There is always pressure to win in the NFL. This is not a revolutionary concept. Yet, some teams go into the upcoming season under more pressure than others to be the ones left standing after the Super Bowl. With that, here is a ranking of which teams are under the most pressure to win it all.
These rankings are primarily subjective in nature and will be binned in sub-categories. While there will be likely correlation between pressure and projection to win, there are going to be some teams that will have
a higher pressure ranking vs. preseason win projections.
With that, on to the rankings:
Pressure to not finish 0-17 (No particular order):
Miami Dolphins
New York Jets of New Jersey
Arizona Cardinals
Remember 2019 when the Texans gave Miami all of that draft capital for Laremy Tunsil? The final yield: 0-2 in the playoffs. There was a massive hurricane fire sale in Miami this offseason. They finished 1-15 in 2007. They might match that win total this year. The Jets likely will get at least one INT this season on defense…maybe. However, wins might be hard to come by, again. The Cardinals have to hope that Carson Beck’s performance in the Hall of Fame game does not constitute the highlight of the season.
The Cleveland Browns:
Cleveland Browns
They have arguably too much talent to worry about 0-17. However, they are stuck in a tough division, have no surety about their QB situation and traded their best player to the Rams in the offseason. The Browns will likely suck again this year, but Watson’s contract comes off the books and they should have a chance for a good QB prospect in the 2027 Draft.
Pressure to not totally suck (No particular order):
Tennessee Titans
Las Vegas Raiders
New York Giants of New Jersey
Cam Ward showed the Titans that perhaps there is something there. With a new coaching staff, the Titans will look to rise above the horridness of the last couple of seasons. With a few breaks, the Titans could possibly up the win totals. Mendoza hasn’t lost a game since 2024. That streak will end this season. While he is the main focus, the Raiders did significantly upgrade their talent, especially along the lines. Maybe not a playoff team, but likely won’t be in competition for the #1 overall pick either. The Giants have a new coach and provided their young stars can avoid needless injuries/stupid actions, should also not be front runners for the #1 overall pick again.
NFC South (No particular order):
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Arguably the weakest division in the NFL, this division has four teams that can all be in the hunt for the division crown and a home playoff game and also be in the hunt for a top 10 draft pick. Carolina “won” the division with a losing record last year but also took the Rams down to the wire in their playoff matchup. Tampa Bay had been the reigning champion, but injury and questions about their QB which started in last season’s collapse are making things even more uncomfortable for Todd Bowles. Atlanta has been one of the biggest teases in the league in recent seasons, filled with talent, but somehow managing to be less than the sum of their parts. New Orleans seemed to finally embrace the long-delayed rebuild, but then Shough shows up to jolt the Big Easy fanbase. Likely the 4 seed in the NFC is going to the winner of this division, with a chance it is to at team with a winning record.
Not championship pressure, but playoff pressure (No particular order):
Indianapolis Colts
Minnesota Vikings
Washington Commanders
Cincinnati Bengals
Los Angeles Chargers
The Colts watched all other AFC South teams win multiple division crowns since their last one in 2014. Much rides on the health of Daniel Jones. If he can return and play close to the form he showcased in last season’s 7-1 start, the Colts may have something to say about playoff seeding. Same with the Commanders, who hope the Jayden Daniels of 2024 is the one that shows up this season. The Vikings hope that either Murray or McCarthy can lead them back to the postseason. The Bengals need a) Joe Burrow to stay healthy and 2) Dexter Lawrence to lift the defense to average. If both happen, the Bengals are legit contenders. The Chargers think they are contenders, but they need to do something they haven’t done since they played in San Diego: Win a playoff game.
Teams under pressure to win it all (in ascending order)
16) Jacksonville Jaguars
Under Coen, the Jags won their first AFC South title since 2017. They had a sour coda with their loss to the Bills, but they set a foundation of success. Yet, the Glitter Kitties had a curiously quiet offseason. The pieces are there for them to make another run at their first Super Bowl, but they might also have to claw just to get back to the postseason.
