2. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars won 13 games in the 2025 NFL Season and were one of the most shocking teams last year. First-year head coach Liam Coen quickly cemented himself as one of the more encouraging young coaches in the league. Trevor Lawrence also ended the year as an MVP candidate, and even the defense was quite good.
However, the Jaguars lost Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd in free agency, and the Jags 2025 season could line up with the type of season that the 2024 Washington Commanders had - much of the reason for the success could simply be due to the fact that there just wasn't anything out there to contain the Jaguars.
A brand-new coaching staff does bring a lot of unknown, and that unknown could actually benefit the team. Now that there's an entire year of film out on the 2025 Jaguars, opponents will have more things to look at to prepare for.
The roster isn't anything special, either. The Jags were quite good in 2025 and won 13 games, but that feels like a reach in 2026, especially with the Houston Texans getting a lot better.
1. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots had an insanely easy schedule in the 2025 season, but now for 2026, the team is projected to have among the toughest slates in the league. It could not be more of a change, and last year, the Patriots rode that schedule all the way to the Super Bowl.
Kudos to them for getting that far, but we have to be honest here - the opponents New England sees are going to get significantly better, and, like the Jags, there is now an entire year of film out on the Drake Maye-led Pats offense, alongside Josh McDaniels as the offensive coordinator.
The Patriots do have the infrastructure for long-term success, but the franchise will take a step back in 2026.
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