What’s up everyone! I decided to post the 18 teams that failed to make the postseason or already booked their trip for Cabo, the Caribbeans, or wherever. Yes, I see you already planned it Raiders, Jets, and Browns! However, some of these teams on this list should be optimistic for next season. I’m talking Giants, Vikings, Titans, Falcons, and maybe Cowboys, but only if Jerry Jones takes a season off and travels to the moon or something. The offseason will be good for some while not for others like the Ravens, Bengals, Tua Tagovailoa, Kyler Murray, and Deshaun Watson. All will be sorted out post-Super Bowl, and we’ll all wonder where everyone will end up and how everything will work out. What I want to see is the Saints getting themselves out of cap space hell. They just need one positive thing this offseason before we all consider them an NFC South threat. Alright, I’m done babbling about hypothetic situations (or not).

32) NEW YORK JETS

New York did a fire sale by getting rid of Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams to tear down the roster and rebuild. I heard this line before from the Jets and they still have yet to take off. They haven’t seen the postseason since 2010 in Rex Ryan’s era. New York hasn’t had a winning season since 2015 (10-6 record) in which they still haven’t made the postseason with that record. And for about a decade now, they haven’t won more than seven games in a season in that span and only won seven games three times.

31) LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

Vegas has some potential on their roster. However, what could be done to help with that potential? Drafting and signing free agents on both sides of the trenches. Maxximum Crosby needing all the help to stave off double teams, or trading Crosby to add more draft capital and/or important player to build off of. A quarterback needs better protection help and running backs need an O-line that can create holes to run through. Until that’s solved, they’re stagnant no matter what they do.

30) ARIZONA CARDINALS

Arizona can play. Arizona can compete. However, Arizona can’t win. Arizona can’t stay healthy. Arizona needs answers. Arizona also lost their coach. The conversation is also the quarterback position. It seems more likely that they’re better off with Jacoby Brissett or someone other than Kyler Murray. Do they move on from him? That’s the big question. His future is bleak and that conversation will carry through the offseason.

29) TENNESSEE TITANS

Tennessee has potential, and that potential is Cam Ward. Despite the losses and the amount of hits he took (and God that shoulder injury…), this kid is an NFL quarterback. What Tennessee must do is build around Ward, find a new coach, and see what must be done about their defense for the future. This puts them in a four-way battle with the AFC South, which could make for an interesting 2026 season.

28) NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

I figured the Saints were better than their record shows. Don’t get me wrong. They’re still a bad team, but they showed competitiveness with the talent and veterans they worked with while running the worst cap space consistency in the NFL. If they can clean that up, maybe New Orleans can take a step forward in the worst (and most hilarious) division in recent NFL history.

27) CLEVELAND BROWNS

Every year, there’s a chance the Browns could be playoff contenders (maybe even Super Bowl contenders). But every year, Cleveland always disappoints and always looks toward the Cavaliers’ season in mid-October. Cleveland this past season has some very young talent that could take over this roster for the future. Dylan Sampson, Quinshon Judkins, Isaiah Bond, Harrold Fannin Jr., Mason Graham, Carson Schwesinger, and either Dillon Garbriel or Shedeur Sanders are the ones in line to be the next Browns to take over. However, there’s still the matter of cap eater Deshaun Watson. What does Cleveland do with him???

26) WASHINGTON COMMANDERS

Washington’s last season was a fluke. But to be fair, they were riddled with injuries. Jayden Daniels didn’t play with both Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel consistently this season. Daniels also suffered a couple of gruesome injuries that knocked him out for the season. Others got decimated along with him too. Was this truly Washington’s one good 2024-2025 season? Will they bounce back next season with another opportunity???

25) ATLANTA FALCONS

I can’t put my finger on Atlanta. With all the talent and experience in the world, they failed to play to their expectations. Michael Penix was the next man in line only to go down for the season. Kirk Cousins did the best he could to keep the team afloat with Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and an improved Kyle Pitts and defense. And yet, it wasn’t enough to play up to their competition and dominate their division. Now, they let go Raheem Morris and need advice on how to win the division next season.

24) NEW YORK GIANTS

Despite the Giants awful record, they actually played much better than expected. Having guys like Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo as a deadly young backfield combo, Malik Nabers, Theo Johnson, Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and an underrated front seven defense led by Dexter Lawrence II and Bobby Okereke goes a long way to being a good NFL team. With Washington in shambles, Dallas looking questionable, and Philadelphia being ebb-and-flow, New York could surprise again next season.