15) Chicago Bears
Ben Johnson was the hot shot/can’t miss hire last offseason. The Bears responded with a division crown and an overtime loss short of the conference championship game. Yet, there is pressure to hold off regression, as they relied on defensive turnovers and a myriad of 4th quarter comebacks to get to where they got as far as wins. Will their offseason moves be enough to mitigate those fears?
14) Kansas City Chiefs
Quite the dynastic hangover season for the Chiefs. They finished 6-11 and Mahomes tore his ACL. Yet, the Chiefs expect to have Mahomes back under center to start the season and they retooled gaps in their running game and secondary. Eric Bienemy is back to guide an offense that has regressed since his previous tenure. That they’ve won three Super Bowls in the last six years lessens some of the pressure to win it this year. However, they want to show that last season was a painful footnote and not a trend.
13) New England Patriots
QB Drake May, HC Mike Vrabel and DC Zak Kuhr leveraged the weakest schedule in decades and a hot defense to claim their 10th Super Bowl bid this century. Yes, the Seahawks blasted them in the Super Bowl, but the Pats can say they are back. The schedule is going to be more difficult, and New England won’t sneak up on anyone this year. Oh, and I don’t know if you heard, but Vrabel had a bit of a difficult offseason. As if the defending AFC Champion needed more challenges.
12) Seattle Seahawks
The defending Super Bowl champions rode Sam Darnold of all QBs, along with the “Dark Side” defense to their 2nd Lombardi Trophy. They lost Kenneth Walker, but with most of their key stars returning, they figure to have a good chance to repeat. They won in the 49ers’ house last season. Seattle would surely relish the chance to win it in the Rams’ home this round. Of course, they have to weather being the defending champ and playing in the super brutal NFC West.
11) Denver Broncos
If Bo Nix hadn’t broken his ankle in the AFC Divisional round? Denver had an awful lot go right for them last season as they ended up with the #1 seed in the AFC. They return a formidable defense and Nix is expected back to start the season. Yet, they must navigate a more dangerous AFC West and they can’t expect to rely on continued 4th quarter magic to bail them out again.
10) Philadelphia Eagles
The 2025-26 started with their best defensive player getting ejected from a game before the first official snap. The season never really got much better. The Eagles became the first team in over 20 years to repeat as NFC East Champions. The reward: a humiliating loss to the 49ers at home. In theory, if the defense can continue its high standard of play, the offense only needs to be competent, something it definitely wasn’t last year. Philly fans aren’t noted for patience, so it is on HC Sirianni and new OC Sean Mannion to get the Eagles back in the Super Bowl mix.
9) Detroit Lions
They finished last in the NFC North with a winning record. A far cry from the dizzying success of the previous two seasons. Yet, contending windows are fickle in the NFL and Detroit knows this as well as any. How many more chances can they get with this core of players? Campbell wants and needs to prove that his squads are more than the success of Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Last season didn’t help that argument.
8) Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys will always have pressure to win Jerry Jones’ 4th Super Bowl. Yet “Jerruh” is not getting any younger. Last year, Dak Prescott had one of his best years throwing the football, but there was no D in Dallas, as their defense was among the worst in franchise history. If that defense was even average last year, Dallas might have gone on a run. As it stands, they should be better on that side of the ball (hard to be any worse). Now, can the Cowboys actually win when it matters?
7) Baltimore Ravens
Injuries and a rough start to the year doomed the Ravens last year. Loop’s awful miss against Pittsburgh was the sour Old Bay on top of a rancid crab cake of a season. It led to the end of the John Harbaugh era. Now the team looks to a new head man Jesse Minter to lead QB Lamar Jackson, RB Derrick Henry and the Ravens to the Super Bowl. Along with Jackson and Henry, S Kyle Hamilton must stay on the field for the team to get to the Super Bowl. The Lamar Jackson window is by no means shut, but there is less space in that opening than there was before.
