10. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts at home in Week 14 and moved to 9-4 on the season. Indy lost Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury, so you have to figure that the Jaguars only now have to fend off the Detroit Lions in the AFC South.
This might just be the best division in the NFL right now, and first-year head coach Liam Coen has done an outstanding job and should be a frontrunner for the Coach of the Year award. The Jags had little to no direction until Coen's arrival, and now a top-4 seed in the AFC and at least one home playoff game is likely.
I am still not fully buying into this team, as the roster talent really isn’t anything special, but what they have going is truly something to watch, and this team could quickly emerge as a contender in the 2026 NFL Season once GM James Gladstone has another offseason of adding talent.
But the Jags did trade their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to move up to take Travis Hunter, so that could complicate things a bit.
For now though, the Jaguars can enjoy this heater of a season they’ve been on.
9. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions get to 8-5 on the season with a huge win over the Dallas Cowboys. It might be too late for them to get back in the running for the NFC North, but this win does wonders for their playoff chances.
However, Brian Branch has a torn Achilles, and that’s just another brutal reminder of how unforgiving the NFL can be, as the Lions have been dealing with injuries for the better part of two seasons now.
Injuries were the main reason why this team went one-and-done in the playoffs, and it could be the reason why they miss the playoffs this year. The NFC North appears headed for the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers.
And the Lions just do not have that bite to them that they had in the 2023 and 2024 seasons if you ask me. Detroit is still a good team, but that’s really it at this point.