18. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers come in at No. 18 in our power rankings. If not for a missed field goal, the Steelers would have finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs in the 2025 season. Now back with many of the same players for 2026, the Steelers have a new coaching staff headlined by Mike McCarthy, and an aging QB in Aaron Rodgers who was marvelously average in 2025.
This simply is not how you build a winning NFL team, and 2026 could finally be the year where this team finishes with a losing record and gets humbled a bit. Like other teams ranked in this tier, the Steelers don't overwhelm you at any position and have a lot of 'good' on the roster, but little, if any great.
And with a below-average quarterback and a new coaching staff, there isn't a clear-cut path to the playoffs this year, and I'd also say a losing record is probably more likely than a winning record.
17. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings quietly won nine games last year with bottom-tier quarterback play, and as of now, it doesn't seem like Kyler Murray has done anything to lose this "QB competition." Minnesota is trapped in the loaded NFC North, but they were one of three teams in the division to win nine games last year.
With how good the NFC is overall, I'm not sure this is a playoff team, but Murray suiting up as the QB1 and providing top-16 play, which is possible for him, would have the Vikings hanging around the playoff race all year.
I am slightly concerned with the new-ish look defense, as they made a plethora of personnel moves on that side of the ball, but defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a wizard and has always put his players in the best chance to succeed, so this is a team to keep an eye on for 2026.
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