24. New York Jets
Oh boy. It was not a fun season for the New York Jets, who many thought were going to make the postseason this year. Aaron Rodgers came back from his torn Achilles suffered during the 2023 NFL Season in their Week 1 game. It’s clear that the team’s investment into Aaron Rodgers simply did not work, so that left Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh of their jobs with the franchise.
The team has since hired Aaron Glenn to be their new head coach and Darren Mougey as the general manager. It’s not clear what the Jets plan on doing with players like Rodgers and Davante Adams. It could make some sense to bring Rodgers back for one final year as a bridge QB, believe it or not.
The roster is talented and former GM Joe Douglas did hit on a ton of draft picks, so this team isn’t terrible in that regard. However, the coaching and the QB play were the main reasons why this team was no good in 2024.
They’ll come in at no. 24 in our final NFL power rankings.
23. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears were an atrociously bad team in 2024, but fear not, Ben Johnson is here. The team made the bold move to fire Matt Eberflus after their Thanksgiving Day collapse against the Detroit Lions.
And have since hired Ben Johnson, who comes from the Detroit Lions. This was a great hire for two main reasons. Firstly, getting a modern offensive head coach is probably going to be great for the development of Caleb Williams. Secondly, hiring Johnson away from a divisional rival does make them weaker.
Caleb Williams threw 20 touchdowns against just six interceptions in 2024, so he was largely taking care of the football. The sacks were outrageously too high, but part of that is on the offensive line. I would personally expect the Bears to be quite aggressive in the offseason fixing the OL, finding another pass rusher, and maybe revamping the running back room as well.
This also could be the last straw for Ryan Poles, their general manager. The Bears come in at no. 23 in our final power rankings.