SV’s 2019 Annual NFL Power Rankings: 12-1

Ah, the crème de la crème! Let’s take a look at the teams that are ready to contend for the Super Bowl this season!

12. Los Angeles Rams

The dreaded Super Bowl hangover! For any non-New England Patriots team, it’s extremely difficult – win or lose – to appear in back-to-back Super Bowls. It’s not uncommon for the losing team to have a significant drop in overall wins/production from the previous year, or even miss the playoffs as we saw with the Panthers in 2016.

Unfortunately for the Rams, losing in the Super Bowl gains you no sympathy. Other teams are still going to pick at your roster like vultures, offering exorbitant contracts to your best free agents. You’re still going to have a huge target on your back. And you’re still going to have tons of pressure to get back to that spot next season. All true for these Rams.

Their immediate success relies on the health of Todd Gurley, arguably the most dominant running back in football, as well as one of the bigger question marks going into the 2019 season. It’s not clear how Gurley’s knee has recovered, though coaches have said Gurley is fine and will not see any limit on his number of snaps. Only time will tell – but with a healthy Gurley, and the incomparable Aaron Donald obliterating offensive lines, the Rams have enough core pieces left in place to return to the Big Game.

11. Cleveland Browns

If you’ve been stuck in a news-less vacuum over the past eight months, maybe you missed it – the Brownies have been rejuvenated! Even better news for Cleveland, there is a solid chance of the hype being real. Baker Mayfield is the latest young gunslinger to light up the league, setting an NFL rookie record for passing touchdowns (27). The Browns have hit on consecutive high-round picks, as studs Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward lead a hungry young defense. Add in a blockbuster trade for the mercurial Odell Beckham Jr, and the Browns have closed a long-standing talent gap that has held them in dungeons for too long.

The biggest concerns facing this team lie within the coaching ranks. Rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens is well-liked among the players, and is well-regarded in his play-calling abilities around the league. The concern is, when the Browns inevitably face some adversity in the ever-contentious AFC North division, how will Kitchens handle it? If he can get this talented roster focusing on the details and not the hype, playoff football may finally be back in Cleveland.

10. Houston Texans

If given the pick of any current player to be their franchise quarterback for the next decade, most people are picking Patrick Mahomes – and certainly there’s nothing wrong with that.  However, if the next guy on that list isn’t Deshaun Watson, it probably should be! Watson has had a phenomenal start to his Texans career. Before a season-ending injury in 2017, he was the hottest QB in the league – on pace to finish with 45+ combined touchdowns as a rookie. Watson not only shows supreme athletic talent, but a natural ability to read defenses that is rarely part of a young QB’s arsenal. Throw in a little moxie, and Watson displays a feel for the game that even a seasoned veteran could admire.

The Texans have one of the top wide receiver duos in the league led by the remarkable DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has perennially been one of the league’s most dangerous receivers, and is in the midst of a Hall of Fame career if he continues his current pace. On the other side, Watson has an absolute burner in Will Fuller to aerially terrorize teams, that is if the young phenom can stay on the field .

The Texans have gone all-in after trading for LT Laremy Tunsil and WR Kenny Stills, exacting a heavy price on their draft capital in the process. Trading Jadaveon Clowney for a third-round pick is a questionable move, but the Texans still have J.J. Watt to lead the defense that can be very good when on top of its game.

9. Los Angeles Chargers

One of the more balanced rosters in the league, the Chargers are hoping to give Philip Rivers the proper send-off he deserves. Known as the best trash talkin’ QB around, Rivers is entering his 16th season as the Chargers quarterback, putting together a Hall of Fame career along the way. Among the many teams that have suffered heartbreak at the hands of the New England Patriots, the Chargers are very familiar with the feeling. The divisional round defeat last season being particularly painful for Chargers fans, as the spectacular roster finally looked ready to turn the corner.

While there’s no shame in losing to the Patriots in a playoff game at Foxboro, getting blitzed 35-7 in the first half was a shock to most. What wasn’t a shock was to see this team fight back, outscoring the Pats 21-6 in the second half, saving themselves from total embarrassment. Rivers is the ultimate gamer and the defense has developed into an elite unit. However, the Chargers may struggle early on, as the absence of key pieces Derwin James (placed on IR) and Melvin Gordon (contract dispute) could be significant.

8. Dallas Cowboys

With Zeke signing at the last moment, the Super Bowl train is full steam ahead in Dallas. At least, that’s what owner Jerry Jones is expecting to be delivered from Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot, and Amari Cooper – the offensive trio that clicked as well as any offense late last year. Acting as the new Triplets 2.0, expectations are sky-high now that the offense has had a full offseason to work together.

The strength of the Cowboys offense, as it was back in their glory days, is actually another trio – the offensive line that features three Pro-Bowlers. Tyron Smith is a freak at left tackle, while Travis Frederick and Zack Martin are tacticians at center and guard. No team has an elite trio on the offensive line like Dallas, which allows this offense to be special. On defense, the Cowboys have built a solid young core of linebackers and pass rushers. Though, if they are going to contend, the secondary will need to show that their improvement over the second half of last season was no fluke.

7. Chicago Bears

The Bears made the move of the year when they traded for Khalil Mack, the preeminent offense-wrecker of the NFL. He’s become such a force that he is attracting Lawrence Taylor levels of attention from offenses – and rightly so, because the man cannot be blocked one-on-one. Getting Mack was like the cherry on top of an already loaded Sundae. The Bears’ defense could be the most suffocating, swarming unit we see in 2019. 

