The NFL is about to embark on its most bizarre playoffs in years. There are 14 teams left, and nobody has enough confidence in any of them to assert reliably that they could go all the way and win the Super Bowl. Postseason stalwarts like Philadelphia and Buffalo look weaker than they have in years, there’s uncertainty whether young upstarts in Jacksonville and Chicago have the mettle in must-win games — while the Steelers and Panthers, they’re just lucky to be here, bless their hearts.
What about the teams who are sitting at home? Which of the 18 organizations left out of the playoffs can lay claim to having a foundation that can be built on, honed in the offseason, and bounce back to prominence in 2026? These are the TK best teams who didn’t make the playoffs.
It was an ugly year for Detroit where the team didn’t catch many breaks. There was undoubtably some retooling going on behinds the scenes while the Lions tried pivot their staff after losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn — but the biggest factor was injuries, too many of them, at too many key positions.
Despite this Detroit still finished 9-8, locked out of the playoffs because of how dominant the NFC West was in 2025. One single win would have put them in the postseason, solidifying just how good this team still is. Constructed with everything it needs to compete, it’s easy to get lost in the record and ignore Jared Goff still played phenomenally well, and that a majority of Detroit’s losses were in close games that could have easily gone the other way.
We have a tendency to overthink football, yet this one doesn’t require much thought. The Lions are easily one of the best teams in the NFL who just happened to find themselves on the wrong side of things in 2025.
The only word to describe 2025 for the Ravens is “astonishing,” and not in a good way. All the trappings we normally ascribe to a Baltimore team vanished, and we were left with a hollow, underachieving team that should have been so much better.
Part of this was due to injuries to Lamar Jackson, but that’s not really the story here. What made the Ravens struggle so much was a defense that vanished with Mike Macdonald heading to Seattle. The staggering regression on the defensive side made it impossible for the team to stay in games with an offense severely lacking weapons outside of Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers.
There is a significant silver lining, however. The Ravens finished 8-9 with a +26 point differential on the season, and a schedule where five of their losses were decided by a single score or less. That means we can clearly see the room for improvement, and an obvious path forward back into relevancy. When you have an MVP winning QB and one of the best running backs in the league its a hell of a foundation, they just need to round out the rough edges.
No. 3: Kansas City Chiefs
We finally learned Kansas City’s breaking point after years of running an underserved offense without adequate weapons for Patrick Mahomes. There is a reality coming into play that Travis Kelce is slowing down in the back-end of his career, and the receiving corps can’t be propped up by Rashee Rice and the island of misfit toys the team has available.
There is undoubtably some work to be done. The running back position needs a complete overhaul, the Chiefs need to find a true outside receiver who can both play off Rice, and fill in should more off-field issues arise with him, while also filling some gaps on the offensive line. It might sound like a lot, but you’re always going to have a chance when you have a defense as good as Kansas City’s while getting to play Mahomes every game.
It’s difficult to sugar coat 6-11, but one of the defining features of the 2024 Chiefs was their ability to win close games. That flipped in 2025 where Kansas City lost nine of their 11 games by a single score. Much like the Ravens there’s no reason they can’t get back to contention, but there’s a little more roster work to do here than in Baltimore.
No. 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Something is rotten in an organization when you collapse like Tampa Bay did while getting back some key players from injury. It’s almost as if the Buccaneers players realized their roster didn’t have enough firepower to make noise in the playoffs, so they coasted instead of asserting their will on the hapless NFC South.
There are absolute bright spots to hang your hat on if you’re a Bucs fan. There’s a solid dual-back running game, a potential superstar receiver in Emeka Egbuka, coupled with a defense that still boasts Vita Vea and Antoine Winfield Jr. The issue is that this is a pivotal moment for the team, and a lot is on the verge of changing.
We’re yet to see what Mike Evans will do following this season, whether that be trying again in Tampa, choosing to find another team, or retiring from the NFL. Lavonte David is in the twilight of his career, as are the one-and-done defensive ends the team brought in to pad out the roster. Then there’s the elephant in the room: Whether or not Baker Mayfield is the guy or just a guy who managed to have a couple of good years.
There’s a lot to like about the Bucs, but just as many question marks as we enter a critical offseason for them.
No. 5: Indianapolis Colts
The Colts’ season got away from them before Daniel Jones was injured, but losing their QB made it impossible to stabilize. Even considering those factors the reality is that Indianapolis was the best team in the NFL for the first half of the season, with Daniel-freaking-Jones as quarterback.
I believe in Shane Steichen, and it’s a good thing the organization didn’t knee jerk to find a new coach during this cycle. We’ve yet to see him have a top QB to operate with, and he’s milked every bit of talent out of the guys on his roster. The obvious blemish here is Anthony Richardson, who we knew would be a boom-or-bust player when he was drafted — and right now he’s firmly trending towards bust. If this team can land a legitimate quarterback there’s a lot to be excited for.
Indianapolis’ issue seems far more rooted in the front office and GM than coach, but they should be able to rebound with Jonathan Taylor, some of these weapons, and $31M in cap space.
No. 6: Cincinnati Bengals
There isn’t much left to say about the Bengals. This is an absolutely brilliant offense being let down by everything in its orbit. Zac Taylor is a terrible head coach, and the defense continues to be a bargain basement mess of mediocrity.
The infuriating part is that the Bengals should be so good. It wasn’t that long ago that Cincinnati went on a stunning playoff run, went all the way to the Super Bowl, and appeared poised to be the next great team to ascend. That hasn’t come to pass. As a result it’s feeling more and more like Joe Burrow’s career is starting to mirror that of Carson Palmer, another Bengals great, with an amazing offense, who the organization was pathologically incapable of building around.
Part of me still believes the Bengals are great team. Burrow was 5-3 as a starter this season, and if he was healthy we have to assume the team would have been challenging in a weak NFC North and could be a playoff team right now. That’s enough to make this list.
