2025 Playoff Teams Most Likely to Not Return in 2026
By Andy Davies
The NFL has a great strength in it’s parity.
Teams can go years without success, and then make the right draft moves. All of a sudden, they are playoff contenders again.
Some teams, have years of sustained success before one or two departures change the entire dynamic.
We also see teams have a much shorter period of change, going from worst to first or worst to first in the space of one season.
Here are four playoff teams from the 2025 season that could miss out on the postseason in 2025.
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers made a return to the postseason in the 2025 season.
Despite starting 8-9, the Carolina Panthers made the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
They almost earned their first playoff win since January 2016. Not since beating the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 in the NFC Championship have the Panthers secured a postseason victory.
Despite being 14-0 and then 17-7 down to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wildcard Round, they Panthers fought back. With 2:39 remaining on the gameclock, quarterback Bryce Young found wide receiver Jalen Coker for a seven-yard touchdown to take a 34-27 lead.
Whilst the Panthers ended up on the losing side that day, a late Rams touchdown securing a 34-31 win, there has been hope instilled in the fanbase.
However, it should not be forgotten how much the Tampa Bay Buccaneers collapsed in the 2025 season.
They started 6-2 before winning just twice in their last nine games. The team will be fired up to make up for last season’s errors and this could be at the cost of the Panthers in what is a weak NFC South division.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers’ 2025 came down to a disappointing end. Can they recover from that in the 2026 season?
This will be a question that will surround the team, after letting a 21-6 fourth quarter lead in the Wildcard Round pass them by.
They also face the prospect of a tough division. Whilst the Detroit Lions struggled in 2025, it is hard to see this being the case in 2026.
The Minnesota Vikings have an exciting defensive scheme and elite offensive weapons. Kyler Murray has shown in his career that on his day, he can produce magic.
With Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson to throw to, he could be a Comeback Player of the Year candidate.
The aforementioned Chicago Bears will go into the season as reigning division champions. They will be the deserving favourites.
Due to the strength of the division, getting into the postseason and securing playoff football is no guarantee. With some questioning if head coach Matt La Fleur has taken the team as far as he can, this could be a season where the team potentially has a down year.
Jacksonville Jaguars
If the Jacksonville Jaguars were to make the playoffs in the 2026 season, thy would break a long drought.
Not since the 1999 season have they made the playoffs in back-to-back years. After impressing in 2025, there is many that feel they have the ability to head back.
However, a poor offseason has put doubt in the mind of some, as to whether they could be sent back down to earth in 2026.
The departures of Devin Lloyd and Travis Etienne Jr could prove to be detrimental to the Jaguars hopes. Whilst the AFC South is a weak division in comparison to the rest of the league, the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts will prove a challenge for Jacksonville.
The Jaguars won the division in the 2017 season and made the AFC Championship game. They came agonisingly close to reaching a Super Bowl. The wheels soon fell off the following campaign. There is a risk that this happens again in 2026.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Just like the Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a victim of their division.
The AFC North features some of the league’s best quarterbacks. In the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, these are two players that the Steelers will hate having to play twice.
The Steelers were crowned AFC North champions last season, but it is hard to see them repeating in 2026.
Long time head coach Mike Tomlin will be missed, but sometimes a fresh voice is all a team needs.
This Pittsburgh team has felt a bit stale under Tomlin’s final years in charge, but still found a way to make the playoffs.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has confirmed it will be his last season in the NFL. He will be reunited with Mike McCarthy, but there is a possibility his career ends in a damp squid.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER SIX YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS SUCH AS SUPER BOWL LIX AND LX, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JUSTIN JEFFERSON, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, PATRICK MAHOMES, TRAVIS KELCE, DERRICK HENRY, SAQUON BARKLEY AND JALEN HURTS.