookie Damien Harris.

In addition to the Chiefs and Patriots, the Los Angeles Chargers and Cleveland Browns are expected to be contenders in the AFC.

Los Angeles should be successful and compete with Kansas City in the AFC West, even though running back Melvin Gordon may have played his last game with the Chargers as his holdout continues and a potential trade is on the horizon.

Cleveland continues to improve, and an offense that brought in quarterback Baker Mayfield last season added a superstar wide receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. during the offseason. The Browns are poised to break through and potentially win their first AFC North title since the division was adopted ahead of the 2002 season.

NFC Favorites

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

The Saints and Rams had a thrilling matchup in last season's NFC Championship Game, and they should be the two best teams in the conference again this year.

New Orleans may have lost that contest last season, but it should be one of the early favorites to win the Super Bowl this season. The Saints have a loaded offense that features quarterback Drew Brees, running back Alvin Kamara, wide receiver Michael Thomas and offseason addition Jared Cook at tight end.

Los Angeles returns many of the key pieces that led it to Super Bowl LIII, including quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley on offense, along with superstar lineman Aaron Donald on defense. The Rams also have a talented receiving corps and secondary that should make them one of the best teams in the NFC.

If the Saints and Rams meet again in the NFC Championship Game, it wouldn't be much of a surprise. Fans won't have to wait that long to watch these teams face off, though, as they go head-to-head in Los Angeles in Week 2.

The rest of the conference has a handful of teams that should compete for division titles and potentially the conference championship, including the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North and the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East.

But there are numerous other talented teams in the NFC that could end up winning their division and making it to the playoffs, so there should be some exciting battles throughout the regular season.

However, outside of the Saints and Rams, the Bears could be the NFC team with the best chance to make a deep run through the playoffs.

Last year, Chicago went 12-4 in Matt Nagy's first season as head coach. So, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Bears have another strong year and have a better showing in the playoffs after losing their first game in the divisional round to the Eagles last postseason.