Super Bowl LX has come and gone, with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the New England Patriots to win it all.
Here is an in-depth look at every team heading into the offseason, including everything from their 2025 results and what their salary cap/free agent situations look like to their draft capital and glaring needs.
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AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Patriots | Jets
AFC North: Ravens | Bengals | Browns | Steelers
AFC South: Texans | Colts | Jaguars | Titans
AFC West: Broncos | Chiefs | Raiders | Chargers
NFC East: Cowboys | Giants | Eagles | Commanders
NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings
NFC South: Falcons | Panthers | Saints | Buccaneers
NFC West: Cardinals | Rams | 49ers | Seahawks
(Click the team name for the full preview.)
AFC East
Buffalo still finished the season as a top-10 team by DVOA with an offense that was second in EPA per play led by Josh Allen. But after another heartbreaking playoff loss, the Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott and promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to replace him. Will that finally help Buffalo get over the Super Bowl hump, along with the hiring of Jim Leonhard as defensive coordinator? We’re about to find out.
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The Dolphins will start completely fresh with a new regime as the team fired head coach Mike McDaniel and hired Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to replace him, also plucking new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan from Green Bay. Miami now has a chance to pivot from McDaniel’s Tua Tagovailoa-centric style of offense, but due to the significant investment in Tagovailoa’s contract, it might not be a quick or easy path out, even if it figures to start this offseason.
All expectations were exceeded for the first year of Mike Vrabel’s tenure in New England. The Patriots immediately turned back into a contender after just a few down seasons and now they have one of those quarterbacks in MVP runner-up Drake Maye who can be among the tier of players who will keep their team competitive regardless of the surroundings. The Patriots weren’t competitive in Super Bowl LX, but it’s early in their build, and they now have a path to contention just because the quarterback steps on the field.
The Jets are hoping that this timeline will mirror the Detroit Lions, where Aaron Glenn came from as defensive coordinator. Detroit went 3-13-1 in Dan Campbell’s first season before a 9-8 record in Year 2. Though unlike the Lions, the Jets will need to find a quarterback. Justin Fields was signed to potentially be that player, but he lasted until only Week 11 before he was replaced. With a ton of draft capital and salary cap space, 2025 could be seen as more of a Year 0 for the Jets and this regime.
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AFC North
Many of the bones that made the Ravens a Super Bowl contender are still in place, headlined by quarterback Lamar Jackson. But Baltimore now has another offseason of figuring out what went wrong. The first big changes have been made, with the Ravens firing head coach John Harbaugh and hiring Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to lead the franchise. They also made new hires at offensive coordinator (Declan Doyle from the Bears) and defensive coordinator (Anthony Weaver from the Dolphins). We’ll see what else is in store for the revamp this offseason.
After another disappointing, injury-ridden year, the Bengals will keep Zac Taylor as head coach and Duke Tobin as de facto general manager and try to figure out how to build out a defense and more offensive structure around their three best players, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
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This Browns’ season was never going to be about success in 2025. Cleveland seemingly hit on many of the non-quarterback 2025 draft picks — tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and linebacker Carson Schwesinger will be top contenders for Rookie of the Year on each side of the ball, if not outright winners — while the Browns picked up a ton of future draft capital, entering the 2026 draft with two first-round picks. Kevin Stefanski is out as head coach, but Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken takes over to help general manager Andrew Berry oversee what the next era of the Browns might be.
It was an up-and-down year for Pittsburgh that still resulted in a record over .500 and a division title. But that wasn’t enough to stop head coach Mike Tomlin from stepping down after 19 years in charge. The team is bringing in Mike McCarthy as his replacement, which could result in a reunion with Aaron Rodgers, whom McCarthy coached in Green Bay. Even if they don’t bring Rodgers back, it’ll be a new era for the Steelers.
