1-32 poll, plus offense, defense and special teams rankings

We decided to go beyond the typical numbers in this week’s NFL Power Rankings, using ESPN’s Football Power Index to tell the story of each team. So, the reporters evaluated the offense, defense and special teams FPI rankings of the squads they cover to explain why the teams are where they are in the standings.

Some reporters got to talk about fun things, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ high-powered offense led by the GOAT and the New England Patriots’ stingy defense led by coaching guru Bill Belichick. Other things weren’t nearly as fun to discuss, such as the Houston Texans’ sputtering offense, the New York Jets’ leaky defense and most things Lions and Jaguars. Even others tried to make sense of how the FPI rankings haven’t yet translated into what they suggest, such as the Buffalo Bills’ unimpressive 7-6 record despite every unit ranking in the top seven. It’s a lot, but trust us, it’ll make sense at the end.

How we determine our Power Rankings: Our power panel — a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities — evaluates how teams stack up throughout the season.

Previous rankings: 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Preseason

Jump to:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LV | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

Previous ranking: 3

Offense: 1
Defense: 8
Special teams: 26

The Bucs’ averages of 31.54 points and 410.15 yards per game are the best in the NFL, so their top ranking is warranted, while their defense — decimated by injuries through much of the season — is starting to get healthy at the right time. They’re still giving up 22.85 points per game, which is 19th in the league, but it’s on par with where they were at this time last year (22.6 through Week 14 in 2020). Their rating isn’t great in special teams. Their 81% field goal rate is only 20th in the league, and opponent kick return yardage is 27.54 yards…