The 2024 NFL schedule was released on Wednesday night, so it’s a perfect time to assess the league as a whole.
In this week’s edition of Pro Football Network’s NFL Power Rankings, let’s stack every team in the league from the worst to the best. We’ll also examine the must-watch game on every NFL team’s 2024 schedule.
Check out Pro Football Network’s free NFL Season and Playoff predictor and simulate the 2024 campaign for yourself.
NFL Power Rankings After the 2024 Schedule Release
32) Carolina Panthers
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 10 vs. NYG (Germany)
The 2024 International Series will conclude in November with this Munich, Germany matchup between the Panthers and Giants. By this point in the season, first-year Carolina HC Dave Canales might have formed a solid opinion on former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.
If Young can’t produce against a below-average New York defense, he probably won’t fare too well against his next opponents — the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys — all of whom should field playmaking defenses.
31) New York Giants
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 4 vs. Dallas Cowboys (SNF)
The end of the Giants’ 2024 season might not be very pretty, but Week 4 is still early enough for Daniel Jones and Co. to have hope. Rookie wideout Malik Nabers will make his prime-time debut against the division-rival Cowboys. Can he create explosive plays against standout Dallas CBs DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs?
30) Denver Broncos
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 2 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Yes, Denver’s game against the New York Jets will give us Sean Payton vs. Nathaniel Hackett and a Zach Wilson revenge game. But Payton already faced Hackett and the Jets in 2023, while Wilson won’t be playing unless Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix is injured.
How about a real revenge game? Russell Wilson returns to Denver in Week 2, staring down the team that benched and released him this past year.
29) New England Patriots
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 16 at Buffalo Bills
The Patriots have the NFL’s hardest schedule in 2024, so they could theoretically wait a while before inserting rookie QB Drake Maye. Still, Maye should usurp veteran Jacoby Brissett by the New England faces Buffalo for the first time in late December. The Pats hope this Week 16 matchup is the first of many classic battles between Maye and Josh Allen.
28) Washington Commanders
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 8 vs. Chicago Bears
Even if this game doesn’t mean anything in the standings, it should pit Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick in the draft, against Caleb Williams, who went first overall. This could be our first look at the next era of elite NFL quarterbacks.
27) Arizona Cardinals
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 1 at Buffalo Bills
Can the Cardinals be a dark-horse contender in 2024? Week 1 might give us an idea. Kyler Murray looked comfortable in Arizona’s new offense after returning from a torn ACL in 2023; now he has WR Marvin Harrison Jr. at his disposal. If the Cards can hold up against a team like the Bills, they might have a chance this year.
26) Las Vegas Raiders
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 8 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Raiders beat the Chiefs in Week 16, while head coach Antonio Pierce hopes to institute a set of “Mahomes Rules” to take down Kansas City in 2024. Las Vegas didn’t upgrade at QB in the draft, so the club will lean on either Gardner Minshew II or Aidan O’Connell this season. Can either signal-caller guide the Raiders to another win against Patrick Mahomes?
25) Tennessee Titans
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 4 at Miami Dolphins (MNF)
The Titans forged a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Dolphins in a Week 14 MNF game in 2023. They’ll face Miami much earlier this season, but Miami should be a solid test for Will Levis and a revamped Tennessee roster.
24) New Orleans Saints
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 7 vs. Denver Broncos (TNF)
The Saints face Payton, their former longtime head coach, for the first time since he left New Orleans following the 2022 campaign. Dennis Allen has gone 18-18 since, straddling the line between competence and irrelevance while failing to make the playoffs.
23) Pittsburgh Steelers
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 18 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Steelers have snuck into the postseason in two of the past three years, but it took them until the final week of the season to secure a Wild Card slot in both campaigns. If history holds in 2024, Pittsburgh’s finale against the Bengals could be critical. Who will be under center for the Steelers: Russell Wilson or Justin Fields?