Head Coach Matt Nagy has turned the offense around from years of futility, and molded it into a professional, threatening offense that can attack you in many ways. QB Mitch Trubisky’s mobility allows Nagy to open his playbook to the fullest extent. With one of the toughest defenses to lean on, Nagy can also afford to be aggressive with his play-calling in a manner most coaches can not. Expect to see lots of attempts to go for it on 4th down.

6. Philadelphia Eagles

With Nick Foles gone, the Eagles hopes of contending this year will actually be over this time if franchise QB Carson Wentz can’t stay on the field. After ending back-to-back seasons on IR, Wentz is at a critical point in his career. This is the point where a player either recovers and fortunately stays healthy for the majority of his career, or, like Andrew Luck, goes down the rabbit hole of injury-recovery, constantly playing with pain and never actually operating at 100%. If there’s one position injury proneness can’t be tolerated, it’s the quarterback. Not with the importance of the position and the enormity of the cap hit they take each year.

With a healthy Wentz, most agree on what the Eagles are capable of. Having brought back Desean Jackson, who consistently improves the offenses he plays for with his game-breaking speed and play-making ability, the offense just is as dangerous as the one that tore up the Patriots for 38 points in the Super Bowl. The defense is as capable as ever, and is poised to lead the Eagles to a division title, and then some.

5. Green Bay Packers

During a miserable 2018 campaign for the franchise, Aaron Rodgers finished with a touchdown-to-pick ratio of 25:2 – a “down” year for the reserved gunslinger. The fact that he put up those kinds of numbers in the last year of a stale and predictable Mike McCarthy offense is a testament to his GOAT-like abilities. Let’s be honest, the Packers would have let McCarthy walk years ago if not for Rodgers turning water into a respectable wine for the past decade.

During the offseason, the Packers revamped the defense through the draft and free agency, adding some solid pieces in safety Adrian Amos and outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith. In the draft, LB Rashan Gary and S Darnell Savage could show immediate benefits for a Packers defense that has been lacking star power for years. 

With McCarthy gone and Matt LaFleur in, Rodgers should be given more freedom to be himself, and do what he does best – dissecting his opponents with surgical precision and swagger.

4. Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll and the Seahawks just won’t seem to go away, will they? Since losing the Super Bowl in 2015, they’ve largely been gutted of their core players, The Legion of Boom is gone, and their most reliable target Doug Baldwin has retired. Except, the plan all along was to keep their most important leaders on both sides of the ball: Russel Wilson and Bobby Wagner. 

So far it has kept the Seahawks in contention, but not good enough to eke out those last-second wins against a more balanced team. That balance has changed for the Seahawks, after acquiring Jadaveon Clowney for a minimal price. With Clowney and Ezekial Ansah rushing the edge for Seattle, the defense could regain its elite form. While the secondary will never match the Legion of Boom’s talent, they do play with the same fervour. Must be all that crowd noise. 

3. New Orleans Saints

If you’ve noticed the trend, the higher teams on this list boast elite defenses to support an elite quarterback. New Orleans checks both of those off with ease. Drew Brees, the NFL’s all-time passing leader, still has a year or two left of gas in the tank. Hell, if anything, he could pull a Peyton Manning in his final year, and just beat teams with preparation instead of arm strength – then ride one the NFL’s top defenses to a Super Bowl birth. The Saints still haven’t gotten over how their year ended, on an infamous non-call in the waning seconds of the NFC Championship game. We could see a revenge tour circa Brady and the Pats post-Deflategate.

Simply put, the Saints are loaded, and barring a rash of major injuries, will undoubtedly be in the mix come January.

2. New England Patriots

What can be said about Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the New England Patriots that hasn’t already been said? They are the definitive, hands-down, no-contest, worst team to bet against in sports spanning two decades. 18 playoff bids, 10 Super Bowl appearances, 6 Lombardi trophies. The numbers, the names, the accomplishments are incomparable. 

The only thing stopping this team from cementing another dynasty is… Tom Brady. Funny thing to say, isn’t it? Well, despite everything pointing to the contrary, Tom vs. Time continues, and like Captain America in Endgame, Tom will eventually have to surrender to time. This is as good a year as any for it to happen (wishes the rest of the NFL).

1. Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick. Lavon. Mahomes. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a 1st-year starter ball out like “Ma-homie” did last season, and it’s been never since we’ve seen a QB play with that kind of flash, style, and pizzazz! What truly makes Mahomes special, though, is his mental makeup. The kid was born to be slinging a pigskin with 300-pound dudes chasing after. You can see it in everything he does. 

Now, what makes the Chiefs special is not just Mahomes, but what they’ve built around him. The Chiefs have the most unique set of skill players in the league, bar-none. There just isn’t another player that brings what WR Tyreek Hill brings to the table – the quickness, the elusiveness, my god, the speed… There’s no other Travis Kelce (certainly not now that Gronk has retired) in the league. Trying to defend a menace of that size and speed roaming around the middle of your defense has to be one of the most frustrating challenges for defensive coordinators. 

But back to Hill for a second. Next time you’re watching the Chiefs, focus on the pre-snap movement of Tyreek Hill. You will not see another player used like this. Basically, Head Coach Andy Reid knows he has something no one else has, and he uses it to the fullest extent. Hill may do more running before the snap than after it. Back and forth, back and forth he’ll run across the line of scrimmage, stopping, starting, asking which of the mortals on the other side wants to try to cover this lightning bolt with legs. He’ll line up in the #1, the #2, the slot, the backfield, wherever the Chiefs want the attention of the defense to be focused, they’ll send Tyreek.

The Chiefs don’t have an elite defense, but the defense has shown stretches of elite play. Particularly at home, where the Chiefs are nearly unbeatable. There’s really only one team with the tools and/or balls to match up with this team. Will we see another Chiefs-Patriots showdown in the AFC Championship? We can only hope.