There has been absolutely, positively no overreacting to preseason games in this iteration of our 2021 NFL Power Rankings. Nope, none whatsoever. Zach Wilson is a Hall of Famer, Ben Roethlisberger’s back, and even Tua Tagovailoa commanded an offense admirably. Okay, fine, maybe a little bit of overreacting. Minor overreactions aside, I promise it didn’t affect my judgment too much on these rankings.
2021 NFL Power Rankings, Tier 5 | “No Chance in Vince McMahon’s Hell”
As his entrance music explained, these teams have “no chance, no chance in hell” at making much noise in 2021. Two games this preseason haven’t proven much for many of these teams’ hopes and dreams this season. As such, they find themselves in the aptly named Tier 5 of our 2021 NFL Power Rankings.
32) Houston Texans
Deshaun Watson’s presence (or lack thereof) at camp has been the storyline so far for Houston in 2021. Even with Watson, this is a roster lacking solid players and depth at seemingly every position.
But without Watson, this team is essentially in shambles. They’ll hold down the last spot in our 2021 Power Rankings until they prove otherwise.
31) Philadelphia Eagles
It may be a bit of an overreaction to downgrade a team after a poor preseason performance, but the emphasis is on the wrong word when looking at that statement. Sure, it was “preseason” when the Eagles got trounced by the Patriots this past week, 35-0. The optimal word, however, is poor.
Their performance, as a team, was suboptimal, poor, terrible. Joe Flacco looked like a shell of himself. The offensive line looked even worse. The defense had no pass rush. The secondary was worse than Swiss cheese in how many holes they allowed.
It was so poor, we had to move them down.
30) Detroit Lions
A lot of the talk this preseason is going to surround the rookies, especially the first-rounders. So, it should come as no surprise that we’ll talk about Penei Sewell here. It’s true he gave up a sack on basically his third snap of the preseason. It’s true he missed a run block attempt the play prior.
But it’s also true that these are the first snaps of football he’s played since 2019, so the growth shown in the early stages of their preseason Week 2 matchup against the Steelers gives hope. Also, Jared Goff looked pretty, pretty, pretty good (in his only preseason action to date).
29) Jacksonville Jaguars
There will be growing pains this season (and potentially next) for the Jaguars under head coach Urban Meyer. We all witnessed some of the growing pains that will also accompany first overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence will have to better understand the pocket and timing of an NFL offense against an NFL defense to see success this season.
Giving at least a glimmer of hope, however, Lawrence has also already flashed his elite-level arm talent on multiple occasions despite just a handful of throws.
28) Carolina Panthers
The Panthers are a long way from competing, or at least it seems. To be honest, nothing they could do in the preseason would give much traction one way or another as their 2021 season is dependent upon one person: Sam Darnold.
As Sam Darnold embarks on his first season in Carolina, we’ve seen him struggle to elevate his teammates from his time in New York. The team he currently has with the Panthers will need elevating, save for a certain individual in the backfield. Until Darnold proves he can do such a thing, they’ll stay in the bottom tier of our NFL Power Rankings.
27) Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan may be able to fight back Father Time for the 2021 season, but that does very little for the rest of this roster. Atlanta has holes nearly everywhere and is more than just a dynamic pass-catching tight end away from competing in the NFC South.
Kyle Pitts is terrific and can prove to be a top tight end in the NFL, but TEs will rarely win games, especially considering their division and conference.
26) Chicago Bears
I’ll be the first to say that I give the Chicago Bears more than ‘no chance in hell’ with their roster. What pushed them down to this tier, the bottom tier of our 2021 NFL Power Rankings, is the simple fact that head coach Matt Nagy has decided to stick with QB Andy Dalton as his Week 1 starter.
This news came directly after Dalton struggled and looked incredibly sluggish against a Bills’ second-string defense. Chicago’s offense looking sloppy in their own regard, routinely committing penalties that can be averted with solid coaching. The Bears are a talented team that needs to get back to the fundamentals.
