Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season had some predictable results with expected Super Bowl contenders flexing on their opponents, either away or home. But there were a fair share of surprises, with new coaches sparking a few upstarts to victory.
Although being 1-0 or 0-1 doesn’t set the tone for the entire season, teams that get off to good starts tend to also have favorable finishes. Getting into a losing hole puts a lot of pressure to not fall to 0-2.
The winners and losers caused significant fluctuation in Sporting News’ in-season weekly power rankings, including a new worthy team on top. Here’s going around the league to check out the latest hierarchy, from 1-32:
MORE: Week 1 overreactions – Bears unstoppable, Packers cooked
NFL Power Rankings
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1. Buffalo Bills (previous ranking: 2)
The Bills came out firing with Josh Allen picking apart a tough Texans defense with downfield passing in the debut of Joe Brady as head coach. Their new aggressive mind-set also came through in time on defense. This is a more complete and explosive team.
MORE: How Allen, Bills’ offense finally solved Houston
2. Chicago Bears (3)
The Bears‘ offense went full throttle right away in Carolina with a needed 59 points with Caleb Williams having an MVP-caliber start and the running game channeling what Ben Johnson had with the Lions. The defense is reshuffling, but it still makes big plays of its own. Chicago is doing well to redefine “Monsters of the Midway”.
3. Baltimore Ravens (4)
The Ravens borrow from Johnson’s Bears’ offense with Declan Doyle and he didn’t waste time putting Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers into overdrive. Jesse Minter brought the expected defensive energy, too. There also was no hint of blowing a lead.
MORE: Derrick Henry makes NFL history in Ravens win
4. Seattle Seahawks (5)
The Seahawks had to grind a little on offense with Sam Darnold injured early, but found enough late with their running game and receivers. They don’t need too much from that side when their pass rush and coverage are dominating.
5. San Francisco 49ers (9)
The 49ers deserve this massive jump for picking apart the Rams‘ so-called daunting defense. The changing up of receivers has been a boon for a well-protected Brock Purdy and it’s clear the defense is feeding well off the energy of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner again. Whatever happened off the field, San Francisco didn’t allow that to lose any sharpness on the field, even miles away from home.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (6)
The Eagles‘ new offense under Sean Mannion got early impressive downfield passing from Jalen Hurts, supported by the right blend of running him and Saquon Barkley. There was no really missing of A.J. Brown in the receiving corps, either.
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7. Kansas City Chiefs (7)
The Chiefs saw a healthy Patrick Mahomes back near the height of his improvisational powers against the Broncos on Monday night. Their running game with Kenneth Walker III and digging deeper defensively early sets up a rebound to return to the playoffs.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (10)
The Jaguars smashed the lowly Browns, but they did it so well with Trevor Lawrence executing at a high level to jump up two spots. Now fully immersed in Liam Coen’s offense, Lawrence is fulfilling his high upside. They also are starting to get the defensive attention to remind the league why they remain AFC South favorites.
9. New England Patriots (8)
The Patriots had a bad draw in their Seahawks’ Super Bowl rematch in Seattle but still had a chance to win the game late with more impressive defense. The pressure is on early with the Steelers, Jaguars and Bills next on the schedule.
10. Los Angeles Rams (1)
The Rams saw Matthew Stafford crash back to earth under pressure at the worst time, with a hurting Myles Garrett not doing much to help the defense before learning he won’t be back on the field until Week 6. The 49ers exploited a lot of holes on a team lacking depth. The hype balloon has popped and Sean McVay is challenged to re-inflate it before it’s too late.
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11. Cincinnati Bengals (12)
The Bengals are notorious for slow starts with Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor, so it was a good change for them to hold off the Buccaneers more so with defense and the running game. Cincinnati has become a more dangerous all-around team and can make a much bigger statement in Houston in Week 2.
2026 NFL POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Defense
12. Detroit Lions (15)
The Lions were pushed into an overtime grind with the game Saints, bringing up lingering concerns about their defense outside of Aidan Hutchinson. But the high-priced trio of Jahmyr Gibbs, Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown saved the day, like they often will need to do.
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13. Pittsburgh Steelers (18)
The Steelers didn’t put up a lot of offense with Aaron Rodgers back operating for Mike McCarthy. The good news is T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith had their classic pass rush back on track to rip the Falcons under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
14. Denver Broncos (11)
The Broncos are hoping for a little more juice from Bo Nix with Jaylen Waddle helping at wide receiver and former QB Davis Webb calling his plays. That didn’t happen against the Chiefs, but the more worrisome development was a shoddy run defense.
15. Minnesota Vikings (19)
The Vikings’ quarterback plans were disrupted when Kyler Murray went down early with a concussion, but they were fortunate to find a winning backup in Carson Wentz taking advantage of the “real” Justin Jefferson. Brian Flores’ defense is still the backbone.