6) Green Bay Packers
Matt LaFleur has coached in Green Bay for 8 seasons. No coach has been with the Packers with as many postseason appearances (6) as LaFleur without bringing a NFL Championship/Super Bowl to Titletown, USA. At certain points last season, primarily when Micah Parsons was wrecking havoc, the Packers looked like a Super Bowl team. However, after Parsons tore his ACL, the Packers’ season effectively fell apart. Blowing a 21-3 lead to the Bears in the playoffs did not help matters. Parsons should be back early-ish in the 2026 season, but Green Bay is getting a bit antsy about the playoff shortfalls.
5) Houston Texans
Last season saw the Texans end the year matching the franchise record for wins in the regular season (12) and notching their 1st road playoff victory. It also saw them end the season with yet another road Divisional Round playoff loss (0-7 all time). CJ Stroud ended the season with the worst two-game stretch of his career. The team invested a lot of free agency money and draft capital on the offensive line (again) and brought in another RB1 hopeful (again). They also fortified an already formidable defense by bringing secondary (Blankenship) and DL (MacDonald, Clowney) help, as well as effectively re-signing all the key starters to extensions. Yet, so much rides on the offense and Stroud. If the playoff struggles were a blip, and not a new feature, the Texans just might be able to get to their first ever conference championship, if not further.
4) San Francisco 49ers
At some point, the team health will be better, right? The 49ers won’t have all of their players get injured at once, right? Even with all of the injuries, the 49ers entered the last week of the season with a chance to win the NFC West and clinch the #1 overall seed. They proceeded to lose to the Seahawks to end the regular season and then two weeks later, got blasted by those same Seahawks 41-6. George Kittle will start the year on IR, and it is worth wondering how much the Brandon Aiyuk saga will detract from the squad. Kyle Shanahan has taken the 49ers to two Super Bowls, only to blow double-digit leads in both. A good part of the current 49ers core is trending towards aging. Will he get a chance to get back and actually hold on to that double-digit lead?
3) Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have been the model of consistency for the past few seasons. Perhaps too consistent, in that the consistency saw them win 9-10 games, get into the playoffs and then get blasted in the Wild Card round. They saw Mike Tomlin walk away, forcing the team to hire only its 4th head coach since the merger. Mike McCarthy likely won’t be around as long as the other three. Also, the team’s main players are experienced fast moving into aging. Aaron Rodgers is back his last season. TJ Watt and Cam Heyward are also back, but they aren’t getting any younger. A rebuild seems inevitable, but can this core of talent get one last chance to break the tie they hold with New England and get ring #7?
2) Buffalo Bills
After yet another heartbreaking playoff loss, the Bills look to reset. However, they will do it under different leadership. The Bills fired Sean McDermontt, promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to the head spot. Josh Allen is already one of the best QBs in the game and James Cook returns as the leading rusher from last year. The team will have a new stadium, new uniforms and a new defensive coordinator in Jim Leonhard. However, they’ll have to contend with a resurgent New England, and have no shortage of AFC contenders, from the Texans to Kansas City. Still, the Bills figure that it has to happen at some point soon. Will it be soon enough?
1) LA Rams
Congratulations Rams! You open the year in the #1 slot for team under the most pressure to win it all. The Rams’ season ended in heartbreaking fashion when MVP Matthew Stafford couldn’t quite overcome Seattle in their house for the NFC Championship. It was a few shortfalls on defense and special teams that hindered the Rams. Thus, this offseason was all about fixing those issues. The Rams traded the Chiefs for CB Trent McDuffie, hired Bubba Ventrone for the special teams, and used their 1st round pick on…QB Ty Simpson? Then in June, the Rams swung a massive trade for reigning DPOY DE Myles Garrett. Oh, and DL Aaron Donald might make a comeback. At this point, with a massively upgraded defense and Sean McVay still calling the shots, the Rams seem primed to get back to the Super Bowl. A Super Bowl, which by the way, will be played at So-Fi Stadium. The last time the Super Bowl was played there, the Rams won their first Super Bowl in LA. Can history repeat itself?
And there you have the Super Bowl pressure rankings for the 2026-27 season. Feel free to let your (respectful) take populate the internet.