AFC South
It would have been nearly impossible to think the Colts’ 2025 season would end up where it did after how it started. The Colts were first in point differential through the first 10 weeks of the season, and 28th from Week 12 on. With Daniel Jones injured and signed to only a one-year deal, plus having no first-round pick, the Colts find themselves in a much tougher offseason situation than anyone could have imagined midway through November.
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The Texans asserted themselves as one of the best teams in the league by the end of the season. By DVOA, they were the top team in the AFC. With a defense that should keep up this level of play and a quarterback in C.J. Stroud who made the most out of less-than-ideal circumstances — though he struggled in the playoffs — Houston should be a franchise that sticks around as a threat in the AFC.
It’s impossible to overstate the success of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first year of head coach Liam Coen. Thirteen wins and an AFC South title are more than most Jacksonville fans could have imagined, even at some points during this regular season. QB Trevor Lawrence ranked fourth in EPA per play and third in success rate from Week 11 until the end of the regular season. Jacksonville got the most out of its talent and it still feels like there’s more to come. A Year 1 couldn’t be much better and expectations are sky-high for Year 2.
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The Titans had hope after drafting QB Cam Ward with the first overall draft pick in 2025, but things never completely came together. Ward flashed, but a lack of talent, especially at receiver, kept Tennessee’s offense from finding its stride. Head coach Brian Callahan was fired after Week 6 with a 1-5 record, 4-19 overall in two seasons with the Titans. Now the Titans turn to new head coach Robert Saleh and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll in an attempt to get the most out of Ward and build up a roster that has a young offense while featuring one of the oldest defenses in the league by snap-weighted age.
AFC West
The Broncos took advantage of a down Chiefs season and not only capitalized with a first-place finish in the AFC West for the first time since 2015, but they also came away with the No. 1 seed in the conference. Denver’s defense led the way again, with a unit that ranked seventh in EPA per play thanks to its pass rush that was third in pressure rate and another All-Pro season from Pat Surtain II behind it. The offense was inconsistent, but found enough big plays by QB Bo Nix to win a lot of games. The Broncos missed Nix in the AFC championship game, but with another year of experience under his belt, there’s a lot to like about Denver’s future.
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Under normal circumstances, this season might have been just a small step back for a perennial Super Bowl contender — a chance to regroup and go again. But given Travis Kelce’s age and the late-season ACL tear for Patrick Mahomes, and now grave domestic violence allegations against Rashee Rice, this feels like a bigger moment — the end of an era of this version of the Chiefs. It might not be, but for the first time in the Mahomes era, the Chiefs don’t feel inevitable. This offseason will be the first and an important step in trying to get that feeling back, and the first big move was bringing back Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator.
The entire idea behind the 2025 Raiders centered on having a well-coached team that raised the floor of the talent on the roster. It was immediately apparent that would not be the case. Now the Raiders have the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft — presumably Indiana QB and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza — and will be handing the keys to new head coach Klint Kubiak, who just won a Super Bowl as Seattle’s offensive coordinator.
Even with 11 wins and a playoff berth, it feels like the Chargers left so much on the table. Justin Herbert was incredible throughout the season, but couldn’t get the production to match. His finish of 21st in EPA per play doesn’t come close to representing what the Chargers’ quarterback did weekly. The Chargers lost both starting tackles in Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, and that ultimately derailed their hopes in an early playoff exit. Now the Chargers are replacing both coordinators, with Mike McDaniel taking over for the fired Greg Roman on offense and Chris O’Leary, who spent last season as Western Michigan’s defensive coordinator but coached on Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers staff in 2024, taking over the defense for the departed Jesse Minter.
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NFC East
As good as Dak Prescott and the offense were, the Cowboys were one of the league’s worst defenses the entire season and ultimately fired coordinator Matt Eberflus, hiring Eagles secondary coach and pass game coordinator Christian Parker to replace him. Due to the defensive struggles, Dallas traded for Quinnen Williams at the deadline. Williams is a fantastic player and immediately made an impact for the Cowboys, but it cost a 2026 second-round draft pick, leaving Dallas with no Day 2 picks this year, and a single 2027 first-round pick. The offense wasn’t enough to make up for the defensive deficiencies and the Cowboys missed the playoffs in a season when playoff spots felt more wide open than ever. Now with breakout wide receiver George Pickens expected to be tagged, the major offseason moves continue.
