Ranking NFL Playoff teams by how likely they are to disappoint fans this season

Last year’s NFL playoff field featured quite the array of teams. The Carolina Panthers stunned everybody, ending their near 10-year playoff drought. Jacksonville was knocking on the door of being the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the AFC title game featured the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. A year later, how should fans feel about their teams that made the playoffs?

Well, if you’re the Los Angeles Rams, you probably feel really good about this upcoming season, but not everybody should feel that confident. In fact, the lower ranked on this list your team is, the more you’re going to be disappointed by December.

Ranking the 14 playoff teams that will disappoint fans in 2026

1. Teams fans should feel really confident about
2. The teams that might disappoint some fans with a lackluster 2026
3. Teams that are destined to disappoint fans in 2026

Teams fans should feel really confident about

14. Los Angeles Rams

Yeah, if there ever was a Super Bowl favorite this early in the year, it would absolutely be the Los Angeles Rams. Find me an offensive line that will stop Myles Garrett or a quarterback that will dissect a revamped secondary with Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie, and I’ll call you a liar. That’s how good this Rams team is. They have championship or bust aspirations, which I guess it would be disappointing if they didn’t win a second Super Bowl with Matthew Stafford. That said, this should be a very promising season for the Rams as long as they stay healthy.

13. Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks stunned just about everybody on their way to the Super Bowl last year. Not because nobody expected them to be good enough, but we always thought those ghosts that haunted Sam Darnold once upon a time would resurface in the bright lights. They didn't, and Seattle is very much in the contender realm again in 2026. It won’t be easy getting through the NFC West division, but if they manage to survive it, the postseason won’t be nearly as much of a test, assuming they don’t face San Francisco or Los Angeles early.

12. Denver Broncos

I’m not believing in the Kansas City Chiefs this year. They’re old, have too many receiver problems and went the young route on offense. If it won’t be the Chiefs that reclaim their throne atop the AFC West then it will have to be Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos. I wouldn’t be too worried again this season. I’m not saying the Broncos are going to be the top team in the AFC again, but it’s safe to say the Broncos will be a team to beat in the AFC again.

11. New England Patriots

New England dodged yet another scandal this offseason and has seemingly not let that be a distraction. So much so that they finally inked a deal with Philadelphia to bolster its receiver room with A.J. Brown. That move to improve this offense should be enough to make New England a threat again. I would be shocked if the Patriots don’t reach the AFC title game again. They’re better than last year, a year older in all the right positions and simply a dangerous team.

The teams that might disappoint some fans with a lackluster 2026

10. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are an interesting team in the sense that they don’t need a star quarterback to be good. In fact, you could argue they might be a tad bit better with Mac Jones than Brock Purdy. The 49ers won’t be disappointing in the sense of wins and losses, but rather disappointing if Purdy is once again hit with injuries. This team got a bit of a makeover, but Kyle Shanahan is a wizard at getting the most out of his teams. The 49ers should still be a playoff team, but they’ll probably have another tough path if they want to go on a playoff run.

9. Chicago Bears

Just looking on paper, the NFC is going to have a tough path to the Super Bowl. Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears made their mark in 2025, and they’ll absolutely build on that. They still need to add an elite pass rusher, but for now, Caleb Williams is finally looking like the quarterback they need him to be, and it’s ridding Chicago of the losing-season blues. Don’t expect them to cool off in 2026, but don’t expect them to run the NFC either.

8. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers will be disappointing but for different reasons than most on this team. The only reason they aren’t closer to the extreme disappointments on this list is because they’ll somehow find a way into the playoffs. But Justin Herbert has yet to win a playoff game in his NFL career, which makes me think he may be cursed. That curse won’t get lifted in 2026 thanks to a completely new offensive line. I could be wrong, but this just doesn’t feel like the season Los Angeles finally gets over the hump.

7. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay sits around the middle of the pack of teams that will be disappointing. The Packers have found a way to get to the playoffs the last three seasons, but they just can’t figure out how to get to the NFC title game and even the Super Bowl. They went all in on Micah Parsons, and Jordan Love no longer gets the inexperienced pass. The Packers will be disappointing because they’ll put together a really good regular season just to lose in the wild card or divisional round. 

6. Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles will be a disappointing team because Philadelphia Eagles fans are irrational. Less than a year removed from the franchise's second Super Bowl, fans were already clamoring for Nick Sirianni to get fired. Nothing will ever satisfy Eagles fans, and this season feels like it’s a letdown waiting to happen. Jalen Hurts is in hot water, there’s hype around the Dallas Cowboys (per usual) and the Washington Commanders spent a whole lot of money in hopes of getting back to the NFC title game. Eagles fans will find something to be mad at, even if it’s something like they wanted the Eagles to score more points.

5. Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen is still Josh Allen, but we can’t ignore the fact that one of the best coaches in Bills history was fired last year and the offensive coordinator was promoted to head coach. This is the type of move a team makes when they’re desperate and desperation hardly ever yields positive results. The Bills will struggle more this year than they have in years past (including the 2025 season). The Patriots are still top dog in the AFC East, and the Bills will have to do a lot more than promote Joe Brady if they want to finally reach a Super Bowl and avoid another wasted year in Allen’s prime. 

Teams that are destined to disappoint fans in 2026

4. Houston Texans

There’s only one thing—rather, a person—that will disappoint, and that’s C.J. Stroud. The amount of pressure he’s under is enough to crumble the world’s strongest man. He looked miserable in the 2025 playoffs, and the Texans somehow won a playoff game. Stroud has to not only get the Texans back to the postseason but also avoid yet another early exit. Since Stroud was drafted, he’s never made it past the divisional round. Usually that’s not a problem, but he’s also 3-for-3 on making the playoffs since he’s been the starter. At some point, just getting to the playoffs isn’t good enough.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

Ah, yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were granted the perfect chance to trigger a full rebuild. Instead, they brought Aaron Rodgers back and are expecting this team to be better in 2026 than it was in 2025. News flash: It’s not going to happen. The Steelers needed a whiffed field goal in the NFL’s final game to reach the playoffs. If the hype around Cincinnati is real, the Bengals should run away with that division. Right now, the Steelers are the third-best team in the division. I’d be shocked if they landed in the playoffs again, although stranger things have happened.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars

I wouldn’t have faith in the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2026. Last season felt like an anomaly and felt more like a team that had the benefit of an easier schedule rather than a team that had finally figured out how to turn into yearly contenders. I could be wrong, but if I’m being honest, I don’t believe in the Jaguars at all. They don’t have an impossible schedule, but it’s certainly not one that’s going to help them. Maybe Trevor Lawrence is the quarterback the Jags need, but if I’m a betting man, I’m not taking those odds.

1. Carolina Panthers

Sorry, Panthers fans, this year won’t be as promising as last year. While the Carolina Panthers did make some good moves in the offseason, they have a tough schedule and as a result won’t have nearly as much success as they did in 2025. They were able to sneak into the NFL playoffs with an 8-9 record. That won’t fly this year, especially because both the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be better in 2016 than they were in 2025. 

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