Ask anyone a year ago to name their expected Super Bowl LX matchup and I bet you don't get many Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots answers. Both teams were in flux — Seattle was taking a chance on Sam Darnold at quarterback rather than sticking with Geno Smith, while New England was hoping that a new head coach could turn around a team that had one of the worst records in the league the previous season.
Are there teams out there who could be the 2026 version of these teams? Teams that look to be borderline playoff contenders at best right now but could have the right mix of things go right this offseason to propel them to Super Bowl contention? Sure! Here are four potential candidates to make that kind of leap.
New Orleans Saints
I firmly believe that if the New Orleans Saints had named Tyler Shough their Week 1 starter, the team would have won the NFC South. Spencer Rattler played relatively well, but was just 1-7 before the Saints made the move to Shough, who led the team to a 5-4 finish.
Quarterback | Record |
|---|---|
Spencer Rattler | 1-7 |
Tyler Shough | 5-4 |
With Shough back after a full offseason as the Saints' starter, the team should be viewed as the favorites to win the NFC South in 2026. The team has to continue navigating through a world where there is never enough cap space in New Orleans, but having a quarterback on a second-round pick rookie deal makes it easier to work around him than it might be in other scenarios.
New Orleans also isn't set to lose too much talent in free agency, so while it might be tough to bring in new players, the team should be able to return most of the core from a group that was playing some pretty good football at the end of 2025.
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons could wind up with a Seahawks-esque path forward, assuming the team is able to upgrade at quarterback like Seattle did when it went from Geno Smith to Sam Darnold.
Michael Penix Jr. isn't ready to lead a Super Bowl charge, and it sounds like Kirk Cousins won't be back, so what are the Falcons to do? Perhaps this could be a landing spot for Malik Willis, the top free agent quarterback? Sure, we don't have as much evidence that he can provide a Darnold-esque bounce as we had with Darnold, but Willis looked really good in his lone start for Green Bay this season.
Completions | Attempts | Passing Yards | Passing Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rushing Yards | Rushing Touchdowns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12/27 vs. BAL | 18 | 21 | 288 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 2 |
I mean, hopefully this isn't a Matt Flynn situation! I really do think that with the addition of head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Falcons are a quarterback away from contending in the NFC. It's not a great offseason to need a quarterback, but options exist for the Falcons. Even a Kyler Murray trade might work out.
New York Giants
I mean, this is essentially the exact same narrative we had in New England this season, right? A quarterback who flashed his potential as a rookie gets an experienced head coach to lead his team for his second season. The addition of Stefon Diggs helped Drake Maye break out, so why couldn't getting a healthy Malik Nabers back do the same for Jaxson Dart?
Is it that crazy to think the New York Giants could emerge as viable contenders in 2026, especially when factoring in that the NFC East might be a little down next season with the Eagles potentially trading away an elite receiver, the Cowboys being the Cowboys, and the Commanders counting on Jayden Daniels returning to his rookie form after an injury-plagued 2025 season?
Like Vrabel, John Harbaugh is more of a CEO coach than a hands-on guy, so he needed to nail his coordinator hires. Does hiring former Bears head coach and Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy qualify as accomplishing that goal? Maybe. He's no Josh McDaniels, but he brings a wealth of experience to help Dart reach the next level.
I know that the very idea of the Giants being good is antithetical to, like, the last decade of the New York Giants, but things really are looking up in the Meadowlands.
Las Vegas Raiders
Okay, stop laughing at me! Stop! I know how this sounds, but allow me to lay out a case for why the Las Vegas Raiders could be on the brink of something, even if it's more likely they're the 2027 version of this than the 2026 version.
First and foremost, I have to say that I might be one of the biggest Klint Kubiak supporters in the world. I think he's an offensive genius, and what he did with this Seahawks team shows it. Yes, Darnold has proven to be a good quarterback, but I think Kubiak really unlocked his full potential this season. Watching him work with No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is going to be a lot of fun.
And while you might be concerned about the lack of talent around Mendoza, remember two things. First, Brock Bowers. That's it. Remember that Bowers exists.
Second, the Raiders have the second-most cap space in the NFL, behind only the Titans, who could have made this list if I expanded it to a few more teams, but whose offensive situation around Cam Ward feels just a bit too dire. Vegas has the money to make some very good moves that can build the foundation of a contender, even if actual contention might still be another year or so off.