2026 NFL Preseason Rankings

The NFL season starts tomorrow with a Super Bowl rematch between New England and Seattle. I've analyzed each team's offseason moves, along with their upcoming schedules, to determine where they all rank heading into the new season, and where I expect them to finish. Here are my full preseason rankings, along with my playoff predictions:

				Actual		Proj
Rank	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	Seed
1	2	LA Rams	-16.17			14	3	N1
2	1	Seattle	-13.79			13	4	N5
3	10	Detroit	-10.95			14	3	N2
4	7	Buffalo	-9.51			12	5	A1
5	5	New England	-8.757			12	5	A5
6	6	San Francisco	-8.56			11	6	N6
7	4	Jacksonville	-7.778			11	6	A6
8	3	Houston	-7.452			12	5	A2
9	9	Denver	-4.447			10	7	A4
10	12	Baltimore	-3.913			11	6	A3
11	14	Chicago	-3.768			10	7	N7
12	8	Indianapolis	-3.717			11	6	A7
13	13	Kansas City	-3.648			10	7
14	15	Green Bay	-2.644			9	8
15	23	Dallas	-1.795			9	8
16	11	Philadelphia	-1.27			9	8	N3
17	16	LA Chargers	-0.568			8	9
18	26	Cincinnati	0.0471			10	7
19	18	Pittsburgh	0.396			9	8
20	19	Tampa Bay	2.093			8	9
21	20	Atlanta	2.3792			8	9	N4
22	17	Minnesota	2.7233			7	10
23	28	Washington	4.4289			6	11
24	24	New Orleans	5.9867			7	10
25	22	NY Giants	6.2746			6	11
26	25	Arizona	6.4173			5	12
27	21	Carolina	8.3939			5	12
28	27	Miami	10.141			4	13
29	30	Tennessee	13.669			4	13
30	29	Cleveland	16.659			3	14
31	31	Las Vegas	18.238			2	15
32	32	NY Jets	19.087			2	15

Wild Card

(2) Texans over (7) Colts

(6) Jaguars over (3) Ravens

(5) Patriots over (4) Broncos

(2) Lions over (7) Bears

(6) 49ers over (3) Eagles

(5) Seahawks over (4) Falcons

Divisional

(1) Bills over (6) Jaguars

(2) Texans over (5) Patriots

(1) Rams over (6) 49ers

(5) Seahawks over (2) Lions

Conference

(1) Bills over (2) Texans

(1) Rams over (5) Seahawks

Super Bowl

(1) Rams over (1) Bills

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #67 - Larisa Lazutina

Larisa Lazutina

Russia

Cross Country Skiing

Overall Ranks

#5 among Cross Country Skiers

#4 among Russian Olympians

#2 among Female Russian Olympians

#2 among Russian Cross Country Skiers

Olympic Results

1992

Relay - Gold

1994

Relay - Gold

1998

5 km - Gold

15 km - Silver

30 km - Bronze

Skiathlon - Gold

Relay - Gold

2002

15 km - Silver*

30 km - Gold*

Skiathlon - Silver*

Total

Events - 17

Gold - 6*

Silver - 4*

Bronze - 1

*Medals later rescinded due to failed drug test

Larisa Yevgenyevna Ptitsyna was born on June 1, 1965 in Kondopoga, USSR, which is now part of Russia. She first competed internationally in cross country skiing when she was 18 years old, and won her first World Championship medals in 1987, then won the World Cup in 1990. She made her first Olympic team in 1992, competing for the Unified Team shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

She first competed in the 5 km race in Albertville, and finished in a respectable 7th place out of 62 skiers who finished the race, though she was 19 seconds short of the bronze medalist. The next day was the skiathlon, where they started in the order in which they finished the 5 km, based on how many seconds behind they finished, so Lazutina started 27 seconds after the leaders. She finished 8th in that race, more than a minute and a half behind the gold medalist.

Her next event was the relay, where she was asked to ski the third leg. Russia had fallen behind Norway at the midway point by 9 seconds, but Lazutina was able to overtake the Norwegian skier and handed off with a 2.5 second lead, which was stretched to more than 21 seconds by the end, which earned Lazutina her first Olympic gold.

Her final event was the 30 km, the first time women had competed at that distance in the Olympics. She came in 5th, but there was a gap of over 2 minutes between the medalists and the next group of skiers, which included Lazutina. She won her first individual world championship gold the next year in the 5 km race, just in time for another Olympic Games in 1994.

She was considered one of the favorites in the 15 km race in Lillehammer, but finished in 5th place, 47 seconds behind the medalists. She came in 6th in the 5 km, then moved up to 4th in the skiathlon, but still didn't have an individual medal. She also competed in the relay, running the second leg, where she was handed an 8 second lead, but fell behind Norway during her run, before Lyubov Yegorova took the lead back on the anchor leg and won the gold for Russia.

