6. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans appeared to have a Super Bowl-caliber defense last year, but the offense was struggling, as QB CJ Stroud just did not look all that good. Now, suddenly, the defense has regressed, but Stroud has since been playing the best football of his career. Sitting at 3-5, the Texans probably need to win 3 or 4 games in a row to make us believe again, but this team did go 12-5 last year despite starting 0-3.
Most certainly not a Super Bowl team right now, the Texans would realistically need the defense to play as they did in 2025 for us to begin to believe in the franchise as being a contender.
5. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings were 6-0 at one point and were looked at as being a contender, but two losses in a row and further struggling QB play made us wonder if this team was for real. Enter, Kirk Cousins. Cousins has played pretty well this year for the Las Vegas Raiders and now heads back to the Vikings.
Given how prolific Cousins has been, it's not hard to see why the Vikings are now a legitimate contender. Given that Cousins is approaching 40 and has never really been an elite QB, you'd not be wrong to doubt Minnesota's Super Bowl chances, but they're now one of the more complete teams in football with Cousins under center.
4. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions defense has really stepped up in recent weeks. Detroit missed the playoffs last year despite starting 7-4, but this year does feel a bit different, as the defense is getting to the QB at a high level, and the offense is still excellent. The Lions don't appear to be missing much, and this is a team that, just three seasons ago, made a run to the NFC Championship Game, and many of those same players are still with the team now.
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