While some of the Giants’ young talent was tantalizing, they didn’t have close to a full competitive roster and fired head coach Brian Daboll midseason. The Giants hired arguably the best coach on the market in John Harbaugh, who will now set about restoring the franchise’s winning ways and maximizing Jaxson Dart and Co. with general manager Joe Schoen sticking around too. One of Harbaugh’s first big moves was hiring Matt Nagy as offensive coordinator. We’ll see what comes next.
This was not the world-beating team so many expected to see after last year’s Super Bowl title. Last season. Philadelphia battled with some inconsistency in the offense but found a groove by the end of the season. The 2025 version never fully got it. The talent is still overwhelming. That was the case with a defense that was still second in EPA per play. But, also as the defense proved, this team needs to figure out how to make that talent work together instead of just relying on the talent to carry itself. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was fired, Sean Mannion was brought in from Green Bay, and we’ll see how the 2024 season Super Bowl champions regroup heading into what’s looking like an important 2026.
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After a season when everything broke right for the Commanders, just about everything went wrong in 2025. Last season, Washington went 7-2 in games decided by seven points or fewer. The Commanders were 0-5 in those games this past season. Washington finished the season in the bottom five of defensive DVOA. Now defensive coordinator Joe Whitt and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury are not coming back next season, being replaced by Daronte Jones and David Blough, respectively. While the Commanders still have the bones of the impressive 2024 team — and a likely healthy Jayden Daniels set to return — this is a franchise that will have to step back and retool a bit earlier than expected.
NFC North
This was everything the Bears could have hoped for when they hired Ben Johnson to be their head coach. The offense looked like a unit that could be among the best in the league, even with some ups and downs along the way. Caleb Williams finished 15th in EPA per play but often looked like the star quarterback he was expected to be as the first overall draft pick. Some underlying metrics would suggest the Bears might have overperformed their play during the season, and they did lose at home in the divisional round to the Rams. But the foundation is more than established for what this team could become as the relationship between coach and quarterback grows.
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A 9-8 record is disappointing given where the Lions had been, but this is still a team that finished third in DVOA — it was not a total disaster. Detroit finished third in yards per play on offense, though there were times when the limits of Jared Goff as a quarterback were more exposed than in years past. A shaky offense forced Campbell to take over play-calling in the middle of the season and the Lions hired a new offensive coordinator in Arizona’s Drew Petzing. The Lions still had the eighth-best point differential in the league, better than NFC playoff teams such as the 49ers, Eagles, Packers, Bears and Panthers. It’s hardly a consolation prize, but this team is still on the right track.
At some points during the season, it looked like the Packers might be the best team in the NFL. Then, a torn ACL for Micah Parsons in Week 15 sapped the hope that Green Bay’s defense could cause enough chaos to lead the way. Those pillar pieces will return in 2026, which should again make the Packers one of the top contenders in the NFL. The potential has been growing for this franchise, head coach Matt LaFleur and GM Brian Gutkunst both signed contract extensions, and Jonathan Gannon was brought in as the new defensive coordinator. But after another disappointing early playoff exit, 2026 might need to be the season when the results actually follow.
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Expectations were high for the Vikings coming off a 14-win season in 2024. However, the main goal of 2025 was to get as much information as possible on quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Minnesota disappointed and also did not get a clear evaluation of McCarthy as a quarterback. Despite that, the Vikings still finished above their win total and over .500. That was mostly thanks to a Brian Flores defense that ranked third in DVOA. Flores signed a contract extension after getting interest on the head coaching market. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah lost his job, however, and interim GM Rob Brzezinski will run the team through the draft at least. It’s hard to separate the front office moves from the fateful QB decisions last offseason, so we’ll see how the Vikings address the position moving forward.
