​Since the league shifted to a 14-team playoff format in 2021, seven new teams earned a playoff berth twice (2021 and 2022), six new teams reached the playoffs twice (2023 and 2025), and four teams qualified once (2024). By contrast, under the older 12-team playoff system that began in 1990, roughly six new teams made the playoffs each year on average. This long-running churn among NFL playoff teams makes it highly likely that about half of the squads in the 2025 postseason will not return to the playoffs in 2026.
Last season saw four NFC playoff teams flip their status compared with 2024. The Packers, Rams, and Eagles repeated as playoff participants from 2024, while the Panthers, Bears, Seahawks, and 49ers earned a spot in the 2025 playoffs after missing the previous year. They displaced the Lions, Vikings, Buccaneers, and Commanders, who failed to repeat their 2024 appearances. Coincidentally, that means 11 of the 16 NFC teams secured a playoff berth at least once over the last two seasons.
This year, seven teams will make the NFC playoffs, and it’s virtually certain that some teams from last year’s field will stumble. As Bill Parcells once said: “You never pick up one year where you left off the previous year. Never.” ESPN recently published DraftKings odds for each team to win the Super Bowl, highlighting the seven NFC teams with the best chances: Los Angeles Rams at 6-1, Seattle Seahawks at 11-1, Philadelphia Eagles at 16-1, Green Bay Packers at 17-1, San Francisco 49ers at 18-1, Detroit Lions at 19-1, and Chicago Bears at 25-1. If those odds hold, Carolina would be the only team not expected to repeat a playoff berth from last year, though historical patterns suggest that at least three teams may fail to repeat at a higher rate.
This brings us to the focal question: last year, the NFC’s playoff field, listed in seeding order, consisted of the Seahawks, Bears, Eagles, Panthers, Rams, 49ers, and Packers. Which of these teams do you think will be in for a rude awakening in 2026 and fail to reach the playoffs again? Cast your vote in the attached poll. You can vote for up to three teams. Additionally, there’s a bonus question: will the Cowboys make the playoffs?
If the poll isn’t visible on your device, feel free to share your opinion in the comments below.