With preseason getting underway, who are your early NFC playoff predictions?
The 2025 NFL preseason is underway as we enter the month of August. There are three weeks of preseason and 18 weeks of the regular season to go, but with rosters basically finalized, it’s time to start having some fun with predictions.
Question of the Day: Who are you predicting to be your 7 NFC Playoff Teams?
Let’s have some fun with this one. Who do you think will be playing additional games in January? The NFC is very interesting this year because the conference, overall, has improved. There still aren’t many top-heavy teams that can battle with the AFC elite, but there are plenty of teams that can battle for a playoff spot. The middle of the pack might even be stronger than what’s in the middle of the AFC.
My answer: Let’s do this with a process of elimination. To me, three teams have zero chance to make the playoffs out of the 16 in the NFC. Those teams are the New York Giants, the Carolina Panthers, and the New Orleans Saints.
That leaves us 13 teams with a shot at making the playoffs. Out of those 13, the first I’m going to eliminate is the Seattle Seahawks. I’ve never been a believer in Sam Darnold. I think the team has gotten worse since last year. I think they are below .500 this year.
I also don’t trust the Arizona Cardinals. I don’t think Kyler Murray has it. I do think this team has some talent, and the defense could bust some heads, but until I see the Cardinals do it, I will assume they are going to come up short.
I’m also not interested in the Atlanta Falcons. I know they have some talented pieces and maybe Michael Penix is a legitimate NFL quarterback, but the offensive line is a little worse this year, Kyle Pitts is never turning the corner, and while I love their receivers, I just don’t trust this team enough. They might get close thanks to four games with the Panthers and the Saints, but they just aren’t one of the top seven teams.
We have 10 teams left to look at. We have 3 more teams to eliminate.
Let’s look at the Minnesota Vikings. I love the roster. I think they have so many great pieces, and they have a really good coaching staff. But they have JJ McCarthy. I think McCarthy is going to struggle some this year. I think they get off to a slow start, and maybe they improve in the second half of the season as McCarthy gets comfortable, but I think the questions at quarterback discourage me enough about them. I think they’ll be right there at the end, but they come up short.
I also have no interest in the Dallas Cowboys. I think Brian Schottenheimer is just a pretty good coordinator and has no business being a head coach. I think the roster has a bunch of question marks, and while they have some high-end talent, I just don’t think there’s enough meat from top to bottom.
That leaves eight teams, and for me, it gets really difficult at this point.
Let’s look at the other side. Who is 100% going to make it this year? The Philadelphia Eagles will be back. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be back (largely because I eliminated the other three teams in the division). I also think both teams in the NFC West remaining will make the playoffs. If Matthew Stafford misses significant time with his back issues, that changes things, but as long as he’s out there, they make it, and I think the San Francisco 49ers bounce back. There’s still just too much talent to ignore.
That leaves us four teams for three spots. We have the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Washington Commanders.
I think the Lions’ loss of coaches is going to hurt them, but they still have so much talent on that roster, it’s hard to pick against them against these four teams.
I think the Washington Commanders might regress, but if Jayden Daniels improves from year one to year two, it’s going to be hard to pick against them as well. I think the Commanders return to the playoffs this season.
I think it really might come down to the Packers and Bears for that final spot. I don’t think the Packers roster is as good as other people do, and I think Jordan Love is probably near his ceiling.
The Bears are fresh and new, and they are going to catch some people off guard this year because there’s going to be some new things that other coaches haven’t seen, and they’ll need to get some tape on the Bears and adjust for 2026.
The Chicago Bears will be the seventh team that make the playoffs this season.
What do you say, Bears fans? Do you agree that the LA Rams, SF 49ers, TB Bucs, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and Philadelphia Eagles will be the seven playoff teams from the NFC? Sound off below!