8. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
The Los Angeles Chargers earn the fifth seed in the AFC with a huge win over the Las Vegas Raiders. They also clinched this with the Pittsburgh Steelers losing to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this week. The Chargers won just five games all of last year and have more than doubled that total in 2024.
With 11 wins on the season, the Chargers now have a very favorable Wild Card matchup against the Houston Texans, and I would be shocked if the Texans won that game. Houston is in a bad division, so they have the luxury of that and having locked up the fourth seed in the AFC.
Chargers are better in the trenches on both sides of the ball and should pull away in this Wild Card matchup. This is a huge year for the franchise, as first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh is able to again enact immediate change in yet another program. With limited talent on offense, the Chargers could be a huge threat in 2025 if they are able to load up next offseason.
7. Washington Commanders (12-5)
The Washington Commanders have earned the sixth seed in the NFC in their first year of the Dan Quinn-Jayden Daniels era. They won 12 games in the regular season and are going to be a total force in the long-term. With them having a rookie QB and the newness of it all, they probably won't make a deep playoff run, but you just never know.
The next few months for the Commanders' franchise is going to be outstanding. They're very likely going to be aggressive in free agency and in the 2025 NFL Draft and should have one of the top rosters in the NFL entering next season. This is a great time for Commanders' fans, who have truly been suffering for a while now.
Jayden Daniels is also well on his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and is pretty darn close to the 'next' Lamar Jackson, if that is even possible. What's there to not like about the Washington Commanders?