With how loaded the NFC appears to be, which isn't an inaccurate description of the AFC, there could be teams that finish with a winning record but miss the playoffs in 2026. That was the case in 2025, as, of note, the 9-8 Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings both did not get into the postseason.
With OTAs and minicamp now over across the NFL, and training camp set to begin in about one month, the NFL offseason is slowly but surely progressing, and it's not too far off from the start of the regular season in September.
It's really just about getting through this last lull of the offseason, where not much happens until camps begin in late July. Let's keep the train moving, though, and try to predict the seven NFC playoff teams, with seeding, for the 2026 season.
Predicting all seven NFC playoff teams for 2026 following OTAs and minicamp
7. Green Bay Packers
Once again, the Green Bay Packers have done enough to be a 'good' team in the 2026 season. The Packers have been a Wild Card team in each year that quarterback Jordan Love has started, and they have also gotten bounced out of the playoffs in the Wild Card Round the past two seasons. Love, as a starter, has missed four total regular season games since 2024, and he's actually never won more than nine games in a season in his starting career.
With Micah Parsons also not necessarily in a position to get back onto the field quickly, the Packers could be staring down another season where they win enough to get into the playoffs, but don't really accomplish much else.
It's not the worst spot to be in, but this team is far from a legitimate contender.
6. San Francisco 49ers
The San Franciso 49ers won 12 games during the 2025 season, but finished third in the loaded NFC West. Unfortunately for the Niners, that could again be the case in 2026. The roster is good, but it's not quite at the level of Seattle or Los Angeles, and this team has had an injury bug for years now.
The 49ers can absolutely make some noise when they get into the playoffs, but given our No. 6 seed prediction, it's going to be quite the heavy lift for this team to make a deep playoff run. They have done this, though, making the Super Bowl in the 2019 and 2023 seasons, so it is possible.
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