NFL power rankings: Rams open season 6th, one of 3 NFC West teams in top 10

The Rams are slotted at No. 6 in USA TODAY’s Week 1 power rankings, one of three NFC West teams in the top 10.

With the arrival of Week 1 comes the first release of regular-season power rankings across the internet. All offseason, the Rams have been widely ranked in the top 10 after acquiring Matthew Stafford, with several analysts picking them to win the Super Bowl.

Nate Davis of USA TODAY released his Week 1 power rankings on Tuesday and he’s fairly high on the Rams, too. He ranked them sixth in this week’s poll, one spot behind the Bills and one place ahead of the Titans.

The Rams are one of three NFC West teams in the top 10, with the 49ers (9) and Seahawks (10) being the other two.

6. Rams (6): They have concerning holes on last year’s top-ranked defense and won’t have No. 1 RB Cam Akers(Achilles). But the arrival of QB Matthew Stafford, who remained under wraps in preseason, continues to fuel Super Bowl aspirations … even though he’s never won a playoff game.

There are certainly concerns about the Rams this season, from Akers’ absence to Brian Allen’s play at center to a defense that’s no longer led by Brandon Staley. But the arrival of Stafford changes things dramatically for Los Angeles, likely making the offense significantly better than it was with Jared Goff under center.

It helps that Raheem Morris still has Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey at his disposal on defense, so this isn’t a unit that should fall off very much from the No. 1 spot, if at all. The Rams are more than capable of winning it all this year, and if they do, it will be with Super Bowl LVI being played at SoFi Stadium.

[vertical-gallery id=651916]