Let's get pessimistic for a second and look at the worst possible record for every NFL team in the 2025 season.
Just how bad can teams be in 2025? Well, the main driver of this could simply be a ton of injuries, as we have seen many teams here and there have their seasons totally derailed due to catastrophic injuries, but bad QB play is also a huge reason as well.
Depending on how a team's season goes, it could end with them deep in the playoffs or on the couch in January. We did our best to predict the worst possible record for every single NFL team for the 2025 season.
Let's get into it here.
What is the worst record for each NFL team in 2025?
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens: 9-8
This record would probably happen if Lamar Jackson endures one of those years where he's in and out of the lineup due to injury. Jackson loves to use his legs and run around, so that could always end up showing up in a bad way. It truly only takes one hit to knock someone out for the long-term.
Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-11
A potentially washed-up Aaron Rodgers and perhaps some regressions from other key pieces on the defensive side of the ball could be enough to see Mike Tomlin finishing with the first-ever losing season of his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This could at least force the team to embrace a rebuild, something that absolutely must happen after this year anyway.
Cincinnati Bengals: 7-10
The offense is elite enough for the Cincinnati Bengals to sustain themselves for most of the season, but the defense could always simply not improve and maybe even get worse if Trey Hendrickson isn't in the picture. Cincy has not made the playoffs since the 2022 NFL Season, so let's not pretend they are a lock to do so in 2025.
Cleveland Browns: 1-16
The Cleveland Browns have the most dysfunctional QB room in the NFL as we slowly make our way to the 2025 NFL Season. This would be the main factor in them barely being able to win a game this year. I would assume that not only does Joe Flacco get some starts, but the two rookies in Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel do as well.
If it's a back-and-forth affair in the QB room, the Browns are going to struggle, and there is no guarantee that any QB on the Browns roster ends up playing well. Cleveland could be in for another historically bad season this year.
AFC South
Houston Texans: 7-10
The main issue with the Houston Texans that they needed to fix this offseason was the offensive line, and that is putting it lightly. However, just because they added a bunch of players to that unit, it doesn't mean that the OL is going to perform well.
The worst-case record for Houston isn't too bad, but we'd likely see the offense and QB CJ Stroud regress even more, but a top-tier defense could keep them in most games. In each year of the Stroud era, the Texans have gone 10-7 and won the AFC South, so they have been consistent.
Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
A first-year head coach doesn't always bring success, and there is no guarantee that new head coach Liam Coen is the right man for the job. While I have said the Jaguars roster is better thank you think, there are still some noticeable roster holes, and what if Trevor Lawrence just isn't all that good?
A shaky first year for Liam Coen coupled with Trevor Lawrence not playing all that well could lead to yet another brutal year for the franchise, with only three wins to show for it in the 2025 season.
Tennessee Titans: 2-15
The Tennessee Titans took Cam Ward first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, and while Titans fans may be enjoying the honeymoon thus far, the Titans are, realistically, probably not going to win many games in 2025. Ward is a raw prospect, and the Titans roster just isn't there yet.
The team could struggle to move the ball on offense, and given the history of rookie QBs in the NFL, Cam Ward is probably going to struggle. Another year perhaps picking first overall in the NFL Draft could be on the docket for the team with their worst-case scenario prediction.
Indianapolis Colts: 4-13
With Anthony Richardson now already hurt, the Indianapolis Colts QB room somehow managed to get worse. Daniel Jones is on track to start for the team in the 2025 NFL Season, and I am not sure Jones is even a better option than Richardson at this point. While the Colts have been able to hang around .500 over the past couple of seasons, the team could bottom-out if their QB room just isn't able to get it done in 2025.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills: 11-6
The Buffalo Bills do have a cake-walk schedule in the 2025 NFL Season, so they are probably on track to win 13 games or more, but this team is going to bottom-out at 11 wins. This could be due to them sometimes getting in their own way and losing games that they would typically win - and this has been a theme over the years for the Josh Allen-led Bills.
Allen does still have the turnover-happy style of play in him, so the Bills could always just win fewer games than we think.
New England Patriots: 5-12
While I love what the New England Patriots have done in the 2025 NFL Offseason, another tough campaign could be on the horizon if all the new additions just take some time to gain chemistry together. With a new coaching staff and a ton of new faces on either side of the ball, it could take most of the 2025 NFL Season for the Patriots to get going.
