NFC Overview.
An NFC Season Review and Look Ahead.I Wanted To Touch Bases With Every Team Examine The Outcome Of Each team And Prognosticate Or Try To The Moves Neccessary For Each Team Moving Forward Into 2026.ThisStarted As A Power Rankings Project And I Wanted To Write Short Paragraphs But That Never Works.
Arizona Cardinals—
The Cardinals managed two, Three Bright Spots On A mostly Lost Season In A Year When So Many Fixtures On The Team Had Much To Prove. Quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a foot injury during the most embarrassing play of the season as an errant snap crashed into his facemask and Ended His Season After Five Games, Three Games Into His Massive—and Contentious—extension. Murray Has Failed To Evolve As A Passer(as If He Could) and, worse of all, stay healthy. Now he’s a trade or cut candidate, and his $36.8 million salary next season, along with another $19.5 million of his 2027 base salary, looks like stale money. Jonathan Gannon could turn the team around. Poetically, similar to Murray, he could live up to his reputation as one of the top defensive coaches in football when the Cardinals faced challenges. Murray’s Injury Opened The door for Jacoby Brissett, a long-time veteran backup, to take over, and while the offense dropped off from 15th in EPA Per Drop back from Murray to 22nd under Brissett, the offense jumped from 18.8 Points Per Game to 22.1 points since Week 6. Brissett Piloted The Cardinals' offense to 372.1 yards overall and 284.1 passing, 100 more yards per game than 170.2 Passing Yards Under Murray. Without Much Of A Run game, Brissett became A Dropback Revelation For The Cardinal, and In His 10th season, mostly as a backup, he set the NFL record for completions with 47. In Just Twelve Starts, Brissett Finished. TOP 15 In Passing yards, Attempts and Completions, Passing Touchdown, Passer Rating, and Passing Yards Per Game Unlocked Career Years For Wide Receiver Michael Wilson and Uber Tight End Trey McBride, but Brissett couldn’t coax Highly Touted wide Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to truly live up to his billing as the fourth pick in his second season. Harrison Jr. averaged +0.39 EPA per target, second-best on the team, but he struggled with injury, playing just 12 Games, 608 Receiving Yards, 41 Receptions. The Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur, a disciple of Sean McVay and brother of Matt LaFleur, who seems destined to take on a head coaching position at some point in his career. the Younger Tagged Along With Sean McVay For Three Years After He Flamed Out As The jets Play Caller And Offensive Coordinator. Mike has a sketchy background, but the Cardinals' job sat at the bottom of the barrel in terms of attractive coaching openings.
Seattle Seahawks—
The Seattle Seahawks Won The Super Bowl with Seemingly Ease After Just One and a half competitive rounds of football between the NFC Championship and The First Half Of The Super Bowl. The Risk In The Offseason, Moving On From Geno Smith and Signing Sam Darnold Paid Off In A Major Way, and Their Draft Success Unlocked Key Contributors On The Defense And Offense. A "Team of Destiny" narrative overshadowed most of Seattle's season, as they knocked off the Rams, thanks to some luck and by completely bewildering a young Patriots team with the simplest of blitzes. Sam Darnold posted his best game of the season when the Seahawks Needed Him Most in the NFC Championship Game, But He Had An Uneven Finish To The End Of The Season. Both Cornerback Devon Witherspoon and Wide Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba became extension-eligible this offseason after finishing up excellent seasons in their third year in the league. Both are considered high-level playmakers at their positions. Seattle Just Inked Tackle Charles Cross To A New Deal, and the Seahawks also need to fork over money for Kenneth Walker, the Super Bowl MVP, who could command top-five money at the running back position. The way Back To The Super Bowl Somehow Always Looks Harder Than The Way To Arrive There The First Time.
Los Angeles Rams—
Los Angeles experienced a shocking, tragic ending to their season, reminiscent of a Hollywood storyline. The Rams lost to the Seahawks twice, even after leading in both games. Additionally, Los Angeles suffered losses to the Panthers and Falcons in the final stretch of the season, which significantly hindered the Rams' momentum. The Rams Stair Down The Inevitable as Quarterback Matthew Stafford will Most Likely Return For His 18th Season Looking To Replay His MVP Level Performance For Possibly One Last Ride. Wide Receiver Puka Nacua Becomes Extension Eligible after This Season, and His New Deal Will Come Close To Resetting The Market At Receiver. The Rams Need To Address Special Teams An Area Of Football That Most Fans and Apparently Most Contenders Neglect "forgotten phase of football" But The Rams Lost Several Games In part Due To Special Teams and Starting with The Coaching Situation On That Side Of The Ball For Los Angeles Goes A Long Way. the Rams Missed Out On The Coveted Bye Week Granted To The Number One Seed And Played Their Entire Playoff Run On The Road In A Few Highly Contested Games. The Rams Finished Top 10 but noticeably lack an elite secondary. An elite corner would greatly help Los Angeles become a winner.
