The margin between finishing in third place and finishing in first place, hosting a playoff game in the NFL is pretty thin in some instances. In others, the chasm is Grand Canyon-like. There are plenty of third place teams from the 2024 season that will be vying for supremacy in their respective conferences, and there will be others drifting into anonymity, or somply using the 2025 season to figure out which players and coaches will be part of what they're building going forward.
As we continue to take a look ahead at the 2025 season, we look back at third-place teams from the 2024 season and how they stack up against each other after what transpired this offseason.
Our latest NFL Power Rankings will rank each third-place team worst to best for the coming season.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking every 3rd place team for 2025
8. Carolina Panthers
There's plenty to like about the Carolina Panthers this coming season, especially if Bryce Young continues to progress like we saw after he came back from being benched last season. The addition of Tetairoa McMillan at receiver and the expected progression of Xavier Legette could give this Panthers team a fascinating offensive core.
With that in mind, the Panthers might have the worst defense on paper in the entire NFL. The Raiders might be their stiffest competition, but the Panthers don't have anyone the caliber of Maxx Crosby. They need young players to emerge on that side of the ball.
7. New York Jets
I almost put the Jets last on this list, but the reason they got the nod over the Panthers is because they have a more established core of players defensively. The floor is potentially high enough on defense for the Jets for this team to be something of a problem, and they have more proven guys offensively like Garrett Wilson.
The big wild card for the Jets this year is obviously Justin Fields, and I don't hate that risk-reward proposition for them. The Jets might have a ceiling at about 7 or 8 wins, but you never know if your dart throw at QB is going to hit.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars
For a number of reasons, I just can't quit the Jaguars after what we saw from this team back in 2022 and early 2023. The Jags were one of the hottest upstart teams in the league and Trevor Lawrence was finally looking like the guy drafted #1 overall.
There's still a lot to like about this roster, especially now with Travis Hunter added to it. A healthy Trevor Lawrence could actually make this Jaguars team a factor in the AFC South and they have some legitimate weapons on offense and in the pass rush department.
5. Arizona Cardinals
Jonathan Gannon had a pretty "talentless" roster playing decent football in his first year on the job two seasons ago, and the Cardinals were arguably one of the bigger disappointments in the NFL last year as a result of that.
They have added even more talent to the roster, so the pressure is going to be on Kyler Murray to figure out a way to play more consistently along with Marvin Harrison Jr. taking a step forward and playing like the prospect everyone thought he was going to be. The defense should be much better with the additions of Josh Sweat and Walter Nolen to the pass rush.
4. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are the living example of the drawing of the horse where one half is a perfect drawing with great shading, and the other half is just a stick figure.
The offense in Cincinnati is outstanding. They have an elite quarterback, elite skill players, and they've proven over and over again that they can score points in bunches. Defensively, this team is a problem.
And not a good one. The Bengals brought in Al Golden to replace Lou Anarumo as the defensive play-caller, but he might be dealing without Trey Hendrickson and first-round pick Shemar Stewart. The Cincinnati defense is changing schemes and plenty of personnel, and they're simply hoping that this year's alternative is better than the abject disaster of 2024.
3. Dallas Cowboys
Call them overrated all you want, but a healthy Dallas Cowboys team has basically been good for a guaranteed 11 or 12 wins over the last handful of years. Maybe more appropriately said, a healthy Dak Prescott.
When Prescott is healthy, the Cowboys are contenders in the NFC East. It's as simple as that. Prescott might not be a top-5 quarterback in the NFL, but he's very good, and the Cowboys have pieces all over the roster to genuinely compete if they stay healthy. The addition of George Pickens to pair with CeeDee Lamb has me even more excited about this team bouncing back in 2025.
2. Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers may have finished in 3rd place in the NFC North last season, but they might have the clearest path to jumping all the way up to 1st place in their division out of any team on this list in 2025.
The Lions have lost a lot. The Vikings are breaking in a redshirt rookie at quarterback. The Packers young core of players on both sides of the ball might be ready to make that jump after we saw a glimpse a couple of seasons ago when this team had the 49ers on the ropes in the playoffs.
The major issues for this team right now are on defense, specifically against the pass. The Packers have to be better in the pass rush department and their cornerback room is unrecognizable from just a couple of seasons ago.
1. Denver Broncos
A year ago at this time, the Denver Broncos were the butt of just about every joke in the NFL media. Who's laughing now?
The Broncos got a historic rookie year out of Bo Nix, whose 34 total touchdowns as a rookie rank 3rd all-time for any rookie quarterback, even above Jayden Daniels of the Commanders. The Broncos ended their playoff drought, which had been ongoing since they won Super Bowl 50 in February of 2016.
This Denver roster not only overcame $90 million in dead cap last season, but they saw core players develop at key positions and they got way better in the 2025 offseason with the additions of players like Evan Engram, Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and JK Dobbins.