{"id":261276,"date":"2026-01-01T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T15:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=261276"},"modified":"2026-01-01T06:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T11:00:19","slug":"nfl-power-rankings-ranking-all-32-teams-as-2026-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/01\/nfl-power-rankings-ranking-all-32-teams-as-2026-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Power Rankings: Ranking All 32 Teams as 2026 begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is it! The final week of 2025, the final week of the NFL season, and the final ranking of the year. Next week, the playoffs will begin, and everyone starts fresh at 0-0. Heading into this final week, half the league has been eliminated, with 12 teams in, and four teams (Tampa Bay, Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore), fighting for the final two spots. As a betting man, I like the Ravens and the Buccaneers. A Pittsburgh loss could be Mike Tomlin’s final game with the Black and Gold.<\/p>\n

Sixteen teams have been eliminated. Nothing irks me more than a team fighting for the playoffs, playing in a meaningless game against a team out of the playoffs, and losing. Such was the case for the Rams on Monday night, as they lost to the Falcons. That having been said, many of these 16 teams will legitimately be competing for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

I can see the Commanders bouncing back with a healthy Jayden Daniels. The Bengals should be competitive in a weak AFC North. The Falcons, Saints, and Vikings have each shown flashes… and the Cowboys and Chiefs should bounce back and be in the mix for postseason play. And there’s always some Cinderella team to come out of nowhere… see this year’s Patriots team.<\/p>\n

2026 NFL Power Rankings<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

32. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS<\/a>:<\/p>\n

31. ARIZONA CARDINALS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

30. NEW YORK GIANTS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

29. NEW YORK JETS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

28. TENNESSEE TITANS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

27. CLEVELAND BROWNS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

26. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

25. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

24. MIAMI DOLPHINS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

23. CINCINNATI BENGALS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Philip
Photo Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

22. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

21. ATLANTA FALCONS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

20. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

19. DALLAS COWBOYS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

18. DETROIT LIONS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cut
Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

17. MINNESOTA VIKINGS<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

16. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS<\/strong><\/a>: The Bucs are sitting with a 7-9 record, and one win away from winning the NFC South. If they prevail, they will achieve a very rare accomplishment\u2026winning a division with a sub-500 season.<\/p>\n

15. CAROLINA PANTHERS<\/strong><\/a>: The Panthers completed the 2024-25 season on a very high note and carried that into this year. They are 8-8, and on the cusp of a playoff berth with a victory in Tampa Bay. Here are the key players who can lead them to a win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

14. PITTSBURGH STEELERS<\/strong><\/a>: This is a classic Steeler season: ups and downs, with unexpected wins and exasperating losses. Last week\u2019s loss against the Browns is Exhibit A. They have secured another .500 season for Mike Tomlin, but need a win against the Ravens to reach the postseason.<\/p>\n

13. GREEN BAY PACKERS<\/strong><\/a>: The Packers have clinched a playoff spot and are settled into the No.7 seed. Jordan Love is in concussion protocol, and while playing in Week 18 is unnecessary, playing the following week in the payoffs is paramount.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/p>\n

12. BALTIMORE RAVENS<\/strong><\/a>: The Ravens have been truly awful this year. Lamar Jackson has missed multiple games, and HC John Harbaugh hasn\u2019t had his best season. Yet, they are one win away from making the playoffs. If they leave Pittsburgh with a win, they are in. Playoff Ravens could be a dangerous draw.<\/p>\n

11. CHICAGO BEARS<\/strong><\/a>: The Bears may be one season early, but Bill Parcells always said, \u201cYou are what your record says you are.\u201d The Bears are 11-5 and a win away from securing the No. 2 seed in the NFC.<\/p>\n

10. LOS ANGELES RAMS<\/strong><\/a>: The Rams controlled their own destiny a couple of weeks ago. Two losses later, and they have missed out on a chance for a bye, a division title, and a home game. They\u2019ve made their road much more difficult.<\/p>\n

9. HOUSTON TEXANS<\/strong><\/a>: The Texans just keep on winning. They\u2019ve won eight in a row, and after a 0-3 start, have secured a playoff spot. Although it\u2019s unlikely, they can still win the division\u2026they need to defeat the Colts, and hope the Jaguars lose to the Titans.<\/p>\n

8. BUFFALO BILLS<\/strong><\/a>: This has been an uneven season for the Bills, and it may be time for HC Sean McDermott to move on. Why would he call for a two-point play at the end of their game this week against the Eagles? Only Josh Allen may be able to take this team to a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Eagles
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS<\/a><\/strong>: The Chargers are locked into a wildcard spot, with no real incentive to play their starters this week, heading to Denver. Realistically, they\u2019ll be heading to New England or Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

6. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS<\/strong><\/a>: This has been a career season for Trevor Lawrence. He has likely led his Jaguars to a division title and home playoff game. They had an epic playoff game against the Chargers and Justin Herbert a couple of years ago\u2026they may be facing them again during Wildcard week.<\/p>\n

5. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES<\/strong><\/a>: The Eagles are a dangerous team. There has been turmoil for much of the year\u2026not unlike years\u2019 past, but we\u2019re on the cusp of the playoffs, and here are the Eagles, standing again. There hasn\u2019t been a repeat NFC East champion in two decades, until this season. They still have Devonta Smith and AJ Green for Jalen Hurts to throw to, and a highly motivated Saquon Barkley in the backfield. \u201cTo be the man, you have to beat the man,\u201d Ric Flair\u2026 Until the Eagles are beaten, they are The Man.<\/p>\n

4. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS<\/strong><\/a>: With Drake Maye\u2019s performance this week and Matthew Stafford\u2019s performance, Maye could have secured the MVP. Mike Vrabel could very well win Coach of the Year. They will realistically end up with the No. 2 seed in the AFC and at least one home playoff game.<\/p>\n

3. DENVER BRONCOS<\/strong><\/a>: The Broncos are a home win away from securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. That would mean they\u2019d be two home wins away from a Super Bowl berth.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jaxon
Photo Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS<\/a><\/strong>: There may not be a hotter team in the NFL. The Niners have won six games in a row, and for a while, it seemed like they didn\u2019t need to roster their punter. They have a massive matchup this week against the Seahawks, who have also won six in a row. If they prevail, they will secure the No.1 seed and a bye. They will also secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs\u2026including the Super Bowl, which is at Levi Stadium this year.<\/p>\n

1. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS<\/a><\/strong>: It all comes down to this Saturday\u2019s matchup against the 49ers in Santa Clara. The Seahawks and Niners have each won six in a row, but the Seahawks have scored more points this year and have given up fewer points. They are 13-3, while San Francisco is 12-4. But, if they lose, the Niners would hold the tiebreaker, at 13-4. The winner of this game gets the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. The loser heads to the road on Wildcard weekend.<\/p>\n

For more great football analysis, check out DrRoto.com<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is it! The final week of 2025, the final week of the NFL season, and the final ranking of the year. Next week, the playoffs will begin, and everyone starts fresh at 0-0. Heading into this final week, half the league has been eliminated, with 12 teams in, and four teams (Tampa Bay, Carolina, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5637,"featured_media":261281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33916],"tags":[33987,2320],"class_list":["post-261276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-power-rankings","tag-2026-nfl-season","tag-nfl-schedule"],"modified_by":"Doug Henderson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261276"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261284,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261276\/revisions\/261284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}