She won 4 gold medals at the 1995 World Championships, 3 in individual events, and had higher hopes for the 1998 Olympics. She started out with the 15km race, where she was a favorite, and she led almost the entire race, but she was passed on the homestretch by her teammate, Olga Danilova, who won the race by 5.6 seconds, leaving a silver for Lazutina, who was more than 51 seconds ahead of the bronze medalist.

Next she competed in the 5 km race, in the final time it would be contested at the Olympics, and she was expected to win, and she finally came through, winning the gold by 4.8 seconds, her first individual Olympic gold. That gave her a 5-second head start in the skiathlon, and she was able to hold her lead through that entire race, winning by 6.5 seconds to take her second gold of the games.

She skied the anchor leg in the relay that year, and by the time she took off, Russia had a huge lead, which she maintained for her entire leg, giving the Russians a gold medal by 24.5 seconds over the Norwegians. Her final event was the 30 km, where her teammate, Yuliya Chepalova, took the lead early, and led nearly the entire race, while Lazutina skied on her own a good distance behind. In the end, she won the bronze medal, more than a minute behind the silver medalist, but more than a second ahead of 4th place, giving her medals in all 5 events in Nagano.

She returned for her 4th Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City, starting again with the 15 km race. Chepalova had the lead early, then was passed by Stefania Belmondo of Italy, but her pole broke with just over 4 km to go, and Lazutina took the lead at that point. Belmondo got a replacement pole and made a hard push, and was able to pass Lazutina just before the finish, and Lazutina ended up with a silver medal.

In the 10 km, which was now the shortest race, Lazutina was in contention throughout, but ended up falling behind and finishing in 4th place, 12 seconds short of the bronze medal. The skiathlon was next, but was different this time, since the 5km was no longer a separate event. Instead, they held a 5km race to determine the order for the second half of the race, held the same afternoon. Lazutina finished #2 in both halves, taking home another silver medal.

Her final race was the 30 km, which had never been her strongest race, but this time, she took the lead early, and never gave it up, ending up almost 2 minutes ahead at the end as she won her first gold medal of the Salt Lake games. The next year, Olga Danilova, her teammate, was disqualified for using PEDs, and Lazutina moved up to gold in the skiathlon and bronze in the 10 km. Two months later, however, Lazutina was also disqualified for using the exact same substance, forfeiting all of her medals from the 2002 Games.

She was given a 2-year ban for the failed drug test, and decided to retire at that point. She went on to become a sports advisor to Putin after retiring from competition. Even though she was caught cheating, and there is a chance that she wasn't clean in 1998, her 5 medals in those games were very impressive, and she had 11 medals overall briefly, though only 7 are still recognized. Even with all of that, she had a long and strong Olympic career, and was one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #68 - Jenny Thompson

Jenny Thompson

USA

Swimming

Overall Ranks

#22 among American Olympians

#8 among Swimmers

#7 among Female American Olympians

#7 among American Swimmers

#2 among Female American Swimmers

Olympic Results

1992

100m freestyle - Silver

4x100m freestyle relay - Gold

4x100m medley relay - Gold

1996

4x100m freestyle relay - Gold

4x200m freestyle relay - Gold

4x100m medley relay - Gold

2000

100m freestyle - Bronze

4x100m freestyle relay - Gold

4x200m freestyle relay - Gold

4x100m medley relay - Gold

2004

4x100m freestyle relay - Silver

4x100m medley relay - Silver

Total

Events - 17

Gold - 8

Silver - 3

Bronze - 1

Jennifer Beth Thompson was born on February 26, 1973 in Danvers, Massachusetts, and began swimming when she was 7 years old. At age 13, she moved to Dover, New Hampshire for training, and by the time she was 19, she held the world record in both the 50m and 100m freestyle races, just in time for the Barcelona Olympics.

Going into the 100m race in 1992, she was the favorite going into the event, thanks to her world record at the Olympic trials. In the prelim, she set a new Olympic record of 54.69 seconds, but in the final Zhuang Yong of China took the lead early and was able to hold off Thompson clear to the end, winning by 0.2 seconds and beating Thompson's new Olympic record, while leaving her with the silver medal.

She next competed in the 200m freestyle, and she was able to qualify for the B final, but decided not to race in order to focus on other events where she could win a medal. The next day, she swam the anchor leg in the 4x100m freestyle relay final. China took the lead on the first leg behind a great split from Zhuang, with the USA in third, but Dara Torres pulled them into second after her leg. When Thompson entered the pool, China was still ahead, but it was close. Thompson went out and swam the fastest relay leg in history to bring home the gold medal for the Americans, who finished 0.66 seconds ahead of China.

Next up was the 4x100m Medley Relay, where she again swam the freestyle anchor leg in the final. Germany and the Unified Team kept it close through the first half of the race, but the USA pulled away during the butterfly, and then Thompson swam the third-fastest split of all time to bring home another gold in world record time.

Her final event in Barcelona was the 50m, where she was also the world record holder. She won her prelim heat, but in the final, she came in 5th place, which was a major disappointment, but she still left her first Olympics with 2 golds and a silver.

