NFL Full team records, standings and playoff picture predictions

The 2026 NFL season is finally upon us. You’ve seen your share of predictions by this point, I have no doubt. However, what you probably haven’t seen is how playoff brackets, final records and standings predictions were actually arrived at. So rather than just operating with vibes, we’re showing our work. Ten FanSided NFL experts picked all 272 games in the regular season — that’s not an exaggeration, we’re the sickos who actually did that — to arrive at the final records for all 32 teams as well as the final division standings and the NFL Playoff bracket. Let’s start with Week 1.

NFL Week 1 predictions

Despite big billing, the 49ers-Rams matchup in Australia was a clean sweep in our picks with Los Angeles coming out on top. And to be sure, there were a lot of lopsided results in our Week 1 picks, though I wouldn’t call it shocking that we think that the Lions, Jaguars, Chargers and Cowboys are better out of the gate than the Saints, Browns, Cardinals and Giants, respectively.

But the resounding results early in Week 1 are the Seahawks besting the Patriots again, the Packers getting one on the Vikings in Minnesota, the Texans starting out strong against Josh Allen and the Bills and the Broncos getting that early leg up on the Chiefs, in Arrowhead no less.

NFL Week 2 predictions

Look, I’m not trying to tell NFL schedule makers how to do their jobs, but having a Week 2 that looks like this is not ideal in terms of garnering more excitement as we get deeper into the season. There are only two games, Vikings-Bears and Jaguars-Broncos, that ended up not being 8-2 or more lopsided. And to make that even “worse” for the NFL as a whole and the schedule, it’s really hard to say that any of that is surprising. The matchups at least appear quite one-sided.

NFL Week 3 predictions

Now we’re back into the goods, or at least somewhat more so. Rams-Broncos has the potential to be a legitimate early game-of-the-year candidate, which we have Los Angeles winning. But let’s not sleep on Patriots-Jaguars and Ravens-Cowboys either. We have the home team taking both of those matchups, but only narrowly, and this should be a dramatic slate of games, especially for a week still in September.

NFL Week 4 predictions

One thing that stood out to me in these picks as they came in was how bullish this group is on the Texans as a general whole. Through the first four weeks, we’re picking Houston to take down the Bills, Bengals and now the Cowboys to get off to a 4-0 start on the season. With that defense, it’s hard to argue, but I do wonder if we’re forgetting how shaky C.J. Stroud was at the end of last year, most notably when it came playoff time.

NFL Week 5 predictions

We have our first tie in the voting picks, which means I had to explain the tiebreaker. It only made sense to me that the home team should be given the edge if we ended up with a 5-5 split. So, as such, we have the Chargers picking up a win in LA to topple the Broncos.

Outside of that, there were some tight votes. I was, perhaps, most surprised that the Eagles ended up being predicted to beat the Jaguars in one of the early international games. Not only is Jacksonville basically a pseudo-London team at this point, but there’s good reason to be high on the Jags this year. That’ll be an interesting one to get eyes on when Week 5 rolls around.

NFL Week 6 predictions

Micah Parsons should be back on the field by Week 6, which would put him in line to host his former team, the Cowboys, at Lambeau Field. We’re predicting that Green Bay gets the win in that one, though we were far from unanimous in that opinion. Given the history between those two teams, it’s really anyone’s guess as to how things go. Let’s also shout out the Seahawks-Broncos matchup on Thursday, a rare gem, and one that we have the Mile High advantage pushing Denver in front of.

NFL Week 7 predictions

What’s with this run of fun Thursday Night Football matchups? Patriots-Bears giving us a Drake Maye and Caleb Williams duel? That sounds like a great way to usher in the weekend, and we have New England prevailing at home. Maybe most important, even if not the biggest name brand, is the Buccaneers taking down the Panthers in Carolina. With how tight the NFC South always is, that seems like a game that could be quite important when or if tiebreakers are brought into play.

