The regular season has been over for more than a week, and we’re already gearing up for the second round of the playoffs. Though most of the attention is being directed towards the postseason matchups, 18 NFL teams failed to qualify for the playoffs. Since they have nothing but time on their hands before the start of the off-season, let's look back at each team's 2025-26 campaign and determine if it was a success or a failure.
Arizona Cardinals - Failure
The 2025-26 season was a massive failure and a waste of time in the desert. For a team that had potential playoff aspirations, the Cards lost 14 of their last 15 games after starting the season 2-0. They fired their coach and benched their franchise quarterback. I don't know how you can view this as anything BUT a failure.
Season-defining moment: Emari Demercado dropping the football before crossing the goal line, negating a touchdown. Week Five.
Atlanta Falcons - Failure
The Falcons had all the talent necessary to make a playoff push this season. In fact, if they had beaten the lowly New York Jets in Week 13, they would be representing the NFC South in the postseason instead of the Carolina Panthers. The loss of Micahel Penix Jr. is a huge concern because the future of the quarterback position is still up in the air. The fact that Atlanta fired its head coach is a good indication that ownership agreed this season was a failure.
Season-defining moment: Allowing the New York Jets to put together a game-winning drive with 35 seconds left in the contest. Week 13.
Baltimore Ravens - Failure
Lamar Jackson missing multiple games hurt the Ravens' chances, but they were in the hunt for a playoff spot all the way up until the final game of the season. Regardless, for a team that was one of the NFL's best last season, the expectation was a Super Bowl this year. They fell well short of that goal and also dismissed their head coach of 18 years, which is a clear sign that this season was a failure.
Season-defining moment: Tyler Loop misses a potential game-winning field goal that would've sent the Ravens to the playoffs. Week 18.
Cincinnati Bengals - Failure
It has been three years since the Bengals made the postseason, and they don't look any closer to getting back there. This season probably would have looked different with Joe Burrow in the lineup, but the defense was so bad that it didn't even matter when he was able to play. They'll probably move on from Trey Hendrickson, their best defender, and will be looking for another defensive difference-maker this off-season.
Season-defining moment: Joe Burrow suffers a leg injury that would cause him to miss multiple months of action. Week Two.
Cleveland Browns - Success
The metrics for success in Cleveland are not all that impressive, but by my standards, I consider the Browns' 2025-26 season a good one. They increased their win total from last season, and they seem to have some short-term clarity at the quarterback spot after a decent campaign from Shedeur Sanders. More importantly, they were able to put fans in the seats with Myles Garrett's record-breaking 23-sack season. