With a total of 18 teams not making the playoffs in the NFL, there are a lot of clubs that end up on the couch in January and February. In 2025, we saw some flat-out shocking scenarios develop. The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs, for example, both missed the playoffs in 2025 after each earning the top playoff seed the year prior.
And, on the flip side, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks both did not make the playoffs in 2024, yet made it to the Super Bowl in 2025. This could mean that 2026 features an even wilder and more unexpected playoff field. We are months away from that, but that won't stop us from releasing yet another power rankings on this topic.
Let's power-rank some non-playoff teams from 2025 that could win the Super Bowl in the 2026 season.
Power-ranking the non-playoff teams that could win the Super Bowl in 2026
6. Minnesota Vikings
Very quietly, the Minnesota Vikings managed to finish with a winning record. Winning their final five games of the 2025 season, the Vikings record really did not reflect just how dysfunctional that offense was at times.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson barely reached the 1,000-yard mark, and despite the unit featuring a ton of talent, things just went south thanks to a bottom-3 quarterback room. Enter, Kyler Murray. While Murray has never been a great quarterback, he's been consistently productive and has produced rather well on some horrific Arizona Cardinals teams.
Even with the Vikings defense seeing a good bit of change, which isn't a guarantee to work out, the offense likely trotting out Murray as the starter in 2026 could significantly improve the entire club. Murray suddenly finds himself in the best supporting cast he's had in his NFL career, and as we have seen, head coach Kevin O'Connell has been able to get the most out of certain quarterbacks during his tenure with Minnesota.
It would take everything going right for this to happen, but a Vikings Super Bowl title in 2026 would not be the craziest thing that the NFL has seen happen.
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