We at the NFL Power Rankings have some good news and some bad news.
The bad news? The NFL season is over.
The good news? We were right about the Seattle Seahawks, who ended the regular season as the top team in our rankings and ended the playoffs as Super Bowl champions.
There has been some shuffling in the standings after that, though. Let’s dig in.
1. Seattle Seahawks (17-3)
Last ranking: 1
The takeaway: Defense is back!
This may be an exaggeration overall, but every game the Seahawks played this season against anyone but the Los Angeles Rams should have come with a parental warning for violence. Seattle led the league in both points allowed (17.2 per game) and defensive EPA (12.5 per 100 snaps), according to TruMedia. Against everyone but the Rams, those numbers improved to 15.6 and 15.
2. Los Angeles Rams (14-6)
Last ranking: 6
The takeaway: The real runners-up
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the games that the Rams and Seahawks gave us this year. Seattle won two of three, and every game was a banger. The aggregate score was 88-85 in favor of the Seahawks. None of the games was decided by more than four points, and the games featured 10 lead changes. League MVP Matthew Stafford says he’s coming back next year, so expect both of his games against Seattle next year to be in prime time.
3. New England Patriots (17-4)
Last ranking: 2
The takeaway: A surprisingly uncomfortable offseason awaits
The Patriots ended the regular season ahead of schedule and looking like another dynasty was in the offing, but their offensive line and young quarterback were so bad in the playoffs that their fans won’t feel great, even after reaching the Super Bowl. New England, which had the easiest regular-season schedule in the league this season, averaged 13 points per game in the playoffs. Drake Maye’s EPA per dropback in the Super Bowl (minus-0.34) was the sixth worst since 2000.
4. Denver Broncos (15-4)
Last ranking: 4
The takeaway: Couples counseling awaits
The Broncos were the AFC’s top seed and reached the AFC Championship Game, but their head coach and quarterback still aren’t on the same page. After Sean Payton said the ankle injury that ended Bo Nix’s season in the divisional round was “predisposed,” Nix got a little cranky, saying on a conference call that it wasn’t. “I don’t think he really should share how many surgeries I’ve had in the past, to be honest with you,” he said. “He doesn’t even really know that.”
5. San Francisco 49ers (13-6)
Last ranking: 7
The takeaway: The 2025 NFC West was unfair
The 49ers won 12 games in the regular season and finished ninth in the league in scoring margin (plus-66), but they finished what now feels like a distant third in their own division. The offseason conversation will be about backup quarterback Mac Jones and whether San Francisco will get some help in 2026 by trading him.
6. Buffalo Bills (13-6)
Last ranking: 8
The takeaway: It’s Josh Allen’s show now
And that’s probably the way it should be. When the Bills fired Sean McDermott, the Buffalo head coaching job immediately became the most coveted in the league because of its star quarterback. Ultimately, the gig went to Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady thanks to what is believed to be heavy input from Allen. Now Allen has to carry Brady and a subpar defense over the finish line.
7. Chicago Bears (12-7)
Last ranking: 9
The takeaway: The offensive line still matters
The Bears’ signing of Drew Dalman and trades for Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson were the second-most impactful offseason additions behind only New England’s huge haul in free agency. It led to a resurgent season for quarterback Caleb Williams and Chicago’s first playoff win in 15 years. This team might be a summer sleeper.
8. Houston Texans (13-6)
Last ranking: 5
The takeaway: There’s a C.J. Stroud issue
The Texans probably thought after Stroud’s rookie season that this would be the offseason they would start working on a mega-extension for their young quarterback. But the last two seasons have raised a lot of questions. In that time, Stroud is 25th in the league in EPA per dropback (0.01), and he threw four interceptions in a 28-16 divisional-round playoff loss to the Patriots. That defense is really good, though.
Parker Washington and the Jaguars lost to the Bills in the playoffs, but they should be contenders again in 2026. (Mike Carlson / Getty Images)
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (13-5)
Last ranking: 3
The takeaway: You’re going to hear about them a lot
Jacksonville won its last eight regular-season games before being bounced from the playoffs in a three-point loss to Buffalo. Including the postseason, this team had the fourth-best point margin in the league this season (plus-135).
10. Philadelphia Eagles (11-7)
Last ranking: 10
The takeaway: The offense has to prove it
After finishing 19th in the NFL in offensive EPA (minus-6.93), the Eagles replaced offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo with Sean Mannion. But the bigger news may be the voluntary departure of Jeff Stoutland, who is widely considered to be one of the top offensive-line coaches in the league. If Philadelphia doesn’t bounce back in 2026, head coach Nick Sirianni could be the next departure.