MORE: Predicting the 2024 NFL Playoffs
22) Los Angeles Chargers
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 12 vs. Baltimore Ravens (MNF)
The Harbaugh Bowl! While this November game problem won’t live up to Super Bowl 47 (the only other time Jim and John Harbaugh have faced each other in the NFL), the NFL clearly thought enough of this Week 12 matchup to put it on Monday Night Football.
21) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 5 at Atlanta Falcons (TNF)
While the Bucs have won the last three NFC South titles, they’ve won nine or fewer games in each of the previous two years. The Falcons should emerge as a legitimate contender for the division crown now that Kirk Cousins is under center. This Thursday night battle should serve as a good test of where Tampa Bay and Atlanta stand.
20) Seattle Seahawks
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 1 vs. Denver Broncos
This intraconference game probably won’t mean anything in the standings, but we’re fascinated by what the Seahawks will look like in 2023.
How will the Mike Macdonald defense work with Seattle’s existing talent? What does new OC Ryan Grubb’s offense look like? Week 1 should tell us a lot.
19) Minnesota Vikings
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 15 vs. Chicago Bears (MNF)
Even if Sam Darnold begins the year as the Vikings’ starting quarterback, he’d have to play the best football of his career to hold off first-round pick J.J. McCarthy into Week 15. Assuming McCarthy is in the lineup, we’ll get what could be our first look at the Michigan product vs. the Bears’ Williams, who he could contend with for the next decade.
18) Indianapolis Colts
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 11 at New York Jets (SNF)
Anthony Richardson admittedly had trouble staying healthy in his rookie season. But if he can deliver on the altering promise that made him the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft, the NFL might regret giving the Colts only one prime-time game. As it is, Indy’s Week 11 matchup against a dominant Jets defense could be Richardson’s coming-out party.
17) Atlanta Falcons
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 3 vs. Kansas City Chiefs (SNF)
Cousins’ return to Minnesota in Week 14 is tantalizing, but we’re curious to see how the new-look Falcons stack up against the league’s best. A Week 2 game against the Philadelphia Eagles will give us an idea, but there’s nothing like facing Mahomes and Co. If Atlanta can compete with Kansas City in Week 3, we’ll have a real contender on our hands.
16) Cleveland Browns
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 9 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
While we’re excited to see how Myles Garrett fares against rookie Dallas Cowboys OT Tyler Guyton in Week 1, we can’t get the idea of the Browns’ midseason matchup against the Chargers out of mind.
Cleveland and Los Angeles have given us instant classics in two of the past three years: a 47-32 Chargers win in 2021 and a 30-28 Bolts victory in 2022. Can the Browns get their revenge in another back-and-forth affair in 2024?
15) Chicago Bears
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 1 vs. Tennessee Titans
The Bears have games against better teams or matchups in prime time elsewhere on their schedule — but we’re all waiting to get a look at Williams, right? The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft will make his debut at home against the Titans. Will it be fireworks from Day 1, or will Williams experience growing pains?
MORE: 7 Revenge Games That Will Be Must-See TV in 2024
14) Jacksonville Jaguars
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 18 at Indianapolis Colts
The AFC South figures to come down to the wire again in 2024. The Jaguars collapsed down the stretch last season, losing five of their final six games while Trevor Lawrence battled through myriad injuries. With a close division on tap next year, Jacksonville’s season finale against the Colts — who might also be improved — might be monumental.
13) Dallas Cowboys
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 8 at San Francisco 49ers (SNF)
Can Dak Prescott get past the 49ers? Dallas has lost three straight games to San Francisco, including a 42-10 rout in Oct. 2023 and a 19-12 loss in the previous year’s NFC Divisional Round.
Prescott, head coach Mike McCarthy, and the rest of the Cowboys organization have a ton riding on 2024. Can they finally beat the NFC’s big bad wolf?
12) Miami Dolphins
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 13 at Green Bay Packers (Thanksgiving)
We’ll close out the Thanksgiving holiday with a potential barnburner in Dolphins-Packers. Assuming you can fight off the tryptophan to stay awake, you’ll probably see plenty of points on the board. Will pending free agents Tua Tagovailoa or Jordan Love have signed an extension by Week 13?
