NFL Preseason 2024 Preview

The longest offseason in major professional sports will be over by the end of the week. Five NFL teams have already opened training camps. Twenty-three more start on Tuesday, and the remaining four kick off Wednesday. We must point out that the Hall of Fame Game between the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears is less than 48 hours away.

As usual, the NFL preseason goes down to 4 weeks, but the first week, will only have a single game, which is going to be taking place this Thursday, and it is the aforementioned match.

After that, we go to next week’s Thursday, where the regular list of games begins, with all the teams getting ready to bring us a solid 16 games per week through August before the First week of the Regular Season Kicks off in September.

The Teams and Current “Power Rankings”

The preseason rankings start where last season’s rankings ended — with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at the top — but there’s been some movement down the line.

The Hall of Fame Game participants, for instance, are among the biggest risers because of one young quarterback who has already proven himself and another who everyone expects to soon.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

The last time the Chiefs failed to make the NFL’s final four, Matthew Stafford was a Lion, Ryan Tannehill was a Dolphin, and Ben Roethlisberger was an active player. That was 2017. Since then, Patrick Mahomes has won 15 playoff games (more than all quarterbacks but Tom Brady and Joe Montana) and never finished a season as a starter short of the AFC Championship Game. 

2. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are the NFL’s narrative busters. Need a top-10 quarterback to compete at the highest level? Nope. San Francisco has gone to two Super Bowls and two more NFC title games with Brock Purdy and Jimmy Garoppolo atquarterback.There are consequences for missing on a top-five quarterback? Not for the Niners.

3. Detroit Lions

The Lions have won more games since Nov. 6, 2022 (22),than they did in the previous 1,769 days (18). These are giddy times in Detroit, and the Lions have responded by throwing cash around, extending quarterback Jared Goff, offensive lineman Penei Sewell, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to big-money deals this offseason.

4. Houston Texans

For most of the NFL’s history, calling a team the Lions of the AFC would have been fighting words. Not anymore. The Texans are the cross-conference counterparts of the Lions, which is to say they are their conference’s best-vibes team.

5. Baltimore Ravens

The 2023 Ravens were the NFL’s best team for long stretches. The 2024 Ravens are something different. Baltimore has added Derrick Henry but lost defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, linebacker Patrick Queen, safety Geno Stone, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, three starting offensive linemen, and about 10 percent of a quarterback.

6. Cleveland Browns

In the first four seasons of Deshaun Watson’s career, he had a passer rating of 104.5, a 2.4 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and was off target on only 6.4 percent of his throws, according to TruMedia. It’s why the Browns sent three first-round picks, a third, and two fourths to the Texans to acquire him.

7. Dallas Cowboys

In the last three seasons, the Cowboys have won 36 regular-season games and one playoff game.Owner Jerry Jones is so fed up that he … did nothing this offseason to improve the team. Head coach Mike McCarthy is back (with a new defensive coordinator — Mike Zimmer, who replaced Dan Quinn).

8. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay was the fourth-youngest playoff team in NFL history last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.In the second half of the season, the Packers’ offense was eighth in the league in scoring (23.7) and fourth in yards per play (6.0), and they won seven of their last 10 games.

9. Buffalo Bills

Only the Chiefs have a longer active streak of double-digit-win seasons than the Bills’ five. Whether Buffalo can continue that streak is one of the league’s most interesting questions.

It lost Diggs, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse, Tyrel Dodson, and Leonard Floyd in the offseason. That means more of the load falls on quarterback Josh Allen, who already carries plenty for the Bills.

10. Philadelphia Eagles

Questions abound in Philly. Will new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s system suit quarterback Jalen Hurts?

How will the offensive line hold up without “the other Kelce,” center Jason who, like his brother Travis, is a future Hall of Famer but, unlike his brother, is not dating Taylor Swift and is now retired? But the biggest question is: What the heck happened last season? 

11. Los Angeles Rams

The Rams won seven of eight to end the regular season and dropped a one-point game to the Lions in the playoffs. In the offseason, they remade their secondary and fortified their offensive line. And just like that, 38-year-old coach Sean McVay is back in the fray in the NFC.

12. Miami Dolphins

Through Week 15 last season, the Dolphins led the NFL with 31.5 points per game. From Week 16 through a wild-card round playoff loss, they were 30th in scoring with 15.5 points per game.

Did defenses figure out the league’s fastest offense? Did injuries catch up to Miami? Was it just that they played better teams down the stretch?

Yes, to all three, but coach Mike McDaniel has had an entire offseason to adjust, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should have lots of motivation to play in the final year of his contract.

13. New York Jets

14. Cincinnati Bengals

15. Chicago Bears

16. Los Angeles Chargers

17. Atlanta Falcons

18. Indianapolis Colts

19. Seattle Seahawks

20. Pittsburg Steelers

21. Jacksonville Jaguars

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

23. Minnesota Vikings

24. Tennesse Titans

25. New Orleans Saints

26. Las Vegas Raiders

27. Washington Commanders

28. New York Giants

29. New England Patriots

30. Arizona Cardinals

31. Denver Broncos

32. Carolina Panthers