I personally think they will finish with around eight or nine wins, but them struggling with how new everything else is absolutely on the table.
New York Jets: 3-14
With Justin Fields as the New York Jets starting QB, there isn't much reason for hope in the 2025 NFL Season. Fields is now on his third team in as many seasons, and that's for a good reason. If you couple this with a brand-new coaching staff, it's easy to see how the Jets could only win a handful of games in the 2025 season.
I am also not hugely high on Aaron Glenn, as he really wasn't that good of a defensive coordinator, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with this team.
Miami Dolphins: 4-13
An injured Tua Tagovailoa could again derail a Miami Dolphins season. When on the field, Tagovailoa is quite efficient, but that's been the issue. The Dolphins roster just also isn't that great, so we could see the walls starting to fall apart and the team perhaps turning into big-time sellers at the NFL trade deadline.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: 8-9
The Denver Broncos won 10 games in the 2024 NFL Season, becoming a lot better than people thought they would be. Denver rode a strong defense and an offense that began to figure it out under rookie QB Bo Nix and Sean Payton, but a year two regression from Nix is on the table until it isn't.
The defense could also just not be as good as we think. Denver did win eight games in the first year of the Sean Payton era, for what that is worth.
Kansas City Chiefs: 10-7
The Kansas City Chiefs just have not been a very explosive offense over the past couple of seasons, and they won all of their one-score games in 2024, which simply won't happen again in 2025, right?
Right??
The Chiefs could finally begin to get some chinks in their armor and could limp to a 10-win season, which would absolutely put them into a Wild Card situation in the AFC Playoffs for the 2025 NFL Season.
Los Angeles Chargers: 8-9
The LA Chargers won 11 games in the 2024 NFL Season, but many people across the NFL landscape don't seem to think that the team got all that much better in the offseason, and I would even take this a step further and stay that the ceiling with Justin Herbert under center might not be all that high.
Yeah, he's a good QB, but that's really about it. Could the Chargers have another iffy season and regress to below .500 in 2025?
Las Vegas Raiders: 4-13
Geno Smith and Pete Carroll were not able to make it work in the weaker NFC over those past couple of seasons, so I have no idea why the Raiders think they could make it work in the AFC. Another regression from Geno Smith and the iffy roster could force the Raiders to endure another brutal season, perhaps with only a handful of wins too show fir.
NFC North
Detroit Lions: 10-7
The Detroit Lions lost both coordinators in the 2025 NFL Offseason, and that could be enough to truly hurt their season. This team won a whopping 15 games in 2024, and that just does not feel likely to happen again in 2025.
Losing just two games in the regular season is flat-out insane and doesn't happen with regularity in today's parity-filled NFL. The worst-case record for the Lions probably still seems them winning 10 games, as they have the most talented roster in the NFL, and that will be good enough to win double-digit games if anything.
Minnesota Vikings: 5-12
Essentially starting a rookie QB in 2025, the Minnesota Vikings cannot be looked at as a contender, especially if they did want one of Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones back on the team in 2025. JJ McCarthy is still 22 years old and is absolutely still learning how to be a QB, period, let alone an NFL quarterback.
If McCarthy just isn't that good and is showing rookie growing pains, the Vikings aren't going to win a ton of games in the 2025 NFL Season.
Chicago Bears: 6-11
Even though the Chicago Bears made a ton of awesome moves this offseason, it does not mean this team is going to be all that good. They've got a first-year head coach and a second-year QB in Caleb Williams who does still have some serious concerns heading into year two.
It's very much on the table that the Bears struggle to find their footing, and there is no guarantee that Ben Johnson is the right man for the job.
Green Bay Packers: 8-9
It honestly still does not feel like the Green Bay Packers are going to take a leap forward in the 2025 NFL Season. In fact, they could regress by a few wins if Jordan Love still doesn't take that next step and if the offense doesn't really have a high-end, consistent playmakers besides Josh Jacobs.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: 5-12
A struggling Michael Penix Jr in his second year in the NFL could make the entire season go south for the Atlanta Falcons, and this team has struggled on defense for a while, so there is a distinct possibility that this team just isn't that good on either side of the ball.
Penix might end up being great, but he didn't get a ton of action in 2024, so it's quite hard to say how good he will be in a crucial year two.
