26. New England Patriots (3-12)
You have to give the New England Patriots a ton of credit for hanging around in Week 16 versus the Buffalo Bills. They did lost by three points, but the first half belonged to New England, and this team did not have a ton of margin for error. They have a rookie QB in Drake Maye and a bad roster, so they cannot afford many mistakes. This was about as good of a loss as any team could have in the NFL.
And if you ask me, Drake Maye is absolutely going to be a problem in the AFC for years to come, but it will be interesting to see if de-facto GM Eliot Wolf can rebuild their offensive line and give Maye some more weapons on offense. If that can be done, this team is going to be frisky in 2025 and could be a legitimate contender in 2026.
Look at what teams like the Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders are doing this year for what the Pats could do in 2025 in a year-two situation with Drake Maye. To me, this team is just missing some more talent. They come in at no. 24 in our latest NFL power rankings.
25. New York Jets (4-11)
Now 4-11 after a loss at home to the Los Angeles Rams, the New York Jets fall to 4-11 on the season, but don't look now, Jets' QB Aaron Rodgers has been relatively efficient in recent weeks and may be playing himself into the starting role with the Jets in 2025. Honestly, as dysfunctional as this team has been this year, the Jets would be one solid coaching staff away from being on the right track.
This team does have a ton of talent, as previous GM Joe Douglas did hit a home-run with a good bit of his draft picks in recent years. The Jets do not necessarily need to rip this thing down to the studs, but there is still a chance that Aaron Rodgers isn't with the team in 2025. The Jets must try and find a long-term QB situation, and they could always take a chance on someone in the 2025 NFL Draft. New York was 2-1 at one point much earlier in the 2024 NFL Season, and it seemed like they were on the right track.
The wheels definitely began to fall off after their shocking loss to the Bo Nix-led Denver Broncos, who kind of put themselves on the map in that game. The Jets nestle in quite low in our latest NFL power rankings.