11. Green Bay Packers (9-8)
Last ranking: 13
The takeaway: Micah Parsons and Tucker Kraft will be back
Sometimes a team’s fate boils down to injury luck. Without their most important defensive player and maybe their third-most important offensive player, the Packers lost five straight to end the season, including a four-point playoff loss to the Bears. Better health and a new defensive coordinator (Jonathan Gannon) might be all they need in 2026.
12. Los Angeles Chargers (11-7)
Last ranking: 11
The takeaway: The Justin Herbert playoff thing is real
The Chargers quarterback was 19-of-31 for 159 yards in a 16-3 wild-card playoff loss to the Patriots. Since Herbert joined the league in 2020, he is 34th among playoff quarterbacks in postseason EPA (minus-0.21). In three career postseason games, he has four interceptions and two touchdowns.
13. Carolina Panthers (8-10)
Last ranking: 18
The takeaway: Maybe they aren’t frauds
The Panthers backed into the playoffs as NFC South champions despite a losing record, but they gave the Rams a fight in the first round before falling 34-31. Carolina has as much momentum as any team in its moribund division and has the added boost of knowing Luke Kuechly is set to become the second-youngest Hall of Famer ever.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-8)
Last ranking: 12
The takeaway: Mike McCarthy is already on the hot seat
Pittsburgh wins the offseason award for Most Uninspired Head Coaching Hire. After hiring three straight young coaches who each kept the job for at least 15 years, the Steelers brought in a 62-year-old Pittsburgh native who has one playoff win since 2016.
15. Baltimore Ravens (8-9)
Last ranking: 14
The takeaway: The Jesse Minter expectations are huge
Baltimore’s new head coach will be expected to be the next Mike Macdonald right away. Another young defensive play caller, the 42-year-old Minter is just the Ravens’ third coach since 1998. If offensive coordinator Declan Doyle can bring some of the Ben Johnson magic, Minter might stick around a while, too.
Despite struggling down the stretch in 2025, the Lions should be a popular playoff pick next fall. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
16. Detroit Lions (9-8)
Last ranking: 15
The takeaway: They should join the AFC
The Lions lost four of their last six to fall out of the playoff race, but this wasn’t a bad team. Detroit was eighth in the league in point differential (plus-68) and has most of its key players under contract for 2026. The Lions will be a popular pick to return to the postseason.
17. Minnesota Vikings (9-8)
Last ranking: 16
The takeaway: Cracks are showing
For three seasons, Kevin O’Connell was widely considered one of the NFL’s top coaches. The Vikings won 13 games with a healthy Kirk Cousins in 2022, then, after jettisoning Cousins, won 14 games with Sam Darnold in 2024. Then O’Connell and the Vikings turned to J.J. McCarthy in 2025, and what followed was a 9-8 season that ended with the messy firing of general manager Kwesi Odofo-Mensah. Suddenly, the spotlight on O’Connell is bright.
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)
Last ranking: 17
The takeaway: Baker Mayfield has more motivation
Sure, he might have invented it, but that approach has worked for him throughout his career. Mayfield took an online swipe at new Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski in January because of the way their relationship ended in Cleveland, and the Buccaneers then hired former Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. The Bucs-Falcons games could be feisty this season.
19. Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
Last ranking: 19
The takeaway: Keeping Shane Steichen was a good call
The Colts’ historic collapse (losing seven straight after an 8-2 start) put the head coach’s job in jeopardy, but Indianapolis probably was better off not being in a head coaching hiring cycle that included 10 other openings. If the Colts can bring Daniel Jones back with a new deal or a franchise tag, they could be back in the mix.
20. Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
Last ranking: 20
The takeaway: Matt Ryan has a tough job ahead
The Falcons hired their all-time leading passer as their new president of football and basically waved their collective hands around and said, “Fix all this.” Ryan hired Kevin Stefanski as head coach and Ian Cunningham as general manager, but will retain final say on all football matters. He has promised to use that power judiciously, but his first big decision already looms after rookie pass rusher James Pearce Jr. was arrested last week following a domestic dispute. The Falcons have to let the legal process play out and then see what punishment the league might hand out, but Ryan could decide to take a hard line himself on the issue.
21. Dallas Cowboys (7-9-1)
Last ranking: 21
The takeaway: They’re still not relevant, and it’s sad
Brian Schottenheimer wasn’t bad (surprisingly?) in his first season as head coach, but he couldn’t do what Mike McCarthy and Jason Garrett and Wade Phillips and Bill Parcells and, well, you get it, couldn’t do before him: make this team meaningful again. Dallas has five playoff wins and zero conference title game appearances since 1995.
