Entering the regular season, ranking the NFL teams 1-32:
1. Buffalo: The Bills will have the AFC’s best record thanks to a favorable schedule that includes the mostly-awful NFC North and the overrated AFC North. Josh Allen will win NFL MVP.
2. Kansas City: Make it seven consecutive AFC West titles for the Chiefs, but the power of their division will end their streak of at least 12 wins at four consecutive years.
3. Tampa Bay: Who needs training camp? Evidently, Tom Brady doesn’t. If Mike Evans and Chris Godwin can stay available, the Buccaneers are the class of a watered-down NFC.
4. Green Bay: Unpopular opinion — Aaron Rodgers’ career has been semi-underwhelming for the talent he has. Only one Super Bowl appearance. A 1-4 record in NFC title games. The clock is ticking on No. 12 to win title No. 2.
5. L.A. Rams: Any contending team that goes through a rut this year, take solace. The Rams went 0-3 in November last year … and 8-1 after (including the playoffs).
6. L.A. Chargers: A 29th-place finish in points allowed last year led to the acquisition of pass rusher Khalil Mack and shutdown cornerback J.C. Jackson. Expect noticeable improvement defensively.
7. Cincinnati: Enough of Joe Burrow getting beat up. The Bengals signed center Ted Karras, right guard Alex Cappa and right tackle La’el Collins in the offseason, keeping them atop the AFC North.
8. Dallas: The Cowboys will win their division but go no further because they have zero discipline. They led the league in penalties the last two years and had 17 in their preseason loss to the Broncos.
9. Broncos: Pro football is back to being interesting in Denver. Finally. The trade for quarterback Russell Wilson may not put the Broncos in the Super Bowl conversation, but definitely the playoff chatter.
10. San Francisco: The best way to make quarterback Trey Lance a success? Surround him with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle at receiver and tight end, respectively.
11. Las Vegas: The Raiders haven’t finished inside the top 10 in fewest points allowed since 2006. Yes, they’ll score points, but can new coordinator Patrick Graham turn the defense around?
12. Philadelphia: The Eagles have two 2023 first-round picks and two 2024 second-round picks. Translation: They have the means to trade up for a quarterback if Jalen Hurts doesn’t show progress this year.
13. Arizona: Will the real Cardinals stand up? They were 10-2 last year, but finished the regular season 1-4 and then were blown out in the wild-card round at the Rams. Expect 9-10 wins.
14. Indianapolis: Some team has to win the AFC South. The Colts get the nod because they improved at quarterback (Matt Ryan replaced Carson Wentz) and defensive coordinator (Gus Bradley replaced Matt Eberflus).
15. Tennessee: The Titans had their chance last year when they had AFC home-field advantage, but turtled in their second-round game against Cincinnati.
16. New Orleans: Life starts without coach Sean Payton, who led the Saints through Year 1 of the post-Drew Brees Era. Now it’s up to Dennis Allen to win with defense (fourth and fifth the last two years).
17. New England: The reports from Patriots’ camp weren’t encouraging about an offense that has a promising quarterback (Mac Jones), but the play-calling divided between Joe Judge and Matt Patricia.
18. Baltimore: The Ravens went from 8-3 to out of the playoffs last year. They sunk from second to 19th in points allowed, so new coordinator Mike Macdonald was hired to revitalize the defense.
19. Minnesota: The quicker the Vikings admit they’re rebuilding and shed veteran salaries, the quicker they can start the road back to challenging Green Bay in the division.
20. Cleveland: The Browns knew what they were getting into by trading for quarterback Deshaun Watson. A potential redshirt year … for the entire franchise as Watson serves his suspension.
21. Washington: New nickname, but same old problems. The Commanders were so desperate at quarterback they traded for Carson Wentz. That will backfire.
22. Detroit: The Lions’ last playoff win was in 1991, also their last division title. Expect coach Dan Campbell to lead a good jump from 3-13-1, setting them up for wild card contention in 2023.
23. Pittsburgh: First-round quarterback Kenny Pickett should start right away. Remember, Ben Roethlisberger took over in Week 4 (2004) when Tommy Maddox was injured. That turned out fine.
24. Carolina: Matt Rhule is atop the charts of “First Coach To Be Fired,” and he would immediately be pursued by the college ranks. Christian McCaffrey is the only reason to be interested in the Panthers.
25. Miami: Denver area native Mike McDaniel takes over the Dolphins, who haven’t won a playoff game since the 2000 season. Watching how McDaniel schemes up receiver Tyreek Hill will be fascinating.
26. Seattle: Why didn’t the Seahawks make a play for quarterback Baker Mayfield? Our guess is they want to use this year as a bridge to drafting a quarterback in 2023 (they have two first-round picks).
27. Jacksonville: The free-agent spending champions, the Jaguars (1-15 and 3-14 the last two years) needed to add reinforcements to support second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
28. Atlanta: We’re not sure what the Falcons’ plan is. Enough said.
29. N.Y. Giants: New coach Brian Daboll inherits quarterback Daniel Jones. Get through the season, Coach, and start searching for a replacement.
30. N.Y. Jets: The Jets summed up in two events — they lost left tackle Mekhi Becton for the season in practice and quarterback Zach Wilson injured his knee in the preseason opener.
31. Houston: Lovie Smith is the Texans’ third coach in three years (same for Jacksonville). The floor-to-ceiling rebuild continues this year.
32. Chicago: With the first pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Chicago Bears select …