NFL Week 8 predictions

Two big things surprised me looking at the Week 8 predictions. For starters, it was a shock to see another week with so many lopsided voting results. But more than that, there were some incredibly decisive votes on the Broncos beating the Chiefs, the Rams beating the Chargers and even, to a slightly lesser degree, the Bills toppling the Ravens. That’s obviously all well within the realm of possibility,

NFL Week 9 predictions

NFL Week 10 predictions

It’s quite the juxtaposition of bookends for this week with the Giants predicted to beat the Commanders on Thursday Night Football and then the Ravens playing the Chargers in a potential AFC playoff preview on Monday Night Football. But the big game is definitely the Cowboys hosting the 49ers, which we have Dallas winning at home according to our predictions.

Meanwhile, there’s never been anything less shocking than a sweep of our picks for the Rams against the lowly Cards.

NFL Week 11 predictions

If you need a midseason week to go apple-picking, this might be the one. No offense to any of the lesser teams in the league, but which of these games really moves you? Based on our consensus predictions, the closest game should be the Vikings visiting the 49ers, but even that isn’t necessarily the most marquee matchup — and we have to wait until Sunday Night Football to watch it. Barring injuries, this week might already be written in stone.

NFL Week 12 predictions

After spending the prior week off and enjoying something of a hobby outside of football, it’s time to lock in for the Thanksgiving slate of games that goes throughout the entire week now. Maybe the biggest shock was the Cowboys taking down the Eagles on the holiday in Dallas. We’ve seen it before, sure, but I definitely didn’t expect a 9-1 vote on that prediction.

There’s also good reason to keep an eye on a lesser matchup with the Jets visiting the Dolphins as that game could have substantial NFL Draft order implications.

NFL Week 13 predictions

I can assure you that I didn’t see the Browns and Titans both picking up wins in Week 13 after having to split the ties with the home team winning. Granted, the Bengals losing in Cleveland is a bit more shocking given how high we appear to be on Cincinnati as a group, but even then, the Commanders are a better team than the Titans overall. Also, it’s a heck of a Monday Night Football showdown with the Cowboys going on the road to Seattle, but we have the Seahawks picking up that victory.

NFL Week 14 predictions

One thing that became clear throughout all of these 272 predictions (or 2,720 if you consider that it was 10 people voting on every game) is that there isn’t much belief in the Falcons. But Atlanta picks up the win in Week 14 thanks to the benefit of playing the Browns. It’s not at all surprising to see that Chiefs-Bengals and Bills-Packers were two of our closer picks for the week, though, with Cincinnati getting the home tieberaker while Green Bay narrowly got the edge over Buffalo.

NFL Week 15 predictions

As we get late into the regular season, there are a lot of close calls in terms of the voting and Week 15 is a great example. All of them, of course, are reasonable as to why that was the case. How about the Raiders scoring an upset over the Broncos in this one, though? There are always head-scratching games like that throughout the course of the regular season, but that feels like a result in this time of the season that will have everyone starting an uproar of panic over Denver just a few weeks away from the playoffs.

NFL Week 16 predictions

Christmas time is here, which means games on both Christmas Eve and the holiday itself. The voting splits in favor of the Eagles, Bears, Bills and Seahawks were all quite close for that special slate of games, but they got the edge in what should be show-stealing matchups. It’s also a fun finish to the week as we get 49ers-Chiefs in Kansas City with the home team coming out on top, and then the Cowboys following suit on Sunday Night Football with what should be a fascinatingly entertaining matchup against the upstart Jaguars.

NFL Week 17 predictions

As you’ll see shortly, things get interesting in a couple of spots for the final two weeks of the regular season. A huge result here is the 49ers narrowly being predicted to beat the Eagles in San Francisco, which means that the NFC East could come down to the final week of the regular season to be decided, especially with Dallas (once again) beating up on the Giants.

Perhaps more importantly, the Chargers upending the Chiefs in Week 17 (and handily based on our predictions and voting) could spell the end of Kansas City’s playoff hopes.

NFL Week 18 predictions

Told you that the Eagles dropping one to the 49ers was a big deal. We now are predicting a Gianst upset of Philadelphia, even at MetLife, to end the season, again by a narrow edge. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers beating the Saints, the Broncos beating the Chargers and the Packers taking down the Lions all have major effects on the division races and playoff seeding to end the season.

Speaking of just that, let’s see how we’ve ended up with the standings and then the playoff bracket now that we’ve gone through 272 games worth of predictions.

