NFL Power Rankings 2015, Week 1: Eagles start in the Top 5

Football is back! We're now only two days away from the 2015 NFL regular season opening game on Thursday night. The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the New England Patriots to kick off the new year.

Now that the NFL season is back, so is everyone's most favorite activity: NFL Power Rankings. It's that time of year to see where all 32 teams rank for the first time. For reference, here is a link to 2014's final edition of NFL Power Rankings.

The Philadelphia Eagles will start their season on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.

Let's dive right in.

BLG's WEEK 1 POWER RANKINGS

1) New England Patriots - I wasn't going to put the defending 2015 NFL Super Bowl Champions at the top if they didn't have Tom Brady for the first four games. Fortunately for the Patriots, Brady won't be suspended after all. The Pats might be challenged more this year than they have in recent history. Their AFC East division opponents have improved to some extent. Not to mention New England's starting secondary features Patrick Chung and Bradley Fletcher.

2) Seattle Seahawks - The Seahawks still figure to be pretty good. Their defense is still mostly intact, save for replacing Byron Maxwell with Cary Williams. It's also a little concerning for them that Kam Chancellor is holding out. Seattle is finally dealing with the dilemma of having too many good players and not necessarily being able to afford them all.

3) Green Bay Packers - Aaron Rodgers is the best football player in the universe, so that helps a lot. Losing Jordy Nelson hurts but the Packers should be mostly fine.

4) Denver Broncos - Peyton Manning threw three touchdowns to six interceptions in the last five weeks of the regular season. He only threw for one touchdown in the playoffs. It's hard to completely count out Manning, but one has to wonder about the 39-year-old's durability late in the season.

5) Philadelphia Eagles - After an offseason of crazy changes, the Eagles look like they can be a legitimate contender. The Birds aren't without weaknesses or concerns, but there are plenty of reasons to be encouraged. The offense looks to be improved with the addition of Sam Bradford and a revamped running game. The defense was already stout and now the secondary could be fixed. The Eagles dominated preseason like no team in recent history, outscoring their opponents by 83-17 in the first half. Chip Kelly's Eagles might finally make the leap from "good" to "great" this year.

6) Indianapolis Colts - Andrew Luck is still pretty good and the Colts have been able to bring in some veteran players such as Frank Gore and Andre Johnson to help him out. The Colts might finally have a credible run game. This team's depth is still a concern.

7) Baltimore Ravens - Even Chip Kelly thinks Joe Flacco is ELITE. The Ravens look good in a lot of spots but wide receiver is a question mark. Playing in the competitive AFC North also makes matters difficult.

8) Dallas Cowboys - After going 12-4 last season, I can't help but feel the Cowboys are primed to take a step back. The foundation of the success Dallas had last year was entirely built on the run game. DeMarco Murray's success took pressure off Tony Romo by requiring him to throw less. The Cowboys were able to hide their defense by controlling the clock. Now the Cowboys think they can replace Murray with literally any running back since they have such a great offensive line. Maybe their strategy will work out, but it seems awfully arrogant and risky.

9) Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers offense looks good, but losing Le'Veon Bell (two-game suspension), Martavis Bryant (four-game suspension), and Maurkice Pouncey (injury) could lead to a rough start. Not to mention the defense is still suspect.

10) Cincinnati Bengals - Is this the year Marvin Lewis will finally get a playoff win after being 0-7 in his career? Probably not, but the Bengals usually find some regular season success.

11) Detroit Lions - Jim Caldwell did a surprisingly good job with the Lions last year. Retaining defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was big, but so was losing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley on the defensive line. The good news for Detroit is they might finally have a real running game with the additions of Ameer Abdullah and undrafted rookie standout Zach Zenner.

12) Kansas City Chiefs - After not having a wide receiver score a touchdown all of last season, that will probably change this year thanks to the addition of Jeremy Maclin. Andy Reid's Chiefs still figure to be a good team, but I don't know if they'll ever reach elite territory with Alex Smith at the helm.

13) Miami Dolphins - Ryan Tannehil and the Dolphins benefited from the addition of former Eagles quarterback coach Bill Lazor last year. The Dolphins already had some pieces on defense to work with so getting Suh is big for them.

14) San Diego Chargers - I'm not sure I have a great feel for this Chargers team. I think they're above average, but I'm not sure by how much.

15) Arizona Cardinals - I'm not buying the Cardinals too much despite their 2014 performance. Bruce Arians seems to get way too much credit for offenses that have finished below average in DVOA the past two seasons (23rd in 2014, 20th in 2013). The real strength of Arizona has been their defense and the team lost Todd Bowles this offseason.

16) New Orleans Saints - The Saints' defense finished second to last in DVOA last season. Now the secondary is already banged up to start this year. New Orleans still has Drew Brees but it'll be interesting to see how the offense performs after getting rid of weapons like Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills.

17) Houston Texans - Having J.J. Watt is always a good thing. Houston's defense should still be good. Starting Brian Hoyer and not having Arian Foster for the first month or so will hurt, though.

18) Minnesota Vikings - Getting Adrian Peterson back is obviously huge. Teddy Bridgewater had an encouraging rookie season so it'll be interesting to see what he does for an encore. This could be a team on the rise.

19) Buffalo Bills - The Bills, like the Jets, are another team that some people expect to be improved in 2015. They added Rex Ryan, Percy Harvin, LeSean McCoy, etc. But also like the Jets, it seems people are kind of ignoring the quarterback situation. Tyrod Taylor has apparently had a good summer, but he's far from proven in the regular season.

20) Carolina Panthers - The Panthers' starting wide receivers are Corey Brown and Ted Ginn. No, really. Ron Rivera confirmed that. Sorry, Cam Newton.

21) New York Jets - A lot of people have talked about how the Jets have had a great offseason. The New York defense looks to be improved, but having Ryan Fitzpatrick as your quarterback isn't getting you very far.

22) Atlanta Falcons - Hiring Dan Quinn and drafting Vic Beasley might be the first steps towards trying to fix a defense that ranked dead last in terms of DVOA last season. Atlanta still has some offensive firepower, but they have a long way to go.

23) San Francisco 49ers - The 49ers basically lost everyone this offseason. This might be a little high for them, so don't be surprised to see them fall fast.

24) St. Louis Rams - Nick Foles behind that offensive line? And against those tough NFC West defenses? And without any great offensive weapons? Good luck, Rams.

25) New York Giants - Odell Beckham Jr! Yeah, he's an awesome player. But ... he's just one guy. The rest of the Giants' roster isn't exactly loaded with talent. New York's defense is still highly suspect, especially after the whole Jason Pierre-Paul fiasco. It still feels like the Giants are holding on to the Tom Coughlin era for too long.

26) Chicago Bears - John Fox has his work cut out for him in Chi-town. That Bears defense has been awful. Jay Cutler doesn't exactly inspire confidence, either.

27) Cleveland Browns - The quarterback situation is not good, but what's new in Cleveland?

28) Oakland Raiders - The Raiders are still a long way from being good, but I think they can manage not to be in the bottom three with the development of Derek Carr and the addition of Amari Cooper.

29) Tennessee Titans - Marcus Mariota is going to be pretty good one day. It's still hard to name five other Titans plays on the roster.

30) Jacksonville Jaguars - I'm not buying the idea that the Jaguars are improved until I see it.

31) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jameis Winston might show some promise but his fair share of rookie struggles are expected. I'm not a big Lovie Smith believer.

32) Washington Redskins - What a mess. Something gives me the feeling Scot McCloughan wouldn't mind going 0-16 so that Washington can get a new quarterback in the 2016 NFL Draft.