20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The 2025 season ended in such disappointment for the Buccaneers that I think I speak for nearly everyone when I say the decision to retain Todd Bowles was a shocker. The injuries the Bucs dealt with perhaps justified Bowles returning for another shot, but they’ve been a .500 team for four straight seasons.
And if they were in any other division, they’d have missed the playoffs most years. This is a team that needs to figure out the missing ingredient for why they can’t finish well.
19. Indianapolis Colts
The injury to Daniel Jones has me extremely skeptical of the future of the Colts, but then again, this team was not out of it despite calling Philip Rivers out of retirement. When a guy comes in and hasn’t played in five years, and you are competitive in games, you’ve got to tip your cap to the coach.
GM Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen are under a lot of pressure to get it right in 2026, or they’re going to lose their jobs.
18. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals need a couple of things to happen. Number one, they need Joe Burrow to stay healthy. Number two, they need to fix the defense. There will be plenty of change for the Bengals in the 2026 offseason, but I’m not going to sit here and say the Bengals are for sure going to be bad next season.
The pieces are there for this team to contend, but they won’t go anywhere if that defense isn’t fixed. Can that happen in one offseason?
17. Carolina Panthers
As much flak as the Panthers received for the way they got into the playoffs, I don’t think you can really be too hard on this team. They made some significant progression throughout the 2025 season, especially on defense, and they’ve set themselves up for a fascinating offseason.
Bryce Young was way too much of a wild card week after week to bank on for the long-term future, so I think the Panthers did the right thing just picking up his 5th-year option. We’ll see if they can take another step forward in 2026.