11) New York Jets
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 1 at San Francisco 49ers (MNF)
This one’s pretty easy. Aaron Rodgers’ return? Against the reigning NFC champions? In prime time? Sign us up. Putting Rodgers back on Monday night has to be triggering for Jets fans after what happened in last season’s MNF debut, but this should be an outstanding season-opening matchup.
10) Los Angeles Rams
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 1 at Detroit Lions (SNF)
Matthew Stafford will get another chance to knock off his former team after the Rams suffered a one-point loss to the Lions in the NFC Wild Card Round. Two of the NFL’s best offenses will collide and lead to plenty of points — especially now that Los Angeles no longer boasts future Hall of Fame DT Aaron Donald.
9) Buffalo Bills
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 11 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Allen and Mahomes have faced each other seven times over the past four seasons. The Chiefs have won four of those games, including three in the playoffs. This Week 11 matchup — a late afternoon kickoff — could have No. 1 seed implications in the AFC.
8) Green Bay Packers
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 14 at Detroit Lions (TNF)
The Packers kept their postseason hopes alive with a Week 12, Thursday night win over the Lions in 2023. Their TNF matchup against Detroit is two weeks later this year and could determine the winner of the NFC North. This game will be the second of four straight standalone contests for Green Bay.
7) Baltimore Ravens
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 1 vs. Kansas City Chiefs (season opener)
MVP vs. MVP — plus a rematch of last year’s AFC title game. Ravens vs. Chiefs is everything you could ask for in a season opener. Lamar Jackson trying to get over the hump against Mahomes, Derrick Henry making his Ravens debut, Hollywood Brown’s revenge game — the storylines are endless.
6) Houston Texans
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 11 at Dallas Cowboys (MNF)
It’s an all-Texas matchup — and both teams should have a lot on the line. C.J. Stroud and the Texans will be trying to defend their AFC South title, while Prescott and the Cowboys could be battling the Eagles for NFC East supremacy.
This game will conclude a brutal five-game stretch for Houston that also includes games against the Packers, Colts, Jets, and Lions.
5) Detroit Lions
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 15 at San Francisco 49ers (MNF)
While the Lions posted a storybook season in 2023, their NFC title game loss to the 49ers was a nightmare. Detroit blew a 17-point halftime lead, eventually watching San Francisco walk away with a 34-31 victory. Can Jared Goff, now the NFL’s second-highest-paid quarterback, exact his revenge in a Week 15 road game under the lights?
4) Cincinnati Bengals
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 2 at Kansas City Chiefs
Joe Burrow and Tom Brady are still the only NFL quarterbacks who have beaten Mahomes in the playoffs. Burrow, who didn’t get to play in last year’s Bengals vs. Chiefs game due to a wrist injury, usually faces Mahomes near the end of the year. A Week 2 game means Cincinnati must avoid its recent early-season lull.
3) Philadelphia Eagles
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 1 vs. Green Bay Packers (Brazil)
The Eagles will be the home team for the NFL’s first-ever game in South America, a Friday night contest against the Packers in São Paulo. Philadelphia is hoping to rebound from its end-of-season collapse in 2023. They’ll have to beat one of the conference’s ascending clubs to start the year on the right foot.
KEEP READING: How Does the NFL Schedule Get Made?
2) San Francisco 49ers
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 13 at Buffalo Bills (SNF)
We’ve already discussed several other must-see 49ers games, but we’ve left out their lat-season matchup against Allen and the Bills. Allen and Brock Purdy have never faced each other and won’t for four more years (barring a Super Bowl matchup), so we’re thankful this is a standalone game.
1) Kansas City Chiefs
2024 Must-Watch Game: Week 7 at San Francisco 49ers
The game everyone will be waiting for. A rematch of Super Bowls 54 and 58, the Chiefs at the 49ers will have a lot to live up to. The last time these two teams played, the Super Bowl nearly went to double overtime. Let’s hope this Week 7 matchup is just as thrilling.