Carolina Panthers: 3-14
Maybe Bryce Young just isn't a franchise quarterback? If he isn't the Carolina Panthers surely move on from him in some capacity and might then draft a QB high in the 2026 NFL Draft, but the roster is actually quite talented and ready to win-now, so that might force GM Dan Morgan to make a more bold QB move.
Young did show promise toward the end of the 2024 NFL Season, so all eyes will be on him.
New Orleans Saints: 0-17
Yes, the New Orleans Saints could very realistically not win a single game in the 2025 NFL Season. Their QB situation might be the worst in the NFL, as one of Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler are in line to start. Kellen Moore is also in his first year as a head coach, and GM Mickey Loomis just doesn't have a clue what he's doing, as this roster might be the worst in the NFL.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-10
A regression could come and hit the Buccaneers in the 2025 NFL Season, as they yet again have a new offensive coordinator and have a good-not-great roster and quarterback in Baker Mayfield. Maybe we also see their lethal WR duo take a step back due to old age and coming off of a major injury?
NFC East
New York Giants: 1-16
The New York Football Giants have the hardest schedule in the NFL but one of the worst rosters in the league, so it's not shaping up to be a good year for the team that Joe Schoen built. If nothing else, they did get two talented players in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft in Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart, but part of me thinks Schoen won't be here to see those investments pan out if this team is struggling to add a single win.
Brian Daboll hasn't proven to be a good head coach, either, so it could be a tough year for the G-Men.
Washington Commanders: 9-8
The Washington Commanders played about as well as any NFL team could have in the 2024 NFL Season, so there is more room for them to go backwards than forward. That would be a disaster for the franchise after what they have been through, but a roster that still isn't great year and a potential sophomore slump from Jayden Daniels could spell disaster for this team in the 2025 NFL Season.
Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
A Super Bowl hangover could be on the table for the Eagles. In 2023, the year after they appeared in the Super Bowl, they lagged to the finish line in and got blown out in the Wild Card Round. With an average-at-best QB in Jalen Hurts and another change at offensive coordinator, the Eagles could struggle to finish with a record above .500 in 2025.
Dallas Cowboys: 5-12
The Dallas Cowboys get Dak Prescott back and also recently traded for George Pickens, so the offense could be quite good, but a soft defense and a first-year head coach in Brian Schottenheimer could end up leading the team to struggle quite a bit. Overall, on paper, the Cowboys don't have a ton of roster talent, so it's going to be an uphill battle for this team to even finish with a winning record in the 2025 NFL Season, but they should be good enough to at least win a large handful of games.
NFC West
San Francisco 49ers: 4-13
Even with the easiest schedule in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers might struggle in 2025. This team does seem to have an injury bug nearly every single season, and we saw some of their key players miss significant time last year. Well, they're all now a year older, so there is no guarantee that they put that bug behind them.
Furthermore, the team did lose some talent this offseason; both Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency. Overall, if it's another injury-riddled season, the 49ers aren't going to be very good.
Arizona Cardinals: 6-11
The overhauled defensive line could be enough for the Arizona Cardinals to add another win or two from the 2024 total and sneak into the playoffs in the 2025 NFL Season. However, this team could have hit their ceiling in 2024, and we really have not seen Kyler Murray take that next step into stardom.
Many people think he can, but he's been in the NFL since 2019 and has not made that leap. Maybe Murray just isn't all that good? Maybe the Cardinals maxed themselves out in 2024 and are set to regress in 2025?
Seattle Seahawks: 3-14
Sam Darnold had a nearly-perfect situation with the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL Season but signed with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. The Seahawks don't have nearly the weapons on offense that the Vikes did, and the offensive line seems to be a bit of a mess as well.
We could see Darnold revert back to his post-Vikings ways and the Seahawks just fail to make much happen on offense en-route to a brutal three-win season in 2025.
Los Angeles Rams: 8-9
If Matthew Stafford begins to regress in the 2025 NFL Season due to his age, the Los Angeles Rams are going to have to act boldly. Stafford probably has another year or two of good football left in him, but he has been banged up for much of his career. The Rams also started 1-4 in the 2024 season due to mounting injuries.
A losing record is on the table for LA if it's another injury-riddled year and is their veteran QB begins to meet Father Time.