San Fransisco 49ers—
Injuries Strike Every Team In Football, Thats Just The Nature Of The Beast But Those Injuries Became A Feature Of The Niners Season With Several Key Niners Players Like Edge Rusher Nick Bosa, Line Backer Fred Warner and First Round Pick Edge Rusher Mikel Williams Missing Suffering Season Ending Injury, Brock Purdy, Wide Receiver Ricky Pearsall And Left Tackle Trent Williams All Missed time This Season. The Defense Suffered Far Greater Than The Offense Due To Said Injuries, But Thanks To Coaching, The Niners Had A Shot At The Conference Number One Seed In Week 18 and Pulled Out A First Round Wild Card Upset The Eagles In The Playoffs. The Niners won’t Get Tight End George Kittle, Who Suffered an Achilles Injury In The playoffs, Back Next Season As He enters his age-33 season. Uber-talented running back Christian McCaffrey turns 30 This Season After He Finished With Nearly 2000 Yards From Scrimmage. Whether The Substation Electrical Field Theory Proves True and The Electric Field Emitted Effects The Niners Or Simple Dumb Luck Or An Gypsy Curse The Niners Will Have To Face The Reality Of Injuries As A Function Of The Game. The Niners lost Defensive Coordinator Robert Salah To The Titans, who became the Tennessee Head Coach. While The Niners Finished 27th Overall Defensively According To DVOA, Many Credited The Job Salah Performed To Keep The Unit On Track and Competitive Throughout The Season. The Niners Project To Hold $25 Million In Cap space Heading In The 2026 Offseason, But If They Hope To Retain A Player Like Jauan Jennings and Perhaps Add Help To The Offensive Line, Making A Move Like Trading Mac Jones, Their Backup Quarterback May Become Necessary.
NFC East—
Washington Commanders—
The Commanders shocked football last season by rising from the number two overall pick to making the NFC Championship, behind Offensive Rookie Of The Year Jayden Daniels. Even after Philly won the Super Bowl, Nobody Doubted The Commanders Could Make A Run At The Division Title And Perhaps Another NFC championship Run Behind The Power Of Daniels and Some Improvements At Receiver and Along The Offensive Line. However, the season fell apart pretty quickly for the Commanders. The Offseason Contract Dispute With Star Wide Receiver Terry McLaurin Loomed Over The Team Before He and The Team Struck A Deal. Daniels Played Just Seven Games After Suffering A Myriad Of Injuries, Finishing His Anticipated Second Season Completing 60% Of His Passes, 8 Touchdowns, and 1262 passing Yards. The Commanders Won Just Five Games and Found Themselves Back In A Top Ten Draft Position. The Commanders' defense finished 28th and Relied On A Lot Of Older Players Like Bobby Wagner, Von Miller, and some Underwhelming Scrap Heap Veteran Players Like Javon Kinlaw, Daron Payne, and Marshon Lattimore. The Commanders Have The Fifth Most Cap Space and Need To Retool. With 30 unrestricted free agents heading into the offseason, several players are either cut or extension candidates. The NFC East looks wide open heading into next season, and the right moves and some health luck could put the Commanders back in position.
Philadelphia Eagles—
The follow-up to the Eagles' Super Bowl Run Couldn’t Have Gone Any Worse, and the aftermath of how things fell apart will spill into the offseason. The Offense Fell Apart Starting With The Run game, defenses Committed To Slowing down Saquon Barkley After His 2000 Yard season And Stacking The Box, Defenses Succeeded As The Eagles finished 18th In Rush EPA. Philly produced 55 explosive runs, Not Enough To Overlay The Woes Of The Passing Game. The Eagles' Offensive Line Took A Step Back, injuries To Lane Johnson, Transitions At The Guard Spots Left Philly Vulnerable And Not Near The Unstoppable Road
graters We Witnessed A Year Earlier. The Pass game looked “disjointed” Most Of The Season, finishing the year 10th-worst in passing yards per game. While timely explosive plays in the pass game keep the offense respectable, the Eagles and this lead to a lot of in-season shuffling amongst the coaching staff, something That Never Bodes Well for A Team Aspiring To Win A Super Bowl. The Answers To Offense Haven’t popped up on social media, but Maybe They Start With Moving Disgruntled Receiver AJ Brown. The defense kept Philly in most of their games, but lacked a game-changing pass rush even after the in-season trade for edge rusher Jaelen Phillips. Philly Has A lot Of Questions and Problems To Thumb Through, and appears a prime candidate for a” fall off, Not The New J. Cole Album But A Fall From The Playoff Standings. The Eagles project To Land $7 Million Over The Cap heading Into The Offseason.
Dallas Cowboys—
Dallas Finished The Season better than expected, despite the unreasonable expectations of every year's Super Bowl Or Playoff Appearance. The offense shone under first-year head coach and Former OC Brian Schottenheimer. The Cowboys ranked first in offense for much of the season, concluding fifth in EPA per play and eighth in offensive DVOA ranking, as they led the league in plays run. Dak Prescott somehow came close to living up to his 60 Million Dollar Annual Salary after completing a league-high 404 Passing attempts, 4,552 yards, and 30 touchdowns, 67.3 Completion Percentage, and Even Earned MVP Consideration. Prescott Alone Didn’t Stand Out In The Dallas offense. Mainstays like wide receiver Ceedee Lamb maintain their steady contribution to the offense, but newcomers like George Pickens at Receiver and running back Javonte Williams both produced career seasons. Pickens, in particular, finished top 10 in nearly all relevant receiving categories: 93 receptions, 1429 receiving yards, 9 touchdowns, 88.73 receiving EPA, and Just Outside The Top Ten In Yards Per Route Run,2.4. Pickens Will Hit Free Agency Most Likely Under The Franchise Tag But A Coveted Player At A Coveted Position With Plenty Of Suitors. Pickens Made $1.6 Million Last Season, and now He’s projected to net a deal of some In The $30 Million, Right Above The Amount The Cowboys Stand Over The Cap, Thanks To Dak Prescott’s Osmium-heavy $74 million cap hit. The Cowboys were bold midway through the season by trading a pick for Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams. While he is an impressive player, his addition did not address most of the Cowboys' defensive issues. Furthermore, his $21 million cap hit could limit Dallas's options for further improvements on that side of the ball. Without Enough Money To Make an immediate difference on their defense, unless the Cowboys Score Big in the draft, the Cowboys Will Most Likely lead the Cowboys Back To a Place of Competitive Purgatory.
