8. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears won 11 games during the 2025 season, shocking the NFL world and winning the NFC North title. While the Bears season was quite fun, I am not sure another 11-win season would be enough to win the division for a second year in a row.
With that said, the Bears do come in as the top NFC North team in our power rankings, but it’s important to note that outside of the turnovers, the Bears defense was not nearly good enough on a down-to-down basis.
That unit has to get better in 2026. Offensively, though, there were a lot of positive steps made, especially by Caleb Williams, who wasn’t sacked nearly as much and continues to be a QB who simply does not throw many interceptions.
Chicago also became insanely tough to beat in late-game situations. There could be a regression there in 2026, but overall, it’s hard to find many teams better overall than the Bears right now.
7. Baltimore Ravens
Despite a 1-5 start in the 2025 season, the Ravens nearly won the AFC North title. Had that field goal in Week 18 gone in, we’d be having a different conversation. The Ravens parted with Harbaugh this offseason after a tenure in which he hadn’t won multiple games in the playoffs since that Super Bowl year back in 2012.
It was time for a change, and in came Jesse Minter, who had been with the franchise previously. The Ravens should be able to get right back on track in 2026, as this team could see their injury totals regress to the mean, which isn’t impossible.
Furthermore, while Lamar Jackson was banged up, he’s still just one year removed from one of the best seasons we’ve seen by a QB in the history of the NFL, and it’s insane he didn’t win MVP in 2024.
Anyway, let’s not overthink the Ravens; they’re a great team and will win a lot this season.
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