Fansided

2019 NFL power rankings; Patriots back on top…again

By Russell S. Baxter

FOXBOROUGH, MA - AUGUST 22: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) on the sideline during a preseason game between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers on August 22, 2019, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - AUGUST 22: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) on the sideline during a preseason game between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers on August 22, 2019, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 24: Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts is seen before a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 24: Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts is seen before a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Previous: . Indianapolis Colts. 16. team. 46. . 0-0

Preview: A team that dropped five of its first six contests a year ago would win nine of its final 10 games and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014. But the tone surrounding the Colts changed recently when quarterback Andre Luck – the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2018 – announced he wouldn’t be coming back. That means Jacoby Brissett is now at the helm of an attack that features one of the emerging offensive lines in the league spearheaded by All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson. Running back Marlon Mack, wideout T.Y. Hilton and tight end Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle are play-makers. And thanks to Darius Leonard, the Indianapolis’ defense is on the rise.

Next Week: Reich’s club opens the season with two straight road games, the first a trip to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers. It’s the first meeting between the teams since 2016, when Indianapolis came up with a 26-22 home win in 2016. Including playoffs, the Colts are 1-3 in their last four road games in this series dating back to 2007.

Playoff hopes: The sudden retirement of Luck drops this team down a few notches when it comes to the rankings. But that’s not to say that the Colts can’t emerge as a playoff team when it’s all said and done. Ballard has built a roster that is deeper in many aspects as it has in years’ past. Don’t give up the ship quite yet in Indianapolis.

Green Bay Packers. 15. team. 49. . 0-0. Previous:

Preview: The team enters 2019 with a new head coach (Matt LaFleur) and off consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1990 and ’91. The team is hoping to provide quarterback Aaron Rodgers with a little more balance as no team in the league totaled fewer running plays than the Packers a year ago. The franchise also spent some money in free agency and added much-needed defensive pieces in outside linebackers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith and safety Adrian Amos – the latter via the rival Bears. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect for this team is the fact that the Pack was a combined 1-4-1 vs. the Bears, Vikings and Lions this past season.

Next Week: For the second consecutive year, the Packers and Bears will kick off the season against each other. When the teams last met at Chicago in December (Week 15), Green Bay saw its five-game winning streak in the series come to an end, 24-17. The Pack is 15-3 in the last 18 meetings (including playoffs) dating back to the 2010.

Playoff hopes: The Packers have assembled a good defensive unit on paper. Now the proof comes when the team takes the field at Soldier Field against the defending NFC North champions, a real acid test for LaFleur. The team must also prove it can establish a ground game this year. This is a club more than capable of a bounce back season.

Next: Nos. 14 and 13