New York Giants—
Outside Of The Commanders, the Giants give their fans the most justification for optimism heading into next season, Thanks To Some Strategic and Curated Drafting In Recent Years. The Giants Have Their Quarterback Of The Future Who Despite Missing A Sum Of Games Still Earned One Vote For Offensive Rookie Of The Year. Dart Finished The Season With 2272 passing Yards, 487 rushing yards, and He Finished The Season Steady On Deep Ball +0.02 EPA per drop-back on serious attempts without top receiver Malik Nabers For Much Of The Year. The Giants also lost top running back, rookie fourth-rounder Cam Skattebo, Tight End Daniel Bellinger, and Theo Johnson, along with fourth-year receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. They stepped up majorly to lead the Giants' offense. With Quarterback Assumed Solved—Assumed Meaning We Need More Time With Dart To Learn His Game—The Giants Hired Head Coach Jon Harbaugh, who Won A Super Bowl With The Ravens Some Decade Plus Ago. The Giants ranked in the bottom third for EPA per play, but their pass defense performed well, finishing sixth in both passing yards allowed and EPA per drop-back. But they got crushed on the ground, Second To Only The Bengals In Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game. The Giants Flushed Their Defensive Line With Talent Over The Pass Few Season Including two Top Ten Pick Over The Pass Four Drafts In Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter, Who Tag Along With Star Edge Rusher Brian Burns. The Defense Has A lot Of Upside. Functionally, the Giants will need to move at least one of their defensive ends, most likely Thibodeaux, after Carter led the team in pressures (72)and Burns led the team in sacks (16.5). If the Giants Could Manage To Fix The Back End Of Their Defense In The Secondary, a dark-horse playoff run appears on the horizon.
NFC South
Carolina Panthers—
Eight weeks into the season, the NFC South seemed to be securely controlled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the other teams in the division were either struggling to secure a wild-card spot or hoping for a collapse from Tampa Bay. As fate would have it, the lowly Panthers, who began the season with the weakest odds to win the division, started to turn things around. They overcame their own “inconsistency” to win the division on a tie-breaking quirk that gave the Panthers The Division Over The Bucs. While Struggling To Convert wins When Favor Or Generate Any Consistency By Winning Games On Back To Back Weeks Down The Stretch, The Panthers forced Turnovers At A High Nearly Two A Game(1.6) Weeks 9-17, While Forcing An 86.4 Passer Rating In Pass Defense. For much of the season, the Panthers functioned like a statistical anomaly. During Weeks 4-7, they showcased a dominant run game, averaging 5.3 yards per carry and accumulating 177.3 yards per game on the ground. This strong performance contributed to a 3-1 record, allowing Carolina to control time of possession and prevent more talented offenses from overwhelming their defense. More often than not, if Carolina could manage time like Doctor Strange, they would keep games from slipping away from them. Followed by weeks ago of Offensive Anemia And The Panthers Giving Opponents That Shouldn’t Give Them
trouble, Like The Packers, Niners, and Rams, while Struggling To Defeat The Saints On Multiple Occasions. Bryce Young made strides again this season, but you have to imagine that with a highly touted quarterback class in next year’s draft, Young has entered make-or-break territory with the Panthers. Young Will Need To Produce A Career Year, 3500 plus passing yards or better, or else he’s Tossed Into The Reclamation Bin. The Panthers ranked last in the NFL with a pressure rate of 26.2% and managed only 30 sacks on the quarterback. NFL Teams Haven’t Designed A Formula For Improving A Pass Rush, But Some Form Of Talented Integration And Maturation Of The Home Talent Usually Gets The Job Done. Very few teams have lost as much pass-rush talent in recent years as the Panthers, with Haason Reddick (2021) and Brian Burns (2024). The Panthers Unexpectedly Broke The Bucs ' four-season hold over the division and Defied Expectation By Giving The Juggernaut Rams A Run In The Wild Card Round. The Panthers have limited salary cap space, largely due to a number of medium-range contracts. There is nothing in the statistics or on film that indicates the Panthers will rise from the bottom of the NFC standings to become a competitive team over multiple seasons. However, stranger things have happened. Speaking of which...
