NFL Week 1 Power Rankings: Bills Rise, Rams Fall After Record 49.4 PPG — SkimNews
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- Buffalo Bills jumped to No. 1 in the Power Rankings after their 36-31 win over the Texans, with traded-for WR DJ Moore posting five catches for 100 yards including a 43-yard touchdown and drawing a 46-yard pass interference flag in his debut.
- NFL Week 1 averaged 49.4 points per game, tying 2012 for the highest-scoring opening week since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970, per ESPN Research, with the Lions' overtime win over the Saints and the Bills-Texans five-point thriller among the close finishes.
- Baltimore Ravens climbed to No. 3 (from preseason No. 8) behind new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, whose play-action-heavy debut produced the first 300-yard passer (Lamar Jackson), 150-yard receiver (Zay Flowers) and 100-yard rusher (Derrick Henry) game in franchise history.
- Kansas City Chiefs surged to No. 8 (up from preseason No. 13) as free-agent RB Kenneth Walker III posted a career-high 173 rushing yards with a 60-yard fourth-and-inches touchdown and forced 14 missed tackles — the most by a Chiefs player since 2018.
- Chicago Bears rocketed to No. 7 (from preseason No. 12) after a 59-37 rout of the Panthers, with veteran WR Kalif Raymond catching eight of nine targets for 84 yards and a key block on RB Kyle Monangai's 61-yard touchdown in his Ben Johnson-led offense debut.
- Los Angeles Rams tumbled from preseason No. 1 to No. 4 after losing 27-7 to the 49ers, though new CB Trent McDuffie — acquired via a four-draft-pick package — allowed just two receptions for 22 yards on four targets per NFL Next Gen Stats.
Why it matters: The Rams' fall from a unanimous preseason No. 1 to No. 4 after one week shows how volatile early-season rankings can be, while the Ravens' historic offensive trifecta and the Bears' 59-point outburst under new coach Ben Johnson suggest both teams are legitimate postseason threats — and with Baltimore's next seven opponents including five teams that allowed 27-plus points in Week 1, the Doyle-led offense has a clear runway to keep climbing the rankings.
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