New England Patriots ranked first in ESPN Football Power Index

ESPN recently released their football power index for the 2018 season. On their list, the New England Patriots came in first.

With the summer coming up, football season is right around the corner for the New England Patriots. After losing the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Patriots certainly have a sour taste in their mouths from the tough loss.

This offseason, the Patriots had to make a lot of moves, as they lost some key players from the 2017 team. However, the Patriots have done a nice job on paper replacing what they lost, and they also addressed some of their needs on the defensive side of the ball that was exposed in the Super Bowl.

Recently, ESPN released their Football Power Index ratings. For the Patriots, they came in ranked first in the NFL. Here is a description of what goes into the rating system for ESPN’s FPI.

Even though the Eagles were able to bring back most of their team, the Patriots were able to have a slight edge on them and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many believed that the Steelers were the main competition to the Patriots in the AFC. However, they suffered a letdown against the Jaguars in the playoffs.

After those three teams, the NFC is well-represented in the Top 10, as they have eight of the ten teams. Like last season, the NFC should be the much better conference, which certainly bodes well for the Patriots’ chances of making it back to the Super Bowl.

For the Eagles, their road to repeat will be a very challenging one. However, they are the top team in the FPI rankings as of now in the NFC, and they certainly have the capability of repeating next season.

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These ratings will certainly change as the season goes one with injuries and such, but it is encouraging to see that the Patriots are ranked so highly. As the season rolls on, we will have to see if the Patriots can hold on to the top spot in the FPI throughout.