Tampa Bay Buccaneers—
I Still Hear Them, Those Voices Chanting, Serenading—no, all the tireless hours of football writing haven’t Caught Up To Me, The Chants Of M-V-P Still Ring In My Ear. I Didn’t Imagine Those Voices. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started The Season 6-2, another shot at the NFC. The look looked more than plausible despite some flaws on defense—They Gave Up A 72% Success Rate and A +0.65 EPA Per Dropback, 82.4% Completion Percentage To Sam Darnold in Week Five, An Abnormal Number Even For A Reclaimed Sam Darnold. As the season wore on, between weeks 9-16, Down the Stretch Of The Season, the Bucs gave 6.3 Yards Per Play, 359.6 Total Yards, 103.0 Passer Rating, and finished 1-8 Down the Stretch Of The Season. A final two-game win streak couldn’t Salvage The Wreckage of the Tampa Bay Season. The Tampa offense has received a lot of attention, and rightfully so. It features Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and a considerable amount of talent at key positions. However, the offense has struggled to come together, primarily due to injuries that have kept many of these players from spending much time on the field together. Rookie Receiver Emeka Egbuka Started The Year As The Favorite To WinnRookie Of The Year Before Closing The Year Not On The Ballet. The Bucs hired Zach Robinson To Take Over The Offensive Duties And A Potential Successor To Todd Bowles as head coach. Robinson’s Coaching Career Starter With The Rams, Where He Worked His Way Up To Pass Game Coordinator Under Sean McVay In Four Years. Working Under McVay Or Shanahan Automatically Qualifies A Man For A Head Coaching Job In The NFL. The Falcons didn't exemplify excellence in passing offense, but some of that falls on the quarterback talent Robinson Worked With In Atlanta, and Tampa Hopes Robinson Can Ignite The Same Production From Baker Mayfield. Liam Coen—Another McVay Disciple—Unleash In 2024. The Ducks' defense finished the year third in pressure production, But Lacking An elite Pass Rush Threat. The Bucs blitzed at the fourth-highest rate in football, but average the 28th-highest/Lowest(They Were Bad) Rate In Time To Pressure In football. With a true number one pass rusher, this left the Tampa Secondary short, and the defensive back struggled to tackle, giving up +359 Yards After The Catch Over Expected(they were bad at preventing yards after the catch). The Bucs haven’t developed a true elite pass rusher since Shaq Barrett. The Bucs have $23 million in cap space, but also have Free Agent Wide Receiver Mike Evans To Ferry Back To The Team While Looking At Upgrades To The Defensive Line, Tight end position, and Secondary. Next Season Tampa Bay Should Control Their Own Destiny In This Division But Then Again They Controlled Their Destiny Last Season As Well.
Atlanta Falcons—
The Falcons played A Particularly Volatile Season. The highs were unmatched, and Even After Falling Short Of Making The Playoffs, 8-9 Close To The Season Feels Like A Win For Atlanta. The Falcons Started The Year 4-9 Before closing The Year On A Four Game Win Streak including Wins Over Tampa Bay and The Rams Two Teams In The Playoff Picture At The Time Of Those Defeats But Those Promising To The Season Wouldn’t Save Raheem Morris’s Job. Falcons Learned Their Playoff Fate Weeks in advance, but their final win over the Saints in Week 18 Determined The Division Winner And Gave The Division Crown To The Panthers via a three-way tiebreaker. The Falcons' season was characterized by inconsistency. They beat the Vikings and Even The Bills, But Got Blown Out By The Panthers and the Dolphins. Everyone With Eyes On The Falcons Wanted To Witness The Development Of Quarterback and eighth overall pick Michael Penix Jr., but Penix Embodied The Inconsistency Of The Falcons, -0.04 EPA Per Drop-back, 3.2% Completion Percentage Over Expected, while Coming Up second In Bad Throw Percentage. Penix didn’t Produce The Season Anyone Expected, and nine games into the season, he suffered an ACL Injury, his second such injury in his career, going back to college, sidelining him for at least A Chunk Of Next Season. The Falcons' offense finished the season with two bright spots. On offense, running back Bijan Robinson gained his first All-Pro selection after notching 2298 Yards Of Scrimmage Offense And 6.3 Yards Per Touch, 56.3 Receiving Success Rate, and A 51.6 Rushing Success Rate. Defenses Committed To Slowing Down Bijan, He Broke Big, Notching Four Games Of 140 Plus Yards On The Ground. Former Top Five Pick Kyle Pitts Stepped Up In The Absence Of Top Receiver Drake London. Pitts Finished Second On The Team In EPA per target, catch rate over expected, Catch Rate Over Expected, and Second On The Team In Receiving Yards Per Game. He’s A Free agent this offseason, and despite lacking dominant numbers, he’s a player in high demand at a coveted position. I’m not confident Michael Penix will work out as the team's long-term starting quarterback option, even before he suffered his devastating knee injury. With Kevin Stefanski, a two-time Coach Of The Year Winner, With A suspect quarterback development track record, taking over as head coach and no ties to Penix, and divorces with Kirk Cousins looming, the Falcons’ offense will look different next season. The Falcons won’t have a first-round pick because of the James Pearce Trade That Netted The Falcons two first-rounders in the 2025 Draft. Pearce Lived Up To His Pedigree Leading The Team In Sacks(10.5) and Pressures(45), and He’s Falling into Serious Legal Trouble In The Offseason. The Falcons ' pass defense finished the year with an 85.5 Passer Rating, 6.1 Adjusted Yards Per Attempt Allowed In Pass Defense. The Falcons relied Heavily On Rookie Production Defensively, and Growth and Evolution under the expected don’t always follow breakthrough performances. The lack of a first-round pick, The Questions Surrounding Pearce's future, and Questions At Quarterback. Nothing About The Falcons Denotes Optimism For Next Season. Can They Win The Division? The Panthers Won Unexpectedly, and Stefanski Has Achieved More With Less. Could the Falcons Make A Swing For Kyler Murray, and would that give the Falcons have $26 million in cap space? Drake London and Bijan Robinson Have Become Extension Eligible(London From Last Season). The Falcons Open More Room By Either Cutting Or Extending Contracts With Safety Jessie Bates and Receiver Darnell Mooney. If Or Not Atlanta Keeps Pitts, the team will need to The Fold.
