12. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings could win their final game of the season against the Green Bay Packers and actually finish with a winning record this year, which sounds impossible, but it's true. The Vikings are probably going to bring in another quarterback to compete with JJ McCarthy in 2026, but McCarthy can't even stay on the field.
There is bound to be some change at that position in a couple of months for the Vikings, and it's needed if they want to get back to where they were in the 2022 and 2024 NFL seasons.
11. New Orleans Saints
How about the Saints? With a win in Week 18, the Saints would finish 7-10 and end the year on a five-game winning streak. Tyler Shough has been awesome over the last month and appears to be someone the Saints can build around.
If the offseason goes well, the Saints are absolutely going to compete for the NFC South title in 2026.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need a win and some help to get into the playoffs this year, and after a strong start in the first half of the season, Todd Bowles' team has totally collapsed, and I get the sense that this team would benefit more from not making the playoffs.
Whichever team wins the NFC South is going to get bounced out in the Wild Card Round anyway, so the Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers should not get their hopes up.
9. Carolina Panthers
The no. 9 team in our NFC power rankings is the Carolina Panthers, a team that has been a fun story to follow this year, but they aren't fooling anyone - Carolina isn't a playoff-caliber team and have a below-average quarterback. If they beat the Bucs in Week 18, the playoffs would be great, but a blowout in the Wild Card Round would be a guarantee.