8. Dallas Cowboys
We called the NFC "muddy" in the title of this post, and the Cowboys are one of the teams muddying the waters the most.
For three straight seasons, the Cowboys -- with a healthy Dak Prescott -- won 12 games in the regular season. Prescott is back healthy again this season, but obviously the Cowboys made a change at head coach, pivoting from Mike McCarthy to Brian Schottenheimer. It's not the most inspiring move, but Dallas has enough talent to be a playoff team and possibly win 10 or 11 games...right?
Prescott is good enough to get them there, and the addition of George Pickens to that offense could be humongous.
7. Minnesota Vikings
I don't want Minnesota Vikings fans coming after me (again) but I'm approaching the 2025 season with some healthy skepticism for this team.
I like JJ McCarthy as much as the next guy, but a first-year starter in the NFL coming off of a major leg injury? That deserves to be approached with a healthy level of skepticism combined with optimism. Kevin O'Connell deserves the benefit of the doubt at this point with the job he's done in Minnesota, but the Vikings also have major concerns in the secondary this year that could burn the team.
I think they're going to be strong again, but are they going to be a 14-win team again? I don't know about that.
6. Detroit Lions
Injuries are already making headlines for the Detroit Lions, and it's barely the start of training camp. They're going to be missing Levi Onwuzurike for the 2025 season on the defensive line, and I already think they didn't do enough to upgrade that defensive front. Especially given what Aidan Hutchinson was dealing with last year, the Lions not upgrading off the edge defensively could end up being a massive mistake.
The biggest losses for this team, however, were offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Having the continuity with those guys the past few years was an underrated advantage and could soon be viewed as an underrated couple of losses for what is perceived to be one of the best teams in the NFC. I think the Lions are poised to take a step back.
5. Washington Commanders
As high as everyone else seems to be on the Commanders, I'm taking their quick rise to the top of the conference along with their division rival Eagles with a grain of salt.
There was a lot more work to do when GM Adam Peters inherited this team, and while the ascent of Jayden Daniels expedited the rebuilding process, the Commanders still have a horrendous group of edge rushers and their defense is going to have to overachieve to keep up with the expectations being heaped upon them this year.
The upgrades made offensively should have that unit humming if Kliff Kingsbury can build off of what we saw last year, especially getting Laremy Tunsil and Josh Conerly Jr. to upgrade that offensive line.