New Orleans Saints—
Of All The Teams In The NFC South, the Saints displayed the most consistent strides towards improvement despite finishing with the worst record in the division. Just Like The Falcons Both Teams Learned Their Playoff Fate Well In Advance But The Saints still impacted the division, knocking off the Bucs And The Panthers, all a part of a 4-1 five-game stretch at the end of the season. The One Loss Came Against the Falcons That Sent Carolina to the playoffs, but during that stretch Of Games, the Saints Forced A 71.8 Passer Rating, 4.71 adjusted yards per attempt, 158.8 Passing Yards Per Game In Passing Defense, and 4.1 Yards Per Play In Total Defense, -0.09 EPA Per Pass. From Week 10 to the end of the season, the Saints Ranked Second In EPA Per Play Allowed On Defense. The Secondary forced a lot of Tight window throws. The Top Four Targeted Defensive Backs, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor, Quincy Riley, and Jonas Sanker, Forced Tight Window Throws Between 18.8 And 25% Of Their Targets. The Saints' pass rush generated two ten-sack players, Cameron Jordan and Chase Young. The Saints Excelled At Forcing 2nd and long(10 Or More), which led to third and Long With Opponents Averaging 7.44 Yards To Go On Third Down When Facing New Orleans.
The lack of top-shelf names helped the Saints' defense roll under the radar for much of the season. Under First Year Coach Kellen Moore The Saints Switch Quarterbacks Midseason Spencer Rattler a Hangover From The Previous Regime Won The starting Gig In Training Camp But eventually Poor Played Lead To Moore Installing 25 Year Old Second Round Pick Tyler Shough Into The Lineup and He Finished The Year Solid 91.3 Passer Rating, 67.6 Completion Percentage with His Best Run Coming At The Close Of The Season Over The Final Five Games 263.2 Passing Yards, 8.1 Yards Per Attempt, 99.1 Passer Rating. Maybe Shough won’t Solve The Saints' post-Drew Brees quarterback limbo, but he’s More Than Capable Of Delivering “serviceable” Quarterback Play. The Saints Need A Difference Maker On Both Sides Of The Ball, another top-level receiver to tag along with All-Pro, yes, All-Pro Chris Olave and former first-round pick Chris Olave. Olave Bounced Back After Suffering Multiple Concussions In 2024, The Ohio State Product Boosted Numbers Of 100 Receptions, 1163 Receiving Yards, Nine Touchdowns, 11.6 Yards Per Reception With Just Four Drops and tenth In Receiving Grade(82.5) According To PFF. The Saints Roster Lacks A Depth Beneath Olave At Receiver, and that’s Not Likely To change This Offseason. After many years of maneuvering under the salary cap, the Saints are entering another offseason needing extensions and restructuring to become cap compliant, with a projected deficit of -$41,774,364 according to Over The Cap. Therefore, most, if not all, improvements to this roster will likely come through the draft. The Saints Have A lot of promise next season, but their younger players will need time to develop as The Old Guard of Saint Players Passes. The Saints Remain The Least Likely Team To Win The Division, But They're Not Completely Out Of The Picture.
NFC North
Detroit Lions—
After the Lions Lost In The Divisional Round of the 2024-25 playoffs, falling from the one seed to the one-and-done, the road to regression opened up, and thus we got the 2025 Lions. In terms of talent, the Lions lost some continuity Along The Offensive line, but the roster outflanked several NFC Teams In Terms of talent. However, for Detroit To Live Up To a 15 Game Pace, Several Players Needed To Step Up, including several unproven players. The Lions lost their long-time offensive coordinator and play-caller, Ben Johnson, to the Bears in January 2025 after Johnson spurned head coaching opportunities for two seasons, entertaining the idea of winning big in Detroit. In Their First Season Without Johnson, The Offensive Playing Responsibilities Changed Hands Mid-Season—Never A Good Sign— with Head Coach Dan Campbell Calling Plays In November and While The Offense Recovered Before Finishing The Season 7th In Offensive Dvoa, 7th In ESPN FPI Efficiency, and Ninth In EPA Per Play After Ranking Third In Each Stat Last Season. As A quarter, Jared Goff didn’t Regress As Much As He Just Stayed The Same, with very little discernible changes, but the roster shifts limited the Effectiveness Of What Goff Accomplishes Best, Short Passes. With Receiver Jameson Williams, A Deep Threat First Type Of Receiver, Taking On A Bigger Role In The Offense After The Lion Gave Him A New Deal The Chemistry With Goff Didn’t Always Register. Williams Won Several Routes Down Field, But Goff, With Limited Arm Talent, Prefers Shorter Completion, Leaving A Lot Of Unrealized Yard Yards On The Field, as Williams Averaged 12.4 Targeted Air Yards and Goff Averaged 6.8 Intended Air Yards. The Limitations That Instigated The Separation Between Goff And McVay Have Risen In Detroit. He’s Just Not Effective Enough As A Deep Passer. The Solution, Trade Williams, Easier Said Than Done, Because Detroit Just Gave Williams New Money, and the Lions tacked on four void years to the new deal, making Williams Nearly Immovable. Williams ranked number one in corner route production, but he and Goff As Often As Needed And Thus Capped The Offense Like Many Of The Games The Lions Played When Offense Steadily Failed At Keeping