ClutchPoints' NFL Power Rankings, Week 1: Rams lead the way

The 2026 NFL season is finally here, and with it comes new expectations. Regardless of how your team performed last year, this season offers a new opportunity to exceed (or fall short of) expectations.

These Week 1 NFL Power Rankings will hopefully get you back into the football spirit (if you aren't already), as the first game of this year starts on Wednesday, a Super Bowl rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots .

The Los Angeles Rams find themselves atop the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings, as their offseason was one of a team that expects to have a target on its back. With its trade for Myles Garrett and its coaxing of Aaron Donald out of retirement for one last hoorah, the Rams are positioning themselves to be the belle of the ball this season.

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An impending legal situation surrounding Puka Nacua could cloud the offense a bit if he is forced to miss time, but as long as Matthew Stafford reclaims his MVP form from last year, the Rams will be one of the best teams in the league.

Speaking of the NFC West, the Seahawks, who are the defending Super Bowl champions, surprisingly find themselves in second place in ClutchPoints' Week 1 NFL Power Rankings. To no fault of their own, as they were able to keep most of their core this offseason, Seattle will be in a tough fight to even win the division, as that is far from a guarantee.

A tough defense and the addition of Jaylen Waddle give the Denver Broncos an even better shot at winning the AFC, a year after coming up short in the AFC Championship Game. With Bo Nix fully recovered from a broken ankle, the offense will be looking to take a step forward as one of the most well-rounded teams in the entire NFL.

The Joe Brady era is looking to start off on the right foot, but a Week 1 matchup with the Houston Texans will give Brady and Josh Allen fits. However, the Bills are one of the best-built teams in the AFC, as their acquisition of DJ Moore this offseason finally gives Allen a proven WR1 option to lead the offense.

Question marks about what kind of team Brady will lead will be the biggest aspect to figure out this year, and as long as Brady's offense doesn't change too much of its identity, winning the AFC East and factoring into the race for the Super Bowl is in the cards.

The Patriots don't look to be the favorites in the AFC heading into the 2026 NFL season, even after representing the conference in last year's Super Bowl. Having acquired A.J. Brown this offseason to pair with Drake Maye , the Patriots' passing attack should take a step forward.

But outside of Brown, they didn't make a ton of improvements to the roster, and the lack of progress TreVeyon Henderson has shown will not help the offense take a big enough step forward to compete with other AFC rosters.

It was quite an impressive first season for Ben Johnson at the helm, as an 11-5 finish, an NFC North title, and a solid postseason performance showed that the Chicago Bears will be a threat for a long time. The trio of pass catchers ( Luther Burden III , Colston Loveland , and Rome Odunze) will help revitalize the CHI offense, helping Caleb Williams grow as he enters his third season.

Injury concerns have made it quite the uneven offseason for the San Francisco 49ers, as Christian McCaffrey , Nick Bosa , and Mike Evans have all been on the injury report during training camp. Positive signs from the 49ers about the availability of all three, including Bosa, mean they will hopefully be available in Week 1, as they will need all the help they can get against the Rams.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are hoping to put together another division-winning season in 2026, as Liam Coen was exactly what the JAX offense needed to take a big step forward. Trevor Lawrence and Parker Washington were on a different level to end the year last season, and the offense is in a position to once again be one of the best in the league this time around.

Jesse Minter and Declan Doyle are looking to help the Baltimore Ravens reclaim their spot as one of the best teams in the AFC, and this time they will be looking to do it on both sides of the ball. A healthy Lamar Jackson , paired with a revamped group of offensive weapons, will hopefully do the trick in a Ben Johnson-esque offense, and Minter, who was a coach on the BAL staff a few years back, will be looking to unlock a defensive unit that has the right pieces in place but just needs a bit better coaching to become one of the league's best units again.

It will be the Jordan Love show to begin the 2026 NFL season for the Green Bay Packers, as the ongoing legal situation surrounding Josh Jacobs has landed him on the Commissioner's Exempt List. Love and his quartet of pass catchers ( Christian Watson , Jayden Reed , Matthew Golden , Tucker Kraft ) will be tasked with leading this offense under Matt LaFleur, and with a tough NFC North slate ahead of them, it could be an MVP-caliber year for Love if all the pieces fall into place.