Full NFL record predictions and division standings

AFC East

The Patriots letdown that everyone is expecting indeed happens, but not as dramatically as some would have you believe. The Bills take the AFC East crown, but New England is still in the playoff mix. However, everyone will believe in the decline because they miss the postseason. Also, just shout out to the Jets for being predicted to win five games. That’s close to a Super Bowl for them, right?

NFC East

Because of the Eagles dropping their final two games of the regular season, that gives the Cowboys the tiebreaker and the edge to take the NFC East title. Given the back-and-forth nature of this division year over year, that honestly feels just right. However, it’s even more costly than you might imagine, as the Eagles actually get edged out of a playoff spot as a result of not winning the division.

AFC North

Coming into this exercise, I didn’t expect the Ravens and Bengals to come out tied with the same record in the AFC North. Baltimore gets the edge and, as such, takes the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the postseason.

NFC North

In what should be one of the best top-to-bottom divisions in football, the Bears’ resurgence is at least slightly quelled by the Packers reasserting dominance in the division. But the Lions will still be competing for a playoff spot, and the 8-9 mark for the Vikings, while not postseason-worthy, does portend that we believe in Kyler Murray helping this group bounce back from the J.J. McCarthy of it all.

AFC South

While Houston’s hot start mentioned earlier does cool off slightly, they win this division running away. That might be because the voting block ended up being a bit lower on the Jaguars than I certainly expected, but the Texans are still certainly the favorites for the AFC South title.

NFC South

Woof. Just woof. Someone has to win the NFC South, we guess, and the voters are predicting that it’s going to be the Buccaneers doing it with a seven-win season. Get ready for another round of reseeding talk for the playoffs.

AFC West

Though there is a buzz about the Chiefs bouncing back after their disappointing and injury-plagued 2025 season, that’s not what our predictions say will happen. Denver winning the AFC West isn’t a surprise, but the Chargers overtaking the Chiefs again certainly feels like one, or at least something akin to it.

NFC West

You know the meme with the soldiers lining up with the clown in the middle of them? That’s the Cardinals in the loaded NFC West. We have the Rams and Seahawks finishing with the first and tied-second-best records in the NFL this season. Los Angeles will end up taking the crown for this one going into the playoffs.

Final projected NFL playoff bracket

AFC Playoff bracket

• BYE: 1 Baltimore Ravens
• 7 Jacksonville Jaguars at 2 Houston Texans
• 6 Los Angeles Chargers at 3 Buffalo Bills
• 5 Cincinnati Bengals at 4 Denver Broncos

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC would be quite narratively rich. They’re still trying to exorcise some playoff demons, and now new head coach Jesse Minter will have the opportunity to get past that in his first season.

Speaking of narratives, though, how about both Justin Herbert and Josh Allen on the field trying to get past their own postseason issues? How about an AFC South battle as Liam Coen’s Jaguars try to be the latest team to give C.J. Stroud and the Texans a cold dose of reality come playoff time. And don’t forget Denver hosting another playoff game, but doing so against a Bengals team that actually finished the regular season with a better record, according to our predictions.

Make no mistake, though, this is a playoff field in the AFC that would deliver some terrific matchups en route to the Super Bowl.

NFC Playoff bracket

• BYE: 1 Los Angeles Rams
• 7 San Francisco 49ers at 2 Green Bay Packers
• 6 Chicago Bears at 3 Dallas Cowboys
• 5 Seattle Seahawks at 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

To the shock of no one, the heavily favored Los Angeles Rams take the NFC crown going into the playoffs. That’s unfortunate, at least on paper, for the Seahawks who have one of the league’s best records and still end up having to go on the road in the first round. The good news for them is that the road matchup takes them to Tampa to face a team we predicted to have a 7-10 regular-season record.

Cowboys-Bears in Dallas is absolutely electric, though, and we know there’s been plenty of history in recent years with the postseason when it comes to the 49ers and Packers. Maybe playing in Lambeau will be what Green Bay needs to get past them this time around — or maybe the same old Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love questions will arise once again.

Most people are projecting this year’s Super Bowl winner to come out of the NFC. When you look at the playoff field, it’s not hard to see why that’s the case.