16. Houston Texans (14)
The Texans should expect to win most games when C.J. Stroud and David Montgomery have the offense humming and scoring 31 points. They can chalk losing to the Bills in Week 1 to having no real defense for a red-hot Josh Allen. The Bengals and Burrow will be a good follow-up test for the D back at home.
17. New York Giants (20)
Jaxson Dart was a different QB with Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely boosting his passing. The winning influence of John Harbaugh and Matt Nagy already has rubbed off on them. There’s enough talent for them to be an NFC wild-card factor.
18. Dallas Cowboys (16)
The Cowboys saw little defensive improvement under Christian Parker against the Giants from Quinnen Williams up front to rookie safety Caleb Downs. That keeps putting undue pressure on Dak Prescott in a needed pass-happy offense.
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19. Green Bay Packers (17)
Packers coach Matt LaFleur did not adjust to help Jordan Love against the blitzing Vikings. They also couldn’t run well enough to protect a lead. They couldn’t stop a backup QB throwing to one receiver. Luckily, their early schedule sets up a quick rebound.
20. Arizona Cardinals 1-0 (28)
The Cardinals were ecstatic about landing Mike LaFleur as the latest hot coach from the McVay tree. The evidence was there early with steady run-heavy offensive production against the Chargers. It’s unfortunate they are in such a loaded division, which hurts any playoff potential.
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21. Las Vegas Raiders 1-0 (25)
The Raiders invested plenty to improve their offense with Klint Kubiak being just as important as Fernando Mendoza. They could afford to sit the rookie QB because of Kirk Cousins and the running game. Maxx Crosby’s dedication to boost the defense was a welcome early bonus.
22. New York Jets 1-0 (29)
The Jets went back to a savvier Geno Smith at QB to lead an offense full of younger weapons flanking Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. They won’t always play the Titans, but just being functional, balanced and productive is a nice change.
23. Los Angeles Chargers 0-1 (13)
The Chargers had the worst performance of Week 1 in relation to their opponent. The Cardinals looked like the better team the whole way as the a new scheme didn’t help Justin Herbert on offense and their stars on defense. Jim Harbaugh must have them regroup fast with the improved Raiders next.
24. Washington Commanders 0-1 (21)
Jayden Daniels was struggling for much of the day in Philadelphia but got revved up late by trusting the running game and new weapons Stefon Diggs and Antonio Williams. That late rally that fell short will give Commanders hope that Daniels is getting back on track. Dan Quinn, however, should keep feeling the heat after a frustrating two-point loss.
MORE: What Stefon Diggs said about costly unsportsmanlike penalty
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25. New Orleans Saints 0-1 (22)
The Saints showed their moxie again with coach Kellen Moore and quarterback Tyler Shough powering the offense to a big comeback in Detroit. Their playmakers are improved even without healthy rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. They still look like the best team in the NFC South.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-1 (23)
The Buccaneers seemingly figured it out with Baker Mayfield and then he tried to do too much early in trying to out-shoot Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. The sloppy start isn’t a good initial look for beleaguered coach Todd Bowles.
27. Indianapolis Colts 0-1 (24)
Jonathan Taylor had 98 yards on 19 carries but it wasn’t enough to carry the offense in Daniel Jones’ first game since tearing his Achilles in December. The defense that got plastered by pass and run is the much bigger issue related to coach Shane Steichen’s job security.
28. Carolina Panthers 0-1 (26)
The Panthers picked up vs. the Bears where they left off last season when they lost a shootout to the Rams in the wild-card playoffs. Carolina went from scoring 31 points to 37, but they also went from giving up 34 to 59. For a defense with real talent, including pricey free-agent additions Devin Lloyd and Jaelan Phillips, that doesn’t bode well.
29. Tennessee Titans 0-1 (27)
The Titans saw more of an early rookie Cam Ward in the new offense of Brian Daboll, which is not surprising given his shaky preseason. He threw for just 140 yards, 55 of which came with the Titans trailing 23-3 in the final minutes. The make-or-break second year hasn’t started well for the QB and Robert Saleh’s defensive influence didn’t show up.
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30. Miami Dolphins 0-1 (30)
The Jeff Hafley era started with a dud in the desert as Malik Willis and the offense got ripped by the Raiders’ defense. Hafley doesn’t have many defensive playmakers, either. Seeing the 49ers and Chiefs next doesn’t inspire confidence for improvement early.
31. Atlanta Falcons 0-1 (31)
The Falcons had to start Cooper Rush over Tua Tagovailoa and the rough offensive result in Pittsburgh was expected, despite Bijan Robinson earning his new contract by gaining 173 of the Falcons’ 263 total yards. Atlanta needs Michael Penix Jr. back, stat.
32. Cleveland Browns 0-1 (32)
The Browns’ quarterback situation is bad, but the state of the running game and defense is even worse to begin the Todd Monken era. They were no match for the Jaguars and may struggle to beat anyone for a while.
MORE: How much longer can Browns start Deshaun Watson?
