Week 12 of the NFL season concluding with the Monday night matchup between Carolina and San Francisco, which could have huge postseason stakes, but there are many other teams simply playing out the string at this point. The New York Giants were the first team officially eliminated from the postseason following their overtime loss in Detroit, but they aren't the only team that can get a head start on their January vacation plans.
While a several rebuilding teams (see the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns) are mathematically alive, no one expected them to make playoff pushes when the year began and that hasn't changed. Let's dive into five other teams who are essentially done as well, beginning with the Minnesota Vikings.
6 NFL teams whose seasons are essentially over
Minnesota Vikings
Sunday's loss in Green Bay dropped Minnesota to 4-7 in a seson that has clearly been sunk by quarterback play. Kevin O'Connell let both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones walk in the offseason while turning down Aaron Rodgers in order to give J.J. McCarthy a look under center, and it is safe to say that decision has backfired.
McCarthy missed time due to injury but hasn't looked good when healthy. He is struggling to complete passes and seems overwhelmed by the speed of the NFL game. There have been flashes of competence at times from McCarthy, but he is giving bust vibes. That has torpedoed a squad that won 14 games a year ago. The Vikings have to let McCarthy sink or swim to inform their quarterback decision going forward, so the playoffs are not the top priority at 4-7 and buried in the NFC North.
New York Giants
Since the Giants inspired this story, we can take a quick peek at what went wrong for them. The move to Jaxson Dart appeared to energize the group. They scored two wins in his first three games and held a huge lead in Denver in Week 7. However, New York's complete collapse that day has sent them on a doom spiral that led to both head coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen losing their jobs.
Dart is currently in concussion protocol, forcing Jameis Winston to start under center, while Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers are done for the year with injuries. The Giants' defense has also underwhelmed due to injury, setting the stage for a critical coaching search that will define what comes next for Dart's career.
Cincinnati Bengals
The injury to Joe Burrow has proven crippling to the Bengals, who have gone just 1-8 since their franchise quarterback went down with a toe injury after Week 2. The trade for Joe Flacco offered some stability for the offense, but Cincinnati's awful defense has let them down, allowing the Bears and Jets to mount massive offensive days. Cincy has lost shootouts they'd really like to have back.
Flipping those two results would have Cincinnati at 5-6 with Burrow set to return from injured reserve on Thanksgiving night in Baltimore. Sitting at 3-8 essentially requires the Bengals to run the table to get in, which seems highly unlikely given their defensive shortcomings and tough upcoming schedule, which includes a pair of games against the resurgent Ravens and a date with Buffalo in December.
Miami Dolphins
Mike McDaniel's team is trying to surge towards respectability down the stretch for a second straight year. However, starting the year at 2-7 is simply too big a hole to dig out of in the AFC. The last wild card team in the conference is the Bills, who are 7-4 this year, while Kansas City, Houston and Pittsburgh are all ahead of the Dolphins in the race.
Games against the Saints and Jets off the bye could help the Dolphins get to 6-7, but their final stretch is brutal: at Pittsburgh, vs. Cincinnati and Tampa Bay before a Week 18 trip to New England. It's hard to see a path to 10 wins, which is what it would likely take for Miami to get back to the postseason after missing out in 2024.
Washington Commanders
2025 is proving to be a classic one step back year for Washington, which has followed up a trip to the NFC Championship Game with a 3-8 start to the season. Injuries have certainly crushed the Commanders, who have missed Jayden Daniels and several key playmakers for a while. On top of that, their luck in one-score games has completely flipped, which is not to be unexpected given the law of averages.
The Commanders' misfortune has been a bad break for the league, which bet heavily on Washington's breakout by giving them a slew of spotlight games, including a place in FOX's Saturday doubleheader in Week 16 and a Christmas Day showcase on Netflix against Dallas. There is a chance Daniels could return to help Washington play spoiler but their actual postseason hopes have been done for a while.
Atlanta Falcons
This one may seem a bit odd since the NFC South standings are tight after Week 12, with Tampa Bay's loss to the Rams keeping Atlanta only two games back in the division. Baker Mayfield's shoulder injury could make things interesting in the division, but the Falcons are behind the eight-ball with three division losses already, including a sweep at the hands of Carolina that is going to haunt them.
The Falcons would need to leapfrog both Carolina and Tampa Bay to get the division crown, with only a game against the Bucs left to help those odds. Sunday's win in New Orleans snapped a five-game losing streak for Atlanta, which appears far more likely to add more losses to their ledger than actually climb back into the mix.