NFL Preseason Rankings

The NFL season kicks off in just a few weeks, so I've gone through each team's roster and evaluated all roster changes and used that, in addition to last season's final rankings, to formulate my preseason ratings for each team in the NFL. I have also figured out the odds of each team winning each game, which has also allowed me to predict each team's final record and playoff seeding, as well as which team will win the 2014 Super Bowl. Here are my rankings for each team, with the rating equaling the number of points that a team would have to be given as a head start in order to be on even ground with an average team.

TW. (LW) Team (2012 Record) Rating (2013 Record)
1. (1) Seattle (11-5) -18.51 (14-2)

2. (2) Denver (13-3) -10.37 (13-3)
3. (3) San Francisco (11-4-1) -10.22 (11-5)

4. (7) Chicago (10-6) -6.68 (10-6)
5. (4) New England (12-4) -5.94 (11-5)
6. (12) Washington (10-6) -5.90 (10-6)
7. (9) Atlanta (13-3) -5.58 (10-6)
8. (13) Carolina (7-9) -5.10 (10-6)
9. (5) Green Bay (11-5) -4.295 (9-7)
10. (11) Cincinnati (10-6) -4.286 (10-6)
11. (10) Minnesota (10-6) -3.83 (9-7)

12. (24) Indianapolis (11-5) -2.72 (10-6)
13. (14) New Orleans (7-9) -2.53 (9-7)
14. (6) Baltimore (10-6) -1.83 (9-7)
15. (8) NY Giants (9-7) -1.72 (8-8)
16. (30) Tennessee (6-10) -1.17 (10-6)

17. (22) Detroit (4-12) 0.28 (7-9)

18. (20) Tampa Bay (7-9) 2.17 (7-9)
19. (16) Dallas (8-8) 2.94 (7-9)
20. (23) Arizona (5-11) 3.14 (6-10)
21. (15) Houston (12-4) 3.89 (7-9)

22. (25) Cleveland (5-11) 4.86 (7-9)
23. (21) Miami (7-9) 4.91 (7-9)
24. (18) Pittsburgh (8-8) 5.16 (7-9)
25. (29) Philadelphia (4-12) 5.86 (6-10)
26. (19) San Diego (7-9) 6.41 (7-9)

27. (17) Saint Louis (7-8-1) 7.99 (4-12)

28. (32) Kansas City (2-14) 13.57 (5-11)

29. (27) NY Jets (6-10) 15.31 (4-12)
30. (26) Buffalo (6-10) 15.82 (4-12)

31. (28) Oakland (4-12) 19.00 (3-13)
32. (31) Jacksonville (2-14) 19.57 (3-13)

Playoffs

AFC

1. Denver (13-3)
2. New England (11-5)
3. Cincinnati (10-6)
4. Indianapolis (10-6)
5. Tennessee (10-6)
6. Baltimore (9-7)

Championship

Broncos over Patriots

NFC

1. Seattle (14-2)
2. Chicago (10-6)
3. Washington (10-6)
4. Atlanta (10-6)
5. San Francisco (11-5)
6. Carolina (10-6)

Championship

Seahawks over Bears

Super Bowl

Seahawks over Broncos

Seattle is the team to beat this year, after surprising everyone last year with a playoff berth with a rookie starting quarterback and virtually no playoff experience. This year, with all of their key players returning and a strong season and a couple of playoff games under their belts, the Seahawks should be a force to be reckoned with, and actually have a 10% chance of finishing the regular season undefeated.

Now that Peyton Manning has had a full season to shake off the rust from his neck injury, the Broncos should be considered the team to beat in the AFC. With the addition of Wes Welker, last season's leader in Yards after the Catch, Manning will have plenty of targets to throw to, and their defense will remain as fierce as ever.

This year's surprise team will be the Tennessee Titans, who have decided to make Jake Locker their starting quarterback while upgrading the backup position by bringing in Ryan Fitzpatrick, and already had a strong running game behind Chris Johnson, who rushed for over 2000 yards in 2009. An easier schedule, the result of a last-place finish last year, will help them make it all the way to the playoffs, but they are still a couple steps away from truly contending for the Super Bowl.