In 1996, she failed to qualify for any of the individual events, but was still added to the Olympic team to compete in relays. In the 4x100m freestyle relay, she again had the honor of swimming the anchor leg in the final, and after Amy Van Dyken gave the USA the lead on the second leg, Thompson put it away at the end, giving the Americans the gold medal by more than a second over China.

In the 4x100m medley relay, Thompson swam the butterfly leg in the prelim, in which America had the bets time, and then they went on to win gold in the final without Thompson, instead using gold medalist Angel Martino in that slot. She also swam the anchor leg in the 4x200m relay final, where she was given a 1.5 second lead, which she held through the finish, as the Americans won the gold medal in world record time, beating the world record set in the prelim by 4.5 seconds.

Over the next three years, she won 3 straight world championships in the 100m freestyle, so she went to Sydney in 2000 expecting big things. She started again with the 4x100m freestyle relay, where she swam the anchor in the final, and stretched a 1.8 second lead to 3.2 seconds to set another Olympic record and win another relay gold.

She then swam in the 100m butterfly, and she won both of her heats to qualify for the final, but in the final, she was never really in contention, finishing 5th, more than 2 seconds behind the winner. She then swam anchor in the 4x200m freestyle relay, and the Americans trailed for most of the final, before Thompson pulled ahead of Australia at the final turn, and ended up winning by 0.7 seconds, again setting an Olympic record.

Next up was the 100m freestyle, where she was 3-time defending world champion, but she came in second in the semifinal round behind eventual gold medalist Inge de Bruijn, and ended up finishing in a tie for 3rd with Dara Torres of the USA for the bronze medal. In the 4x100m medley relay, she swam the butterfly leg in the final, and all 4 Americans had the fastest split for their stroke, and they easily beat Australia by over 3 seconds and set a world record.

She retired after the Olympics to pursue a medical degree, but decided to begin training again in 2002 for a possible Olympic return, and she ended up making the team. For the 4th straight Olympics, she swam the anchor leg in the final of the 4x100m freestyle, but unlike the last three times, she was passed on the final stretch by Jodie Henry of Australia, and the USA had to settle for a silver medal.

She qualified for the final in both the 100m butterfly and the 50m freestyle, but she ended up finishing 5th in the fly and 7th in the freestyle, ending her quest for an individual Olympic gold. She also swam the butterfly leg in the 4x100m medley relay final, where she was again passed during her leg, and the Americans finished with another silver medal. 

She retired again after the Olympics to return to finish medical school, graduating in 2006, and she has worked since then as a pediatric anesthesiologist. Even though she never won individual gold in the Olympics, her 8 gold medals in the relays are a record, and only 1 behind Katie Ledecky for the most golds for an American woman, making her one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #69 - Zhang Yining

Zhang Yining

China

Table Tennis

Overall Ranks

#4 among Chinese Olympians

#4 among Table Tennis Players

#3 among Female Table Tennis Players

Olympic Results

2004

Singles - Gold

Doubles - Gold

2008

Singles - Gold

Team - Gold

Total

Events - 4

Gold - 4

Zhang Yining was born on October 5, 1981 in Beijing, China, and was trained in table tennis from the time she was a child. She first competed in the World Championships in 1999, when she was still 17 years old, and in early 2003, she reached #1 in the world rankings, which she would hold for more than 6.5 years straight.

Her first Olympic appearance came in 2004 in Athens. In the doubles event, she was paired with Wang Nan, who had won gold in 2000 in both the singles and doubles events. They were given a bye to the 4th round as the top seed, then swept their first opponent 4-0 in that round. The next two matches were a little closer, with 4-2 wins over Hong Kong and the other Chinese team, followed by a sweep of the South Koreans in the gold medal match.

In the singles event, Wang was the favorite, since she was defending Olympic champions and 3-time defending world champion. Wang, however, was upset in the quarterfinal round, while Zhang had no trouble with any other her opponents, losing only 2 games in the entire tournament. In the final, against Kim Hyang-Mi of North Korea, she won in a sweep, 44-19 in total points, and only 26 minutes actually spent on the court, making it the most dominant table tennis final in Olympic history.

She won the world championship for the first time in 2005, but came in third in 2007, heading into the 2008 Beijing Olympics. That year, the doubles event was replaced with a team event, in which the Chinese were heavy favorites. They swept their way through the tournament, losing only 4 games out of 49 played, 2 of those coming in the final against Singapore, whose 3 players were all Chinese nationals who had moved to Singapore to play table tennis.

Zhang was the favorite in the singles event, as the defending champion, and she again made easy work of the tournament. She won her first match in a 4-0 sweep, then won each of her next four matches 4 games to 1, including a defeat of Wang Nan in the gold medal match, where Wang won the first game, then Zhang took 4 in a row to take a repeat gold.

Zhang again won the world championship in 2009, then retired to start a family. At her retirement, she was defending World and Olympic champion, and the top-ranked player in the world. She initially indicated that she intended to compete in London in 2012, but that never happened, and she has remained retired. Even with her short Olympic career, she absolutely dominated all 4 events in which she participated, making her one of the greatest Olympians of all time.