Predicting every NFL team’s final record after the 2026 schedule release

The release of the 2026 NFL schedule undoubtedly deserves plenty of attention. Seeing the ebbs and flows of the year for each team, getting a look at the primetime and international games, and so on all gives us a better idea of what the season will look like. At the same time, however, just seeing the NFL schedule isn't enough — what we really care about is what happens on the field. Namely, fans want to know what record their team will finish the 2026 season with.

Naturally, I've gone through all 18 weeks of the 2026 NFL schedule, picked every game and then come out on the other side with record predictions for all 32 teams in the league. It's the middle of May, so I reserve the right to change this before we get to Week 1 (and I surely will). But for now, this is what every team's record will end up as and, as such, how each division's standings and the the NFL Playoff bracket will look.

AFC East

Suffice it to say I don't have much faith in the New York Jets or Miami Dolphins this season. The latter is a roster that just seems far too devoid of talent, while the former is employing Geno Smith as their starting quarterback on a roster that's still developing. All that to say, it's likely we see the AFC East come down to the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots again.

While I'm no fan of what the Bills have done this offseason, Jason La Canfora already echoed my sentiment that the Pats are destined to regress. Not only did last year feel like lightning in a bottle, but it's hard to believe they'll escape this offseason with Mike Vrabel without some sort of scars. That gives Buffalo the edge and what ends up being the only playoff spot out of this division.

AFC North

In no world do I think you should be bullish on the NFC North. While the Baltimore Ravens clearly appear to be the class of the division, let's not kid ourselves into thinking that there isn't some inherent unknown in moving on from John Harbaugh, how much of a step forward they can take on both offense and defense, and so on. I still think they can edge out the Cincinnati Bengals, as I'm not sure their defense is where it needs to be quite yet.

As for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, it really comes down to the quarterback situations for me. None of what the Browns have to offer inspires me, and they might simply still be their QB away from competing meaningfully. Meanwhile, running it back with Aaron Rodgers or even turning to either Will Howard or Drew Allar doesn't inspire much confidence for the 2026 campaign.

AFC South

Because of the years of lackluster performance prior, it feels like the NFL's collective consciousness has forgotten how good the Jacksonville Jaguars were last year in year one of Liam Coen. Now, short-haired Trevor Lawrence can remind people as I expect this team to still be rolling, narrowly edging out the Houston Texans and their stalwart defense by tiebreakers in the division.

The uncertainty around Daniel Jones' return and some regression don't have me high on the prospects of the Indianapolis Colts, even if I'm also quite sure they're not going to be any kind of dumpster fire. And while I do believe in Cam Ward as the potential future of the Tennessee Titans, not much of what they did this offseason moves the needle for me in terms of them making much noise at all.

AFC West

Though it'd be much better to know exactly what Patrick Mahomes' timetable to play next season is, there's still more than enough reason to believe in what the Kansas City Chiefs are capable of. Their moves this offseason felt calculated to shift philosophically and/or get back to their winning formulas. That should give them a slight edge over the Denver Broncos, who I suspect might plateau a bit this season.

The Los Angeles Chargers are going to be good, but this is still a team that's ultimately hard to trust. Though I will admit that the upside of Mike McDaniel coming into the building makes me wonder if I'm too low on the Bolts. The opposite is true of the Las Vegas Raiders, though, a team that I think still has some nice pieces that will win them games now that Fernando Mendoza has arrived, but that still doesn't have the complete roster necessary just yet.

NFC East

Moving onto the NFC East, this really just has the look of a division that's going to beat one another up this year. A healthy Jayden Daniels and some defensive reinforcements should allow the Washington Commanders to have a bit better showing, and the same is true with the New York Giants taking steps forward in building their roster around Jaxson Dart. And heck, you could even say the same about the Dallas Cowboys with a concerted offseason effort to make this defense at least marginally passable.

That leaves the Philadelphia Eagles on top, though. While the impending departure of A.J. Brown does have me worried about the upside (thinking Super Bowl here more than competing in the division in the regular season) of what this team can accomplish, the defense should remain a stronghold that propels them to another division crown.