Drives Alive. hanging on To Balls Over The Middle of The Middle of The Field Is One..." Something Williams Lacked Coming Into The Draft, and PFF Charted Williams With Five Drops On Routes Over The Middle. Williams Yards Per Reception Dropped From 15.8 air yardsper target to 11.8 after the week 8 bye. As The Lions Tapered Down The Number One DeepTargets To Williams . Detroit faced 103 Third and Long Situations, 12th Most In The League, and -0.20 EPA Per Play On Such Plays. The Lions Got Some Splash Plays From Isaac Teesla, a rookie third-round receiver, but nothing Consistent To Fill The Void As The Third/Fourth Option. The Lions Also Suffered A lot of changes along the offensive line, which resulted in a higher-than-average pressure Rate and finishing 31st in pass block win rate at 55.5%. The Defense Also Expected Young Players Like Terrion Arnold To Step Up To Fill The Void. Carlton Davis and Arnold Struggled With Coverage(95 passer rating allowed) and Struggled To Stay Healthy( 8 Games Played). The Lions' defense likes to play a lot of man coverage, so corners matter a lot in Detroit. They’ll need to Secondary. As Of This writing The Lions Enter The Offseason $9 Million Over The Cap, but They Can Create More Cap space By Restructuring Contracts Like Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St.brown and Alim McNeil Though Suspect The Lions Would Hope To Eat Some Of That Cap Penalty Now And Less They Risk Becoming The Saints, A middling Franchise With Bad Cap Space. The Defense For Detroit Finished 15th In EPA Per Play Allowed, and 9th In Defensive Dvoa And Overall Detroit Had A Playoff Level Stats Without Playoff-Level Wins. Detroit Finished Last In The Division Thanks To Boosting The Worse Record Of Any Team In The Division 2-4. The Lions Hire Former Cardinals Offensive coordinator Drew Petzig Not Necessarily An Offensive wiz Kid But Someone Experienced In Play Calling and Play Design. The Lions Have A lot Of Money to dish Out In Extension For Jahmyr Gibbs Especially at Running Back, All-Pro Linebacker Jack Campbell, and Tight End Sam Laporta. Next Season The Lions Will Either Bounce back And Challenge For The NFC crown or Regress Into A Anonymity and Yes Every Team Has Those Options But The Difference Between The Lions and the Saints Starts With Expectations.
Green Bay Packers—
The Green Bay Packers made the swing of the offseason, trading for edge rusher Micah Parsons From The Cowboys And Paying Parsons near record-setting money to anchor Their Defense and Pass Rush. Parson Would Suffer A Torn. The Packers Started The Year As One Of The Top Teams In Football Before Losing To The Browns in Week Three and ultimately regressing to 9-7 and A Wild Card Team Where They’ve Met Elimination Three Years In A Row. Under Head Coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers Have Found Consistency. He started his career with three straight 13-win seasons, followed by 8-9, 9-8, 11-6, and 9-7-1. Under LaFleur, the Packers have shown consistent stagnation, not domination or mediocrity—just blatant lukewarm performance, reminiscent of Mike McCarthy's tenure before LaFleur.The Packers Decided To Keep Lafleur after some speculation that the Packers brass had reportedly flirted with relieving him as head Coach. The loss of tight end And Number One Receiving Option Tucker Kraft To An ACL injury mid-season hurt the offense, Like Nearly Crippling The Offense. Quarterback Jordan Love Stats Dropped Across The Board, 60.3Completion Percentage, 7.2 Adjusted Yards Per Attempt, and 92.3 Passer Rating Compared To 70.8 Completion Percentage, 8.7 Adjusted Yards Per Attempt, and 107.9 Before The Loss Of Kraft, Massive Drop Off In Efficiency And Quality Closing The Season. The Packers Receiver By Committee Experiment Hasn’t Netted The Consistent Results, and The Packers Haven’t Had a 1000 Yard Receiver Since Davante Adams 2021. Kraft led the team in EPA Per Target, Second In Yards per Route Run, and, despite playing just nine games, also led the team in Yards After The Catch. His after-the-catch ability made life especially easy for Love. The Packers Need At Least One OF The Bevy Of Receivers On The Team To Step Into The Void As True Number One Threat And Not A Specialty Guy. Even With A Top Guy Jordan Love Locked Up Long Term and A Favor passer in terms of advanced stats—Love Finished The Year +0.24 adjusted EPA Per Play, Tied With MVP Runner-Up Drake Maye—Hasn’t Proven He Can Lift The Talent On This Packers. Love Ranked Third In QBr, Fifth In Passing EPA, and Sixth In EPA Amongst Quarterbacks, and those represent solid numbers, but he’s not mentioned in the MVP Conversation For A Reason. Like Most Contenders From The 2025 season, the Packers don’t Have A lot Of Cap Space, actually -$30 Million with Several Players Expected To Hit Free Agency and another group expected to join after cuts, including former team leader in sacks edge rusher Rashaan Gary. Signing Mega Deals like Parsons and Love, who have controllable cap hits, but squeeze the belt tighter for franchises, usually force casualties. The Packers Will Most Likely Restructure A Few Contracts and kick the can down the road, but adding difference makers to the roster in free agency seems unlikely, And Too Many Changes To A seemingly Always Shifting From Contention TO mediocrity Team Could Push The Packers Backwards Next Season.