22. Miami Dolphins (7-10)
Last ranking: 22
The takeaway: This probably wasn’t the plan
Jeff Hafley is a strong candidate, but the Dolphins probably didn’t wait a week to fire Mike McDaniel to get into the Jeff Hafley Sweepstakes. McDaniel was fired two days after John Harbaugh, but Harbaugh went to the New York Giants. Now Hafley has to figure out what in the world to do with Tua Tagovailoa. (Cutting Tagovailoa this offseason could cost $99 million in dead money.)
23. Cincinnati Bengals (6-11)
Last ranking: 23
The takeaway: Joe Burrow has had enough time off
The Bengals quarterback still gets mentioned among the game’s elite, but his team hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2022. Burrow has been dealing with injuries and a bad defense for most of that time, but this is the guy who once said his team’s Super Bowl window would always be open while he was playing. It’s time for him to remind everyone why.
Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees will be a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
24. New Orleans Saints (6-11)
Last ranking: 24
The takeaway: Drew Brees should get two gold jackets
The former Saints quarterback was voted into the Hall of Fame last week, which was a no-brainer considering he performed a magic trick by winning a Super Bowl in New Orleans. The Saints are 36-49 and haven’t made the playoffs in the five years since he retired. They finished 24th in the league in point differential (minus-77) despite some bright moments this fall.
25. Kansas City Chiefs (6-11)
Last ranking: 25
The takeaway: It’s all about Patrick Mahomes
We already knew that, but this offseason, it’s all about his health. With Mahomes back, the Chiefs immediately become AFC contenders again despite this season’s struggles. Heck, they might become the AFC favorites after watching the playoff performances from the rest of the conference.
26. Cleveland Browns (5-12)
Last ranking: 26
The takeaway: The coaching search was weird
It’s a shock, right? The Browns didn’t get to this spot in the power rankings, where they seem to have permanent residence, by being a well-run organization. After firing Kevin Stefanski and immediately making him one of the hottest candidates in the hiring cycle, they hired Todd Monken and made defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz so mad that he quit. A return to prominence feels unlikely.
27. Washington Commanders (5-12)
Last ranking: 27
The takeaway: It’s all on Jayden Daniels’ arm
This is not a particularly nuanced analysis, but nothing else matters nearly as much as how Daniels bounces back from an injury-plagued season. When Daniels was great in 2024, the Commanders were contenders. When he was not in 2025, they weren’t even average.
28. New York Giants (4-13)
Last ranking: 28
The takeaway: John Harbaugh is the captain now
General manager Joe Schoen will answer to the new head coach. That much was clear after Harbaugh’s protracted negotiations with the Giants. That’s probably a good thing for a team with just one playoff win since 2011, but the offseason did not scream “Kumbaya.” Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo have a lot of weight on their shoulders entering 2026.
29. Arizona Cardinals (3-14)
Last ranking: 29
The takeaway: There’s not a lot of imagination
Maybe hiring another Rams assistant (not to mention another LaFleur) will work out great, but Arizona had a chance to shake things up — something desperately needed in the desert — and it did not. Instead, the Cardinals hired Los Angeles offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and dumped the Kyler Murray contract into his lap. We’ll see how it works out.
30. Tennessee Titans (3-14)
Last ranking: 30
The takeaway: They’re betting on the sequel
Tennessee hired Robert Saleh as head coach to bring back the type of professional environment they had under former coach Mike Vrabel. Saleh was 20-36 in four years with the Jets, but he does have a strong “leader of men” vibe. Maybe those vibes, and continued development from quarterback Cam Ward, will be enough.
31. Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)
Last ranking: 31
The takeaway: There’s optimism again … somehow
It was only 12 months ago that we were wondering if Pete Carroll and Geno Smith might be able to jump-start this franchise. Carroll has been fired, and Smith is about to be replaced by Fernando Mendoza, the Indiana quarterback the Raiders are expected to take with the No. 1 pick. We’re not falling for this again, are we?
32. New York Jets (3-14)
Last ranking: 32
The takeaway: There might not be a plan
The Jets decided to keep Aaron Glenn despite a 3-14 record in his first season, so Glenn then presided over the most protracted coaching staff restructuring in recent memory. Frank Reich — yep, that Frank Reich — is now the offensive coordinator. Brian Duker is now the defensive coordinator, although Glenn is expected to call the defense.