The Carolina Panthers came up just short last season by losing to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 but they top our NFL Power Rankings for 2016 week one.
In the NFL, a league known for parity, fans of most teams can have hopes for making the playoffs this season. Heck, even the Cleveland Browns are tied for first place at this point. OK, so Browns fans should worry more about their team winning a game or two than making the playoffs, but there will be some level of hope in most other NFL cities.
Closer to home, the Detroit Lions looks to show that they are more like the team that went 6-2 in the second half of 2015 rather than the team that went 1-7 in the first half. The 7-9 season was a disappointing follow up to their 11-5 2014 season that saw them earn a playoff berth. Once again we’re left wondering which is the real Lions team.
As is most often the case, the answer is less clear than an either-or scenario given the competitive nature of the league that sees most games decided by a touchdown or less.
More and more it seems there are few elite teams and few truly terrible teams, leaving a big mass of teams in the middle to get sorted out. That can make ranking teams difficult early in the season, but what the heck, let’s give it a shot.
With the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos hosting the Carolina Panthers tonight in a Super Bowl rematch to kick off the 2016 season, here are the Detroit Jock City NFL Power Rankings for week one.
Week 1 NFL Power Rankings
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