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USA TODAY’s Nate Davis has Week 1 power rankings. The Cardinals rank higher than many would expect.
Week 1 has begun and the first round of games for the 2025 NFL season starts Thursday. The Arizona Cardinals play on Sunday on the road against the New Orleans Saints.
With the start of Week 1, we have our first power rankings of the regular season, and you might be surprised where the Cardinals land.
USA TODAY’s Nate Davis has the Cardinals nearly in the top 10, coming in at No. 11 overall.
Cardinals ranked 11th in Week 1 power rankings
They moved up one spot from the last rankings Davis did.
A 5-2 start coming out of a Week 8 bye seems quite reasonable for a team that struggled to get out of the blocks during its first two seasons under coach Jonathan Gannon. It might also be enough to distinguish the Cards in what appears to be a tightly packed NFC West.
The Philadelphia Eagles, as the defending champs, sit atop the rankings. Looking at the NFC, following the Eagles are the Green Bay Packers (No. 4), Los Angeles Rams (No. 6), Washington Commanders (No. 7) and the Detroit Lions (No. 9) ahead of the Cardinals.
Based on that, Davis views the Cardinals as the second-best team in the NFC West and the sixth-best in the conference, which would mean making the playoffs.
Of course, the Cardinals have to prove it. They do have a light early schedule. They play relatively weak conferences in the NFC South and AFC South.
But while most other analysts outside Arizona see the Cardinals as a team with potential but not quite good enough to project as a playoff team, it is good to see there are some who see what their potential could be.
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