10. Green Bay Packers (5-2-1)
Packers play on Monday Night Football against the Eagles
A huge Monday Night Football game awaits the Green Bay Packers. This team, through their first eight games, just do not look all that special. They have two losses against the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, and a tie against the Dallas Cowboys.
Being able to beat the Philadelphia Eagles on MNF would do wonders for this team in the second half of the 2025 season, as Green Bay has been in that ‘good not great’ tier for multiple years now, and that Micah Parsons trade almost felt like it was the franchise sending a message to the rest of the NFL.
But it’s not turned out that way. The Packers have been good this year, though, and will stack enough wins to make the playoffs. They won nine regular season games in 2023 and 10 in 2024, so it’s reasonable to think they’ll finish with about 10 this year unless they really turn it on.
Jordan Love has played well this year and could emerge as an MVP candidate if the Packers can beat the Eagles and go on a bit of a run. Their roster is also quite solid, so it’s not really a talent issue.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went back-and-forth with an AFC juggernaut in the New England Patriots, and this game may have told us way more about the Patriots. Tampa is more of a proven commodity, but I am a bit shocked they lost this game.
Anyway, Tampa is still 6-3 on the season, and, with the Panthers losing, can breathe a little bit. The Falcons also lost, so the division continues to be a bit dysfunctional. However, you don’t get the sense that Tampa is going to be a huge threat in the NFC playoffs in their current form.
The defense is just alright, and the offense has been banged-up this year, so this team is flawed a bit. I have said for a while is Tampa is one of the most ‘good not great’ teams in the NFL, and I think we did see that here in Week 10. The Buccaneers drop a bit in our power rankings and have a few questions they need to answer going forward if they want to be viewed as contenders.