23) CINCINNATI BENGALS

I wanted to put Cincinnati higher, but I also wanted to put them lower. Joe Burrow can do everything and even sacrifice goat blood to hopefully make this defense better. But we all know that he’ll carry this team in the end. If their defense and the offensive line can’t improve overall as a sympatico group, Joe Burrow will likely get hurt again and 100% lose interest in football. All those problems lie in the front office, who seemingly has no clue what they’re doing.

22) MIAMI DOLPHINS

Miami must do some soul searching (and please don’t fire Josh McDaniels lol). Tyreek Hill’s injured and it’s not clear if he’s done with the team for good. Tua Tagovailoa’s sidelined and could be moved too. Injuries added some weight to this team’s downfall. No matter how good this team is, good just isn’t great when they haven’t won a playoff game since 2000.

21) MINNESOTA VIKINGS

I want to say the Vikings regret not keeping Sam Darnold for at least one more season, but I just don’t know. Maybe giving JJ McCarthy a chance to grow was the best decision. But if that’s true, there’s no excuse for him to take some steps next season with the roster he has. However, there are things to consider with Minnesota’s older veterans. Theywill look into building a young group next season.

20) KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

After playing in the deepest parts of the postseason and in the Super Bowl for what felt like ages, it eventually collapsed on itself. Fatigue eventually took hold of the organization and led to the Empire’s downfall. None could be worse than losing Patrick Mahomes to an ACL injury and falling out of postseason contention. He’ll return next season, but when? There’s also questions on whether Travis Kelce will return next season. Does Chris Jones play another down next season too? As the Chiefs look to their future in the state of Kansas in 2031, they also look into seeing who’ll be there alongside Mahomes in the next decade.

19) DALLAS COWBOYS

Give it up to Jerry Jones for making decisions that HE thinks will better the Cowboys (or is he just trying to make his stadium better???). Dallas gave up Micah Parsons for the future and pretty much decimated the opportunity of being a playoff contender with one of the worst defenses in the NFL. They had moments of success, but they didn’t improve without him. Now, it comes down to either the NFL draft or free agency to replace Micah Parsons’ elite production.

18) TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

I really don’t know what to say about Tampa. Pre-bye week, they were challenging good teams, winning games, looking like Super Bowl contenders, and Baker Mayfield looked like an MVP-caliber quarterback. Post-bye, they lost in awful fashion and looked more like their NFC South division co-horts. It was annoying and frustrating, and a lot must be questioned about their coach still being in Tampa. They ended their odd four-game losing streak against Carolina, but Atlanta’s win and tiebreaker over Tampa was enough to jettison them from division title contenders to packing for Cabo instead. I’m surprised Todd Bowles returns for 2026, but he’s likely on a short leash if Tampa has another disappointment during the season.

17) DETROIT LIONS

Detroit was a good team that suffered not only injuries on defense for the second straight season (not Aidan Hutchinson this time) but also suffered some setback on offense after losing Ben Johnson to Chicago. The Bears made the playoffs with Ben while Detroit’s in shambles in 2025 after a fallout in the 2024-2025 playoffs. But they are 2-0 against Ben Johnson’s Bears. It’s possible Detroit bounces back next season, but let’s hope the Detroit Lions doesn’t return as the “Same ol” Lions again.

16) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The Colts went from being potentially the best team in the NFL on all accounts to being eliminated from playoff contention after an 8-2 start. They join the 2012 Chicago Bears who did something similar despite going 10-6. In the last 4 of 5 seasons, the Colts have had runs of postseason opportunities early to collapsing in failure and disappointment. This was by far the biggest disappointment in their organization’s history. Unless Danny Dimes bounces back or they look to Riley Leonard next season, Indy could once again be left figuring out their quarterback situation since Philip Rivers’ retirement after the 2020 season.

15) BALTIMORE RAVENS

Baltimore had a chance to close out Pittsburgh. Heck, they had multiple chances between Thanksgiving and Week 18. After a God awful 1-5 start, they went on a heater after the bye and could’ve won the division outright once Pittsburgh slowed down. Unfortunately, bad luck took over, and they dropped 4 games in the last 6 weeks. Injuries, the team’s questionable use of Derrick Henry, and their defense’s lack of consistent production led to their downfall. But that missed field goal in the easiest range possible by rookie Tyler Loop against Pittsburgh in Week 18 pretty much sealed their failed comeback run. After John Harbaugh was let go, there’s no telling what their offseason will look like, but I imagine it’ll be very uncomfortable.