Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are in a similar situation to the Ravens - both teams are or have been top AFC contenders recently, but replaced their head coaches this offseason. The Bills promoted Joe Brady, who was already with the franchise, so this isn't really a major coaching move.
The Bills have won double-digit games each year since 2019, and they have also won at least 11 games each year since 2020. While the head coaching change is still notable, it's not something that should totally derail this franchise,
While there is no guarantee that Brady pans out as a head coach, the stability that this team has brought to the franchise in the Josh Allen era does not only give them a high ceiling, but the floor, as history tells us, is also very high. Buffalo will be just fine.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions were 7-4 at one point during the 2025 season, which would have put them on pace for 11 wins. The defense kind of collapsed, and the team, overall, played sloppy football the rest of the way, putting them at nine wins.
However, in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Detroit won 12 and 15 games, and they have not won fewer than nine games in any year since 2022. Like Buffalo, Detroit has turned this franchise around and has been quite stable in recent years.
While they didn't hit the double-digit win mark in 2025, this roster is simply too good for that not to be the case this year. The Lions sport an elite, explosive offense, and there is reason to believe that the below-average defense and injuries on that side of the ball simply regress to the mean in 2026, which would allow the Lions to eclipse nine wins.
San Francisco 49ers
Winning 12 games in 2025 despite a ton of injuries, the San Francisco 49ers simply know how to win football games. Kyle Shanahan has been one of the best head coaches in the NFL for years now, so this team appearing on our list should not at all be a surprise.
Shanahan has helped lead this team to two Super Bowl appearances, and this group honestly seem to play better when the playoffs roll around. The 49ers aren't going to win it all this year, and they don't have an elite quarterback or anything, but they've earned the benefit of the doubt in the regular season.
They're a very good team on paper and have been a top NFC team for years.
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