6. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots did just make the Super Bowl in 2025, and while the schedule gets a lot harder, there is something to be said about the Patriots having just done this. While they may be a perfect 'regression' team this year, what if they're simply not?
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is among the best at what he does, as he constantly got the most out of his teams when he was with the Tennessee Titans. The Pats also have a solid infrastructure in place on both sides of the bal and have suddenly turned into a top team in the league over the past season.
5. Seattle Seahawks
Seattle won it all in 2025 but did lose a good bit of talent this offseason, including Kenneth Walker III, Riq Woolen, Boye Mafe, and Coby Bryant. I am also a believer in the Super Bowl hangover, but the roster itself is still quite loaded, so there is an outside chance that the Seahawks get back, especially if the defense is still in the top-3, as teams can go on a deep run with an elite defense.
Overall, it might not be the most likely thing in the world to see Seattle back in the Super Bowl in 2026, but they certainly are better positioned than most other teams in the league right now.
4. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals have been to the playoffs two times in the Joe Burrow era, and in both years, they made deep runs. They made it to the Super Bowl in 2021 and got back to the conference title game in 2022, which does prove that they are quite dangerous if they get into the playoffs, that is.
Having not made the playoffs three years in a row now, the Bengals did overhaul the defense a bit in a very similar offseason to that 2021 year, where they shocked the NFL world and went on a Super Bowl run...
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