Chicago Bears—
The Bears Crawled Out Of A Last Place Finish In The NFC North From 2024 To Emerge First Place In The Division 2025, second Seed In The NFC. The Bears started the season 0-2, including a significant 52-21 loss to the Lions. However, Chicago then won nine of their next ten games, with only one loss interrupting their multi-game win streaks. Ultimately, the Bears finished the year with an 11-6 record, making the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Riding A PowerFul That Averaged 384.0 Yards Per Game (Over Their 9 of 10 Game Stretch) 159.8 Yards On The Ground, 5.75 Yards Per Play Chicago Road A Favorable Schedule Before closing The Season Splitting Two Games With Green Bay One With Packers Quarterback Jordan Love Injured, And Ended The Season With A Loss To Detroit But Beat The Bear The Had To Beat Ben Johnson Displayed His Offensive Play-calling Mastery Through Play Design As The Bears Generated This Offense Success The uneven Play Of Quarterback and Former Number One Overall Pick Caleb Williams. Williams Completed Less Than 60% Of His Passes, at a 42% Percent Passing Success Rate, and paced the league In Off-Target Throw Percentage. Caleb finished the year with a +0.06 EPA Per Play, +0.05 EPA drop-back, -6.9 Completion Percentage Over Expected, positive, and six-game winning drives, and Took Care Of The Ball 0.4 Interceptions Per Game because even defenses can't pick off his inaccuracy. Williams has made significant strides in Johnson’s offense, averaging +0.12 EPA per drop-back on tight-window throws. His highlight reel over two seasons could even rival Hall of Fame performances. However, he is still far behind the top-level quarterbacks he is expected to face throughout his career. Williams added a 55.8% success rate on the ground, and the Bears' run while Over Shadow really transformed Into The Engine Of The Offense and opened up the play-action game. In the Run Game The Bears Found A Gem In Running Back Kyle Monangai In The Seveth Round, Running Back D’andre Swift Enjoyed A Career Resurgence, 1,087 Rushing Yards, 4.9 Yards Per Carry, +0.05 EPA Per Rush Under Ben Johnson The bears Offensive Live Ranked number One In Pass Block Win Rate and Fifth In Run Block Win Rate and Featured Two Next Gen All Pro Player Along the Line The Bears Have To Make A Few Moves To Get “ Cap Compliant” But The Offensive Line Should Remain In Tack Into Next Season. The Bears' defense thrived on turnovers. Whether Luck, Happenstance, or Skills Roughly Two Of The Opponents Possessions Landed In The Bears Hands, 33 takeaways On The Season. In terms of down-to-down defense, the Bears ranked 26th in Success Rate (47.2%) allowed. Additionally, static metrics such as Pressure Rate (27th) and EPA per Pass (27th) allowed, along with 24.3 points allowed per game, indicate that the Bears have strides to make. Tremaine Edmunds, Like The Team In stops(Wins For The Defense) But He’s A Potential Cap Casualty, but he's a potential cap casualty. Star cornerback Jaylon Johnson Held Opposing Passers To An 85 passer rating when targeted, but he only played in seven games last season due to a groin injury. The Bear Signed Colts Defensive
Lineman Dayo Odeyingbo, Who Struggled To Stay Healthy And Didn’t live Up To The $20 Million Cap Hit Billing, They Also Paid Edge Rusher Montez Sweat $24 Million On Average, and He’s their best edge rusher, but one best used in a Complimentary, Number Two Rusher Role. With one elite or near elite edge rusher added to this roster, the Bears may have a contender forming. Will Caleb Williams Become More Accurate? Unlikely, Can The Bear Win With Williams’s Deficiencies? We witnessed such wins in the playoffs when the Bears passed the Packers In The Wild Card Round and pushed the Rams in the Divisional Round. The Bears need to restructure or cut several players to create more salary cap space in order to make deals work. Wide Receiver DJ Moore has come up in trade speculation, but I don’t Think The Bears will trade Moore, even with a $28 million cap hit. He’s Still Too Good and the go-to game-winning threat for the Bears. Second year receiver Rome Odunze Stepped Into A Bigger Role In The Offense Last Season Before Injury Cut His Season Short rookies Receiver Luther Burden and Tight End Colston Loveland Stepped In To Fill The Void Of Odunze absence But Relying On A Still Developing Second Round Receiver And A Injury Prone Tight End To Support Caleb Williams Doesn’t Read Like A Sound Strategy For A Follow up To the 2025 Playoff Success. odunze Finished The Season With A 48.9% Catch Rate and A -12.3% Catch Rate Over Expected So Caleb’s accuracy problem can’t mask over Odunze’s Struggles To Catch The Ball. With a moderately effective Caleb Williams, if the Bears add another difference maker on defense, they could make a push for an NFC title as soon as next season.
