9. San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers again dealt with a ton of injuries, but in 2025, they were somehow able to scrape together 12 wins and were quite close to the NFC West title, which is absolutely notable. However, this team has never stayed consistently healthy, and it's really been the main undoing of the Kyle Shanahan era.
Sure, this team has made two Super Bowls since 2019, but consistent injuries and largely awful drafting have limited the team overall. San Francisco is still as well-coached as any team in professional sports, to be honest, but a lot of how they build this roster is of the 'patchwork' variety.
San Francisco is just inside the top-10 in our power rankings.
8. Chicago Bears
Undergoing some notable defensive change this offseason, including a ton of new faces in the secondary, the Chicago Bears are in a great spot to breakout even further in 2026, but it's important to note what what 11-win, 2025 season was all about.
On a down-to-down basis, the defense was simply not that good. The Bears forced a ton of turnovers, which saved that unit in the end, but it wasn't consistently solid enough to become a contender.
General Manager Ryan Poles did bring in a ton of new faces on this side of the ball, so there is reason to believe that the change could lead to the unit at least being average. That, coupled with an offense in great hands with Ben Johnson, could yield legitimate contender status in 2026.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars
Losing Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd in free agency is going to hurt, and this roster wasn't anything that special to begin with. A slight regression could be on the table for the Jacksonville Jaguars - a 10-7 season with a Wild Card berth could be on the table.
Sure, this team appears to have a stellar coaching staff, but the overall roster talent is the main issue here that could prevent this team from taking another step forward.
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