And start Justin Fields at quarterback.
2021 NFL Power Rankings, Tier 4 | “Break the Walls Down”
There are pieces of these rosters in this tier to break down the walls a la Chris Jericho. Some teams here are thin at positions of importance, while others are clearly a player or two away from competing for anything more than a handful of wins. Either way, with the way the ball bounces sometimes in the NFL, these teams could absolutely shatter expectations with a few lucky bounces.
25) New York Jets
Look, the discussion to this point about Zach Wilson has been to “not overreact to his preseason performance.” That’s not what I’m doing here. What I will do is simply point out that Wilson’s traits from these two performances to date are exactly what we saw last season at BYU.
He’s an incredible passer and has an elite-level NFL arm. But what has separated him so far from other rookie quarterbacks is his command of the offense, specifically, the ability to elevate the players around him. Point being — former disgruntled Tennessee Titans WR Corey Davis has found new life and finally looks like a top-five pick. Wilson has the it factor, and the Jets are on the move.
The loss of Carl Lawson and Conor McDermott, among other injuries, will hold this team back like the defense will as a whole. But like the Chargers last year, the Jets will have hope.
24) Las Vegas Raiders
Fittingly, the nation hasn’t been privy to much of what the Raiders are doing this preseason save for a Twitter announcement of Jon Gruden ending a joint practice early due to a fight. The Raiders have been content with giving Nathan Peterman all their snaps so far this preseason. Eventually, we’ll get our first look at Derek Carr in 2021.
We’ll remain hopeful that the sum of all the parts on Las Vegas’ roster can at least mirror some of the success they found a season ago. But this team will all come down to more than just how well Carr performs. His receivers will need to make plays for him. Josh Jacobs will have to stay healthy. The offensive line will have to prove capable.
This is all to hardly mention their defense. It may be a long road ahead in Vegas.
23) Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals didn’t address a glaring need this past NFL Draft. As such, they’ll stay on a lower tier in these NFL Power Rankings. Ja’Marr Chase can prove to be a valuable addition, especially teamed up with Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and former college teammate Joe Burrow. He’ll have to work off the rust that he showcased with a sluggish Week 2 preseason performance to prove that, though.
Burrow, however, will be running for his life if two preseason games gave us any indication. His offensive line is worrisome, and quite literally, they’d have to break walls down for them to get any higher here.
22) New York Giants
Though I don’t believe in Daniel Jones as the long-term solution for the Giants, New York has a chance to win some games if he can produce even a decent performance. Saquon Barkley’s return to action as one of the league’s top backs will be imperative, as will Kenny Golladay’s continued good health.
The Giants’ defense may be the key in 2021. If they can consistently get pressure on the opposing quarterback, their coverage unit is surprisingly coming together. They’re an interesting team to watch at this spot of our 2021 Power Rankings.
21) Pittsburgh Steelers
The return of a vintage Ben Roethlisberger in their third game of the preseason should make Steelers fans smile. Roethlisberger looked incredible in his return to action and first snaps of the 2021 preseason. Against the Lions, he led a pair of impressive touchdown drives that ended with touchdown tosses to second-round rookie TE Pat Freiermuth.
Big Ben bought time in the pocket, extended plays with his patented elusiveness, and hit receivers downfield with ease. He also hit Pittsburgh’s first pick in RB Najee Harris out of the backfield on a play that showcased what Harris was all about.
The defense has question marks, as does the offensive line. Still, with Roethlisberger back, they’ll always have a chance.
20) Denver Broncos
There is a lot to say about the two-game sample size from both quarterbacks in Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater. Lock looked comfortable in the pocket and demonstrated a big arm. Bridgewater looked just like the veteran he is with multiple smart decisions across the field. How Vic Fangio handles this QB situation will likely go a long way in deciding his ultimate fate with the team.
One thing is for sure: Patrick Surtain is a bonafide star, as evidenced by his interception returned for a touchdown against Minnesota in Week 1.