Minnesota Vikings —
The Vikings finished the season 9-8 in the NFC North, moving past the Lions, whom Minnesota swept, and Finishing Above.500 In Season When Things Didn’t “Come Together” The Vikings Won The Year, But Winning Four Games To Close The Year Saved The Image Of The Season For Kevin O’connell. The Vikings faced one of the worst quarterback situations in football in 2025, even worse than Cleveland and on par with the Jets. This challenging season was compounded by the weight of expectations for Minnesota and the shadow of a quarterback they chose to let go. Minnesota let Sam Darnold Walk In Free Agency to Open The Door For JJ McCarthy, The Former 10th Overall Pick In 2024, and Spent $300 Million Plus In Free Agency In Other Spots. For the Vikings, From A structural standpoint, the Move Made Sense, No Matter How Well Sam Darnold’s ended—his season ended pretty well. The Vikings Needed To Evaluate What The Organization Had In McCarthy. Essentially, in his rookie season, a 14-win quarterback, the benchmark set by Darnold loomed over McCarthy, But The Vikings Would Either Win Or Learn This Season, and They Learned. JJ McCarthy finished the season with- 10.3 adjusted EPA. The Vikings started three quarterbacks, two of whom ranked in the bottom 15 of Qualified Passers(20 drop-backs) in Adjusted EPA(McCarthy, Brosmer) and two in the bottom five of Bad Throw Percentage(McCarthy, Wentz). The Vikings' offense ranked fifth-worst in EPA Per Play, Yards Per Play, and Total Yards Per Game, and Only The Jets, Titans, and Browns Averaged Less Passing Yards(166.7). The Vikings Ranked Sixth In Passing Yards Last Season. Other teams Like The Jets Get A Pass Because Th Problems That Weight Those Teams Down Stretch Beyond The Quarterback But The Vikings Quarterback Clearly Set The Offense Back. The Vikings Skill Position Players Enter The Year Ranked sixth According To Espn’s Bill Barnwell Ranking Sixth Best Feature All Pro, Always In The ConversationFor Best Wide Receiver Justin Jefferson, A Great Second Receiver In Jordan Addison, Former 1000 Yard Tight end TJ Hockenson and Excellent Third Receiver Jalen Nailor and Running Back Aaron Jones But Either by Lack Of Talent Or Adjusting To O’Connell’s Playing Vikings Quarterbacks Looked Overmatched. Multiple Injuries Beset Vikings Starters. McCarthy Played Ten Games after Suffering A Meniscus Tear, A Concussion, and Concluding The Season With A Hand Injury. Carson Wentz Stepped In For McCarthy. Maybe some of the career rival air or water in Minnesota That Brought Darnold back could revive another former top-three pick, but Wentz Looked Unsettled. He Joined The Team In August and constantly reverted to his comfort zone, locked in on his targets. Wentz Suffered A Clavicle/collarbone injury, ending his season, forcing undrafted rookie Max Brosmer into action, and he suffered a four-interception game versus the Seahawks in a dismal performance. No matter the speculation, the Vikings will have McCarthy on the roster in some capacity. Minnesota will want to bring in some competition, but the excess of $40 million in cap space might restrict its options. A Reclamation Type Like Justin Field Could Work On A Minimum Deal as He’s An Obvious Cut Candidate For The Jets, Who Gave Him $30 Million Guaranteed Last Season. The Money: The Vikings' Offensive Line Struggled With Consistency. Their first-round draft pick guard, Donovan Jackson, played well, but the money spent to rebuild the offensive line didn’t Go To Good Use. As Center Ryan Kelly Struggled With Injury, Guard Will Fries Struggled. PFF Graded Him 61.8, 42nd Of 81 Guards, and The Vikings' Interior Continues To Prove Problematic. Left Tackle Christian Darrisaw returned from injury, but didn't quite return to form. 65.9 Grade 47th of 89 Tackles after Ranking Seventh Amongst Tackles According To Pff Coming Into The Season With A 91.7 PFF overall grade. The Vikings Offensive Architects—Coaching Staff—Probably Expected A Better Performance From The O-Line. Instead, the faltered ranking 25th in Pass Block Win Rate and Third In Run Block Win Rate. The Vikings also lack a next-level talent running back, so that run blocking mostly goes to waste. The Vikings' defense ranked top 10 By Most Metric Yards Per Play Allowed, EPA Per Play Allowed, And Yards Per Game, and The Defensive Line Ranked 1st in pass rush win rate, but that defensive line comes at a high price, with two of the top 20 highest-paid defensive tackles in Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. If the Vikings exercise a post-June cut of Hargrave, Allen, Along With tight End TJ Hockenson, would save the Vikings $35 million against the cap, and some restructuring of Justin Jefferson’s contract should get the Vikings Cap Compliant. Often Troubled Wide Receiver Jordan Addison Becomes Extension Eligible This Offseason, but I’m Not Sure If The Vikings Want To Rush That Decision. Off The Field, Addison has had multiple brushes with the law. Once Before His Career With The Vikings started in 2023, Again In 2024, which incurred a suspension, and Most Recently In January. Based on Addison’s play on the field, he’s A Player Who Could Earn Jameson Williams-type contract, but his lack of maturity dampens the appeal behind locking up Addison long-term. Every Competitive League In The World Wants To Stave Off The “Tanking” Endemic Take Over, But The Vikings might Hit a Down Turn Or A Regression This Season as The Roster, Especially The Defense, Needs An Infusion Of Young Talent And Young Salary To add. The Vikings Could Trade Addison This Offseason and Possibly Pull A Second Round Pick in a Deep Wide Receiver Class But Trading Known Talents For Unknowns Worked For The Viking Before But Failed For A Team Like The Titans.