Everyone knows that the Houston defense is legit, but the development of C.J. Stroud as he enters his four season will be what makes — or breaks — the Texans' playoff hopes. Having made the playoffs last year, the Texans will once again look to ride star edge rusher Will Anderson back to the AFC postseason, but Stroud's play will be the biggest storyline to follow this year, especially with a shakeup in their WR room.

Mike McDaniel is going to LOVE having Justin Herbert as his quarterback, as the Los Angeles Chargers have very high expectations to meet this season. Playing in one of the toughest divisions in the league this year, McDaniel and Herbert will need to be on the same page, as an easy, early-season slate against the Cardinals and Raiders gives LAC a real shot to start 2-0.

The 2026 NFL season might be a make or break for the Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts , as they were not themselves last year. While a new offensive coordinator will have some kinks to iron out, this may be the change that Hurts and the offense needs, especially with DeVonta Smith taking over WR1 duties.

Expect the offense to refocus more on Saquon Barkley , likely taking a bit of the run game away from Hurts this year.

After missing the playoffs last year, the Detroit Lions have an easier schedule and a top offense in the league, a perfect pairing to factor into the NFC playoff race yet again. With Jahmyr Gibbs looking to go nuclear this year after signing a lucrative long-term deal, Detroit will need to put up a lot of points every week with how their defense (especially their secondary) looks right now.

The return of Patrick Mahomes will be a major boost to the Kansas City offense, as missing the playoffs last year gave the Chiefs a chance to do a much-needed reset. Needing to build around Mahomes on offense, signing Kenneth Walker III was exactly what this team needed — a superstar to anchor the offense early on in the year as Mahomes reacclimates to football.

You clearly can never count out Mahomes and the Chiefs, and even though they are in a very tough AFC West division, they absolutely should be in contention in the AFC playoff race.

It seems like the Dallas Cowboys always find themselves near the middle of the pack to start the year, and this year's Week 1 NFL Power Rankings is no different. While the offense is once again slated to be one of the league's best, an improved defense will need to step up if this roster wants to play a part in the NFC East divisional race.

This year is a year that the divisional race is open for any of the four teams to take, giving Dallas a fantastic chance to finally get back to the playoffs.

What version of Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals will we see this year? Will it be the record-setting offense that sees Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins , and Chase Brown form the best offense in the league, or will injuries catch up with Burrow yet again and stop this attack in its tracks?

With a lot up in the air for the AFC North, the Bengals have every chance to win the division — it just depends on the health of their franchise QB if that will happen or not.

The end of the 2025 NFL season was a promising one for the New Orleans Saints, as Tyler Shough took over as QB1 and formed a solid pairing with receiver Chris Olave . With both guys back for this year, the Saints are in line to be one of the most fun teams to watch this season.

With the NFC South continuously a toss-up, don't be surprised if New Orleans is in the race for the division down the stretch this year, as they have the talent on both sides of the ball, as well as with head coach Kellen Moore, to make that next big move.

Kyler Murray will be tasked with reclaiming the QB room in Minnesota, as the JJ McCarthy project looks to be dead in the water for Kevin O'Connell. As the Vikings look to factor into the race for the NFC North again, Murray will need to reclaim some of his early years with the Cardinals, as he and the tough Brian Flores-led defense will look to get the Vikings back to relevancy in 2026.

The swan song for Aaron Rodgers will include Mike McCarthy, as the former Packers QB and HC are paired up once again. There isn't a ton to be excited about with this Pittsburgh roster, as a lot of their talent is the same as what drove Mike Tomlin out of town this past offseason.

Adding McCarthy isn't a needle mover, as the old-school head coach will be tasked with keeping what Pittsburgh is known for here while also improving in the other areas. If Rodgers wants to make some noise in his last hurrah, he will need players like DK Metcalf , Michael Pittman Jr. , Jaylen Warren , and Rico Dowdle to pick up some slack this year.

