The NFC landscape is much more crowded entering the 2026 season than it felt going into 2025. As is the case with the AFC, it feels like competition for playoff positioning this year is going to be at an all-time high, with some of the top contenders in the conference and breakout teams reloading to try and take down the Seahawks this season.
Last year, the NFC was crowded, but underachieved as a whole. This year, it feels like we're going to see teams like the Lions and Packers bouncing back, and possibly some new teams in the mix like the Cowboys and Saints.
Our latest NFL Power Rankings are going to take a look at the entire NFC landscape and rank every team by their projected win total for the coming season. We'll debate each team's over/under on wins for the coming season, and try to sort out one of the most crowded groups we've seen from this conference in quite some time.
NFL Predictions: Every NFC team's win total for the 2026 season
16. Arizona Cardinals: 4 wins
The Arizona Cardinals are in a rebuilding year after firing head coach Jonathan Gannon and moving on from former #1 overall pick Kyler Murray.
Teams with a quarterback holding out for a bigger contract are usually in a lot better of an overall position than the Arizona Cardinals, but with a rookie head coach and a seemingly low ceiling, this could be a long year for Arizona in the win column.
But that doesn't mean this team will be boring to watch. The Cardinals have one of the best tight ends in the game in Trey McBride, and they've now added Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier to the backfield to give the running game a massive boost. This team should at least be entertaining offensively while they figure out the long-term future of the roster.
15. Atlanta Falcons: 6 wins
Even with a veteran head coach like Kevin Stefanski coming in, and even with the Falcons playing some decent football late last season, it's just hard to see this team really being much of a factor in the 2026 season.
If Michael Penix Jr. can come back from injury and make a huge leap in his third NFL season (time really flies in the NFL), then the projection from the Falcons looks a lot different. But this team brought in Tua Tagovailoa for a reason. Penix has plenty of injury concerns from his past, but they are now directly affecting the 2026 projection of this Falcons team.
The cupboard isn't bare for Atlanta, by any means, and I love the retention of Jeff Ulbrich as the team's defensive coordinator. Having that continuity on defense could raise the floor for the Falcons, but this team is only going as far as Penix will take them. The current over/under of 6.5 wins feels right, and while I'm not exactly hammering the under, I think Atlanta could finish with one of the worst records in the league.
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