NFC North

It just feels right to have the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers duking it out atop the NFC North, doesn't it. These rivals have the look of two of the best teams in the conference (and maybe the entire league), especially if we see Caleb Williams really take off in year two with Ben Johnson. Meanwhile, the Packers have been steady as a rock and, as long as Jordan Love can stay healthy, there's little reason to doubt them — even if Chicago does nab the divisional tiebreaker here.

Last season felt quietly like an anomaly for the Detroit Lions, though I do think that the ascensions of the Bears and Packers will ultimately put them in a spot where they're playing third fiddle to the rest of the NFC North. That should still be enough to fight for a wild card spot, however. That's not quite true of the Minnesota Vikings, though. Kyler Murray's arrival should mark noted improvement, but the roster as a whole remains too flawed to think of them as being among the top teams in this division.

NFC South

Death, taxes, and the NFC South being a dogfight of mediocrity. That's pretty much what has defined this division in recent years and it doesn't look like that's changing. What we saw from the Carolina Panthers last season suggests that they have something good brewing with Bryce Young, but I'm also not sure the defense has improved enough to run away with the division, especially with Tyler Shough likely giving the Saints a bit more life.

As for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that's a team I'm certainly worried that I'm too low on as of right now. However, I do think they feel the sting of losing Mike Evans keenly, and the defense that's undergone some notable personnel changes might take some time to gel. Unfortunately for the Atlanta Falcons, I just don't see it right now. They're probably better than a four-win team, but my lack of faith in the QB room combined with the schedule led to this bottom-feeding finish.

NFC West

One of my go-to lines in last year's postseason was that the NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks was actually the Super Bowl. And we could very well see that be the case again in the 2026 season as I'm quite confident those are the two best teams in the NFL as you look at everything Seattle was able to maintain and the improvements that the Rams made to potentially jump ahead of them.

The San Francisco 49ers aren't to be forgotten about, though. This isn't a roster that feels fully complete just yet, but you'll go broke betting against this current Kyle Shanahan-Brock Purdy combo and how this team has looked at full strength. But all of these three teams benefit from playing the Arizona Cardinals, a group that doesn't have a viable QB option as of now, and whose roster is simply not up to snuff to put forth anything more than just a handful of victories this season.

Full NFL Playoff bracket and seeding predictions

AFC Playoff Bracket

• BYE: 1 Kansas City Chiefs
• 7 Los Angeles Chargers at 2 Jacksonville Jaguars
• 6 Denver Broncos at 3 Buffalo Bills
• 5 Houston Texans at 4 Baltimore Ravens

When the dust settles for the AFC playoffs, we get some juicy matchups. The Chiefs have the first week of the postseason off on bye, but we get a rematch of the wild Justin Herbert-Trevor Lawrence debacle/showdown/body-switch-comedy from a few years ago that should be fun, as well as the big Divisonal Round rematch between the Broncos and Bills from last season.

And we can't forget the slugfest in Baltimore with the Texans. That could be a fascinating one, especially on the Ravens home turf, as Lamar Jackson will once again try to exorcise his playoff demons, but will have to do so, even at home, against maybe the best defense in the NFL.

NFC Playoff Bracket

• BYE: 1 Los Angeles Rams
• 7 San Francisco 49ers at 2 Chicago Bears
• 6 Green Bay Packers at 3 Philadelphia Eagles
• 5 Seattle Seahawks at 4 Carolina Panthers

On the NFC side of the bracket, a Week 18 showdown destined for primetime between the Rams and Seahawks gives LA the bye as the No. 1 seed. But 49ers-Bears has a ton of explosive potential, and could be a potential torch-passing type of moment for Shanahan and Johnson in the conference.

It'll also be fascinating to see the Packers and Eagles face off in Philly. Not only are Philadelphia home playoff games a talking point on their own, but I actually predicted Green Bay to be two wins better than the Eagles in the regular season, which shows where I'd be leaning, even with the Pack on the road in this one.

Unfortunately, I don't know how much we should expect from Carolina, even at home, against the Seahawks. That just feels like two different caliber and levels of teams that we're matching up there by proxy of the seeding rules for division winners.

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