A three-year extension for Baker Mayfield closes the book on one potential in-season distraction for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as this team (that fell short of making the postseason in Week 18 last year) needs to try to correct the ship this year.

Todd Bowles is on a bit of a hot seat with how Tampa looked last season, although his steadying presence has been nice for a team in a bit of flux, something that will hopefully help them correct a few things this season.

The John Harbaugh era is underway for the New York Giants, giving this franchise its most to look forward to since the Eli Manning days. Pairing second-year Jaxson Dart with Matt Nagy definitely doesn't scream offensive output by any means, so that will need to be an aspect of this team that gets figured out sooner rather than later.

A healthy Daniel Jones is hopefully the missing piece for the Indianapolis Colts, as a fast start last year was stunted by Jones' season ending early. A heavy workload for Jonathan Taylor is likely in store again this season, which is great news for fantasy football teams, but there isn't a ton exciting about this Colts roster heading into the 2026 season, putting them near the bottom of the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings.

An NFC South divisional win, coupled with a strong showing in the playoffs, ended an impressive season for the Carolina Panthers, even though they hovered around .500 all season. However, Bryce Young and the Carolina offense need to take another step forward, and with their group of skill players staying the same, it remains to be seen where that improvement will come from.

It is a welcomed sight to have Jayden Daniels back playing football, as the NFL is better when he is on the field. Injuries ended his season early last year, and with it went the chances of the Washington Commanders. Fielding an old team around Daniels and head coach Dan Quinn, the 2026 season is a big deal for this franchise, as another poor, injury-riddled year could spell the end of the current coaching staff.

While Tua Tagovailoa won the Atlanta Falcons' QB1 job, it is not an encouraging sign that it took this long for the coaching staff to anoint him the starter. Needing a full offseason to see which southpaw was the best option does not give Kevin Stefanski a fighting chance in his first year as head coach, as the offense (outside of Bijan Robinson and Drake London ) will likely struggle yet again.

The Robert Saleh era is underway in Tennessee, and with it comes a renewed excitement for the future of this franchise. Getting Brian Daboll to help guide Cam Ward in his second year has his compass pointing up, and the defense should be much improved with Saleh's influence, giving the Titans a chance to sniff a .500 record this season.

The Fernando Mendoza era won't start in Week 1, as Kirk Cousins will be the starter to open the year, helping kick off Klint Kubiak's tenure in Las Vegas. The Raiders are facing an uphill battle this year with how tough the rest of the AFC West division is, so the 2026 NFL season will likely be a foundational year for Kubiak and the new roster.

Another rough year likely spells the end to Aaron Glenn's unfortunate tenure as the New York Jets head coach, but a revamped group of offensive weapons will give Geno Smith a chance. With Smith back in town for at least this year, the QB room is temporarily stable while the Jets yet again search for their QB of the future.

Todd Monken has his hands full in his first head-coaching gig, as the Cleveland Browns have decided to move forward without franchise icon Myles Garrett . With some talent on both sides of the ball but depth issues dominating headlines, it will be another tough year for a Browns roster that has yet to lock down its QB of the future.

Rookie wide receivers Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion are two guys to root for on the offense, as they could finally be the pieces the Browns need to revamp their WR room.

Jeff Hafley and Malik Willis will have their hands full in their first season together in Miami, as the Dolphins are undergoing a complete reset. With three rookie wideouts (Chris Bell, Caleb Douglas, and Kevin Coleman) likely earning a majority of time at wide receiver, Willis will be tasked to handling the development of that trio.

For Willis, his dual-threat abilities will make the Miami offense fun to watch at times, but playing from behind often will make the 2026 NFL season a bit tough for the Dolphins, as they build their roster back up.

The team taking up the last spot in the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings is the Arizona Cardinals, as first-time head coach Mike LaFleur has his hands full. A recent extension to wide receiver Michael Wilson locks up a key part of their passing attack, but with Jacoby Brissett as this team's QB1 and question marks about the future of this position, it remains to be seen what Mike LaFleur's goal is to round out the offense.

Eyes will be on rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, who will look to justify his hefty draft price for a team that didn't have to invest a premium first-round selection in a running back.