NFC South
The Falcons won the final game of the regular season to reach a three-way tie in record at the top of the NFC South. But Atlanta’s win sent Carolina to the playoffs, while the Falcons officially finished third in the division and fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. Atlanta brought in Kevin Stefanski as the next head coach and Matt Ryan to lead the front office. The issue with Atlanta over the past two seasons was a clear misevaluation of where the team was and how to build the roster around it. Now the Falcons are also facing serious consequences for 2025 first-round pick James Pearce Jr. after his arrest over Super Bowl weekend.
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The Panthers are on the right track. An 8-9 record, backing into a division title and a home playoff loss in the wild-card round might not feel like the biggest wins, but some offensive competence and competitive games should have been the goal heading into the season, and that’s what Carolina got. There are more building blocks in place than there were last season, and this is still one of the youngest teams in the league by snap-weighted age.
Framing the 2025 season as a success for the Saints would be a stretch, but there’s a lot more to like than would meet the eye. First-year head coach Kellen Moore laid a solid foundation for his offense, and the Saints’ defense reached the top half of the league in DVOA under coordinator Brandon Staley. Tyler Shough was 22nd among quarterbacks in EPA per play but was in the top 10 over the final five weeks of the regular season, when the Saints went 4-1.
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The Bucs were 6-2 at their Week 9 bye and wound up missing the playoffs. There was a lot of attention given to Baker Mayfield’s dropoff after the bye, but the Bucs went from 13th in EPA per play to only 18th. However, Tampa Bay dropped from sixth in EPA per play on defense before the bye — aided by a strong run defense — to 28th post-bye. The Bucs can hope that better health leads to more success in 2026, but there should be some reflection on what went wrong and what needs to be fixed to keep the franchise moving forward. The Bucs have decided to retain head coach Todd Bowles, though they fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, QB coach Thad Lewis and special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.
NFC West
Offensively, things never clicked. Kyler Murray was in and out of the lineup with injuries, which ultimately ended his season early. Now there are big questions about his future with the franchise, ones that new head coach Mike LaFleur will have to answer after coming over from Sean McVay’s staff with the Rams. There were bright spots on defense, like rookie cornerback Denzel Burke and free-agent signing Josh Sweat, but injuries hamstrung this team all over.
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Throughout the offseason, there were concerns about the health and longevity of Matthew Stafford. There were trade discussions. Would Stafford’s back hold up? Well, it might have been the best season of Stafford’s career. The quarterback won his first MVP and the Rams finished the season second in DVOA. And during his MVP acceptance speech, Stafford, 37, announced he’s returning next season, which means the team can likely bring back a Super Bowl-caliber roster for 2026.
The 49ers were decimated by injuries almost immediately and by DVOA, the 49ers played the sixth-hardest schedule in the league. Yet still, San Francisco won 12 games and played for the No. 1 seed in the NFC during the regular-season finale, then got a road playoff win at the Eagles. This might have been Kyle Shanahan’s best coaching job. Backing the Niners again in 2026 could hinge on their ability to stay healthy — but there are a few other areas this team will need to improve if they want to take another step forward.
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The 2025 season looked like it might have been set up for a transition season, not a Super Bowl-winning one, in Seattle. During the offseason, the Seahawks traded both Geno Smith and DK Metcalf and both moves continued the trend of general manager John Schneider moving on at the right time. Sam Darnold was a younger, cheaper, and more efficient player at quarterback, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba stepped into the role of No. 1 receiver and won Offensive Player of the Year. The success on offense still pales in comparison to what head coach Mike Macdonald did on the defensive side of the ball. Seattle was the best defense in the league, and finished the season first overall in DVOA with a 14-win season and the top seed in the NFC. The Seahawks also had one of the youngest teams in the league by snap-weighted age during the regular season and looks to be a franchise positioned to stay among the top contenders in the NFC as long as Macdonald is in charge.
