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NFL Power Rankings: Redskins fall, NFC South on the rise after Preseason Week 1

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins looks on during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on December 30, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins looks on during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on December 30, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – FEBRUARY 03: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots and Julian Edelman #11 celebrate their teams 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – FEBRUARY 03: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots and Julian Edelman #11 celebrate their teams 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Super Bowl Contenders

These are the teams that should be considered the favorites to challenge for a Super Bowl. They’re not the only teams league-wide that could win one, but they are the favorites at the moment.

1. Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia has the best offensive line in the league and a fully-healthy Carson Wentz, so their offense should hum. Their only potential weakness comes on defense in their young cornerback group. But getting Ronald Darby back from injury should help there and given how well their young guys played at the end of last season, they should continue to be fine, especially if the pass rush is even more potent thanks to the presence of Malik Jackson.

2. New England Patriots. The Patriots may have lost Rob Gronkowski and no longer have a strong receiving corps, but they do have the greatest quarterback to ever play the game in Tom Brady. He will manage the run-heavy offense while the team’s defense, and particularly, the secondary, look strong enough to potentially carry them to another title.

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3. Indianapolis Colts. If Andrew Luck’s calf becomes a problem, this ranking could change. But the Colts look very strong at the moment. Their offensive line is fantastic and Luck will be able to make use of the weapons around him (namely T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess, and Eric Ebron). Matt Eberflus’ defense may not have a lot of name recognition, but they have some serious talent on that side of the ball. Adding Justin Houston and the rock-solid Rock Ya-Sin should only help to strengthen things on that side of the ball.

4. Chicago Bears. The Bears defense saw a couple of downgrades this offseason going from Adrian Amos to Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at safety and Bryce Callahan to Buster Skrine at nickel corner. But they still have a lot of talent, including Khalil Mack, so that unit should be great once again. Their full potential can only be reached with growth from Mitchell Trubisky, and he is the key to making the offense a solid unit. Adding guys like Riley Ridley and David Montgomery to help him should end up strengthening the team overall.

5. Atlanta Falcons. This may be a surprise to some, but the Falcons are a sneaky-good Super Bowl contender. They are playing 13 regular season games indoors, which Matt Ryan loves. Their offensive weaponry (Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Mohamed Sanu, et al) is excellent. They upgraded their offensive line with first-round picks Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary. And best of all, their defense is fully healthy after dealing with numerous key injuries last year.

If the Falcons can stay healthy, they are the type of all-around team that could surprise and emerge from the pack in a tough NFC South. That may do just enough to make them a Super Bowl contender, especially if they can earn the one or two seed and get home-field advantage.

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