NFL

2018 NFL Power Rankings: Pre-Week 1 Edition

Sal Cacciatore  —  @SCacc8 Sep 5th, 2018
The Eagles top our power ratings, but the competition looks to be wide open as we kick off the 2018 season.

Another NFL season is around the corner, and while this is always an exciting time of year, 2018 is shaping up to be especially interesting.

If our power ratings are any indication, this season will be a competitive one that features a solid share of strong teams.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles top our nERD rankings, which measure team strength in terms of points above or below average. Philadelphia is +7.5, less than a point better than Minnesota, which comes in at number two.

Six more teams own a rating that is better than +4.

Last year, these ratings had a very different feel, when New England topped them and was head-and-shoulders above everyone else. The Patriots were nearly five points better than the next best team and only one other team had a rating above +2.6.

Our Super Bowl odds told a similar story, as they gave the Patriots a 17.1% chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and only one other a team a better than 6% chance.

This season, the Eagles have the best odds, but only have a 10% chance of repeating, while seven teams are above the 6% threshold.

Here is how the league breaks down.

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