NFL Power Rankings 2020: Predicting Season-Opening Standings

Less than 48 hours remain until the NFL regular season officially kicks off. Yes, you read that correctly. Opening Night, which is usually taken for granted after the end of preseason, has seemed anything but during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thursday night at 8:20 ET, though, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texas will open what promises to be one of the most interesting and unpredictable seasons we've seen.

Games will be played in front of few fans (if any), teams will enter the regular season without a preseason game under their belts, and it seems possible at least a few players will miss games because of the virus.

For now, though, here are three burning questions to consider as we head into Week 1.

NFL Power Rankings 2020

1. Kansas City Chiefs

2. San Francisco 49ers

3. Baltimore Ravens

4. New Orleans Saints

5. Seattle Seahawks

6. Dallas Cowboys

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

8. Minnesota Vikings

9. Pittsburgh Steelers

10. Green Bay Packers

11. Philadelphia Eagles

12. Tennessee Titans

13. Buffalo Bills

14. New England Patriots

15. Denver Broncos

16. Houston Texans

17. Los Angeles Rams

18. Indianapolis Colts

19. Atlanta Falcons

20. Arizona Cardinals

21. Los Angeles Chargers

22. Cleveland Browns

23. Las Vegas Raiders

24. New York Jets

25. Chicago Bears

26. Miami Dolphins

27. Detroit Lions

28. Cincinnati Bengals

29. New York Giants

30. Carolina Panthers

31. Jacksonville Jaguars

32. Washington Football Team

Can Kansas City's Offense Be Even Better?

It doesn't seem possible that Patrick Mahomes could improve on his first two full seasons, but at just 24 years old, he's already the best player in the league.

After throwing for an eye-popping 50 touchdowns in 2018, the quarterback only threw 26 during the 2019 regular season. However, he improved his decision-making and threw just five interceptions in the 14 games he played.

Now, with every one of his major weapons—Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman, and Sammy Watkins—back on the roster, as well as the addition of do-it-all rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mahomes might have the best skill group in the league.

Add in head coach Andy's Reid dynamite play-calling, and it's hard to see anyone having much success slowing down Kansas City.

Can Cam Newton Resurrect His Career in New England?

The biggest story of the offseason—at least one involving players—was future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady leaving New England for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In his wake, New England was left with a decision: Take their lumps this season and tank for Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, or find a free-agent signal-caller to salvage one of the greatest dynasties in pro sports history?

It seems they did a bit of both. Five seasons removed from winning the NFL MVP, Cam Newton was on the hunt for a new home, and New England just happened to be looking for a low-risk, high-reward option.

So can the former Carolina Panthers star rebuild what was once an extremely promising career? Well, he won't have anyone resembling Christian McCaffrey, that's for sure. N'Keal Harry and Julian Edelman will be the starting wide receivers, with the former being just 12 catches into his NFL career.

New England returns both Sony Michel and James White at running back, but the same issues that led Brady to leave are still there: The Patriots might have the least talented group of offensive skill-position players in the entire NFL.

If Newton is going to return to anything resembling his 2015 form, he's going to need help from some unexpected places.

Who Will Surprise Us And Make It into the Playoffs?

Last season, the Tennessee Titans shocked the league by sneaking into the playoffs on the back of Derrick Henry and proceeding to knock off the Brady-led Patriots in the Wild Card Round. They then beat the Ravens and Texans in the next two rounds before falling to Kansas City in the AFC Championship game. Can somebody do the same in 2020?

Keep an eye on two teams: Denver and Arizona. The Broncos took a major hit with the news that Von Miller is expected to miss the entire 2020 season with a tendon injury, but Denver's offense is one of the youngest and most intriguing groups in the league.

Drew Lock started just five games last season but led the Broncos to a 4-1 record, and he has a loaded supporting cast this term, including Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, and Melvin Gordon.

If Denver's patchwork offensive line can keep the quarterback upright and open holes for Gordon and Phillip Lindsay, the Broncos could be a surprise sleeper.

Arizona, meanwhile, brings back electric dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray, who will have DeAndre Hopkins to throw to after the Cardinals traded for him this offseason. Add in Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk in the passing game, as well as versatile back Kenyan Drake, and Arizona has some fascinating toys for head coach Kliff Kingsbury to throw at opposing defenses.

The Cardinals do play in arguably the toughest division in football, though, with the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks all legitimate playoff teams and even Super Bowl contenders.