While there is a lot of parity in the NFL right now, we are still seeing some of the mainstays atop the league remain that way year over year. That doesn't mean we'll see the same thing happen in 2026, but history tells us some of the usual suspects will win a ton of games.
Building a winning NFL team is absolutely the most difficult job in professional sports, as even finding the quarterback - just one player - is the toughest thing to do for a General Manager, and half the time, the quarterback simply isn't good enough.
Anyway, with the regular season still months away, let's try to predict the five best teams when the 2026 regular season ends.
Predicting the five best teams in the NFL when the 2026 regular season ends
5. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks went 14-3 during the regular season last year. Seattle was the most balanced team in the NFL all year, so it should not have come as a shock that they won it all, totally blowing out the New England Patriots.
While the Seahawks did lose key players like Kenneth Walker III and Riq Woolen, many of the same faces are returning. In year one as the team's head coach, Mike Macdonald won 10 games, and that wasn't by accident. Macdonald may already be one of the very best head coaches in the NFL, and he could bring a high-floor to his Seahawks teams over the years.
While this team isn't going to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2026, they'll still be among the best in the league.
4. Denver Broncos
Coming in at No. 4 in our future power rankings, the Denver Broncos have a lot going for them and should end up being a top-5 team next year, even if they do not win as many games. The Broncos ended up riding an 11-game winning streak during the season, winning a ton of one-score games and displaying composure in tight situations.
There could be a very slight regression in the one-score game success in 2026, but that may only take Denver from 14 wins to 12 wins, for example. With how good this roster is, you struggle to find an argument that the Broncos regress big-time and perhaps struggle to hit 10 wins.
This team is legitimate and a juggernaut in the AFC, so they should be quite high in power rankings when 2026 is slated to turn to the playoffs.
3. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills come in at No. 3 in our future power rankings. From 2020-2024, the Bills won the AFC East, and they also made the playoffs each year since 2019 as well. The amount of success that this team has had is unfathomable, and it's even more unfathomable that the team has not sniffed a Super Bowl berth.
Buffalo has suffered playoff heartbreaks in just about every possible fashion, and one would think that their playoff fate may change in 2026 with a new head coach. Joe Brady was promoted from within the organization, so he does have familiarity with the organization. Given how stable and successful this team has been for years now, it would take a lot for Buffalo not to win a ton of games.
If this is even a thing, Brady may not even have that tough a spot in 2026. Josh Allen is still at the peak of his powers, and while the defense struggled to stop the run in 2025, the unit was plenty good enough to get Buffalo into the Divisional Round.
2. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions won 27 regular season games in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, regressing to just nine wins in 2025. However, the Lions were 7-4 at one point in 2025, so it's not like this team was hovering around .500 all year.
With how loaded this roster is, especially with this group on offense, the Lions simply need the defense to be at an average level in 2026, which was not the case in 2025. That may seem like an easy enough thing for the unit to do, and with the unit having some star players like Aidan Hutchinson, Jack Campbell, and Kerby Joseph, the Lions, personnel-wise, are still in a good spot there and will have a rebound season.
1. Los Angeles Rams
Are we surprised? I guess the one thing that could go against the Los Angeles Rams is all of the offseason hype with the big-time moves for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, and this is a team that already won 12 games last year.
A lot has to go right for any team to win just one game, but the Rams sport the best roster, quarterback, and head coach in the NFL right now. This is how an NFL 'super team' looks today. One thing that could end up throwing everything off is if Matthew Stafford meets up with Father Time, but with how good he was in 2025, I'd struggle to see that huge of a regression.
Los Angeles should be the best team in the NFL all year, so they top our future power rankings,