2015 NFL Power Rankings: Patriots top preseason ranks

1. team. 47. The Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions and were a heavy favorite for the top spot in the preseason rankings.. (0-0). Previous: . new england patriots

team. 49. The Packers narrowly edged out the defending NFC champion Seahawks for the second place in voting, and expectations are high in Green Bay after reaching NFC Championship Game last season.. (0-0). Previous: . green bay packers. 2

3. team. 36. The Seahawks have been a dominant team in the NFL over the past several seasons, winning a Super Bowl and two-consecutive NFC Championships in the past two seasons. They are however not the NFC favorite heading into the season in the preseason power rankings.. (0-0). Previous: . seattle seahawks

4. team. 46. The Indianapolis Colts have advanced further into the playoffs each year and could finally reach a Super Bowl this season, the gap between the Colts and the top three teams in voting was considerable.. (0-0). Previous: . indianapolis colts

team. 123. The Cowboys fell a couple of points shy of the fourth spot and the Colts, but still eeked their way into the top five in the preseason power rankings.. (0-0). Previous: . dallas cowboys. 5

Previous: . denver broncos. 6. team. 45. Many feel like the Denver Broncos will continue to slide now that quarterback Peyton Manning is another season older. Those expectations were reflected in the voting with a big drop off from the No. 5 Cowboys.. (0-0)

32. With a healthy Carson Palmer back under center, the Cardinals are looking to replicate their dominance from last season and follow that up with a deep post season run. They weren’t far behind the No. 6 Broncos in the rankings.. (0-0). Previous: . arizona cardinals. 7. team

(0-0). Previous: . kansas city chiefs. 8. team. 124. The Chiefs have added some talent and could dethrone the Broncos in the division this season.

(0-0). Previous: . baltimore ravens. 9. team. 26. The Ravens are the top team in the AFC North in our power rankings.

50. The Lions narrowly missed out on the No. 9 spot to the Ravens. The Lions have lost some talented players and depending on their ability to reload, they could struggle to stay in the top 10.. (0-0). Previous: . detroit lions. 10. team

11. team. 54. The Eagles have had an interesting offseason, losing and adding talent in a rather haphazard manner. The Eagles could give the Cowboys a run for their money in the NFC East.. (0-0). Previous: . philadelphia eagles

12. team. 13. The Chargers narrowly came in behind the No. 11 Eagles in voting, the team also competes in a tough AFC West division that could make their road to the playoffs a bit difficult.. (0-0). Previous: . san diego chargers

13. team. 55. The Steelers could be one of the best teams in the NFL offensively, the defensive side of the ball raises question marks however. Still, the voting difference between the No. 11 Eagles and the No. 13 Steelers was tight.. (0-0). Previous: . pittsburgh steelers

Previous: . cincinnati bengals. 14. team. 56. The Bengals seem to always manage to work their way into the playoff picture, and then that is where their success ends. No reason to think they won’t contend for the playoffs again, but postseason success doesn’t seem likely or guaranteed.. (0-0)

59. The Miami Dolphins added some considerable talent defensively this season by signing Ndamukong Suh, but the division as a whole has gotten better and it is unlikely they dethrone the Patriots.. (0-0). Previous: . miami dolphins. 15. team

The NFC South seems to be inconsistent and weak, the Saints are the favorite to win the division in these power rankings. The drop off between the No. 15 Dolphins and No. 16 Saints in voting was considerable.. (0-0). Previous: . new orleans saints. 16. team. 15

team. 16. The Bills have a new head coach and talent on the defensive side of the ball. The offense still seems like a work in progress and could struggle early on.. (0-0). Previous: . buffalo bills. 17

The Vikings weren’t far behind the No. 17 Bills in voting. The Vikings are still a young team that are trying to find their footing but they could be a team that rises in the rankings over the season.. (0-0). Previous: . minnesota vikings. 18. team. 60

(0-0). Previous: . houston texans. 19. team. 10. The Texans will be a dominant defensive team again, but the offense looks questionable with quarterback Brian Hoyer, an injured Arian Foster and no more Andre Johnson.

51. The voting difference between the Rams and the No. 19 Texans was about as tight as it gets. With the 49ers regressing, the Rams could look to contend in the division and finally move out of the bottom spot in the NFC West.. (0-0). Previous: . st. louis rams. 20. team

team. 87. The Carolina Panthers don’t look poised to replicate their incredible season of a couple years back and look like they’ll return to mediocrity in a weak division. Losing Kelvin Benjamin for the season is a big loss as well.. (0-0). Previous: . carolina panthers. 21

31. The New York Giants could be a surprising team in the upcoming season with Odell Beckham Jr at wide receiver, but until we see it come to fruition we’re still cautious when it comes to the Giants.. (0-0). Previous: . new york giants. 22. team

san francisco 49ers. 23. team. 42. The 49ers have been a trainwreck since the Jim Harbaugh era came to an end. Talent has left and the offseason was marred with off-field issues. There days of competing in the NFC West seem long gone.. (0-0). Previous:

atlanta falcons. 24. team. 44. The Atlanta Falcons have never been able to refind their footing. With a healthy wide receiver corps the Falcons could make things interesting in the NFC South.. (0-0). Previous:

Previous: . chicago bears. 25. team. 57. The Bears are one of three teams to finish in a tie in the voting. They have a new head coach and things are optimistic but there is still a lot of work to do in a deep NFC North.. (0-0)

25. team. 30. The Jets have a new coach and brought in some considerable talent on the defensive side of the ball. Their starting quarterback is out with a broken jaw after being punched by a then teammate. It looks like the Jets season will be off to a rough start.. (0-0). Previous: . new york jets

25. team. 28. The Raiders have some young talent at key positions that could help turn this franchise around. They’re not quite there yet however.. (0-0). Previous: . oakland raiders

28. team. 53. The Cleveland Browns are a complete wild card heading into season with some question marks around the team, but could be solid defensively. The Browns finished just behind the three-way tie for 25th in the power rankings.. (0-0). Previous: . cleveland browns

Previous: . tampa bay buccaneers. 29. team. 48. The Buccaneers offense could be surprising, as well as the defense. Still a rookie quarterback sets up some growing pains in a division of veterans.. (0-0)

(0-0). Previous: . jacksonville jaguars. 30. team. 52. The drop off in voting from the No. 29 Buccaneers and the Jaguars was considerable and not close at all. The Jaguars still don’t seem to have enough to turn around this season.

Previous: . tennessee titans. 31. team. 35. The Titans drafted Marcus Mariota and while he is an improvement at quarterback, a lot needs to be done around the team before they contend. THey did however just narrowly finish behind the No. 30 Jaguars in voting.. (0-0)