Disappoint: New England Patriots
It's not a stretch to think that the New England Patriots regress a bit in the 2025 season. Winning 14 games in today's NFL is incredibly difficult and is something that comes with razor-thin margins for error. Furthermore, the team quite literally played one of the easiest schedules in the history of the NFL last year, which is not an exaggeration.
For 2026, New England has the sixth-toughest schedule in the entire league, so the difficulty is simply galaxies of a difference between the two seasons. While the Pats should still be a solid team overall, a four or five win decrease feels rather likely.
The team is very talented, but the roster, overall, still needs a bit of work and was absolutely elevated by the cake-walk they had last year.
Disappoint: Philadelphia Eagles
With another new offensive coordinator in the mix and no AJ Brown, the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that won 11 games last year, is primed to disappoint this year, and the Eagles do have a recent history of disappointing, but they've still won double-digit games in each of the last four seasons.
Brown no longer being on offense is going to expose Jalen Hurts and his limited passing profile, as the offense might be worse in 2026 than it was in 2025. Philly might struggle to reach nine wins this year.
Disappoint: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers nearly missed the playoffs last year, and they can thank Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop for gifting them the AFC North title. Not only do the Steelers have an old, regressing quarterback, but the coaching staff is new, and some of their best players are also getting up there in age.
This simply isn't a team that is primed to win a ton of games. They didn't do anything particularly well last year and didn't make enough of a roster change for that to be different in in 2026. The Steelers should be a near lock to finish with a losing record this year.
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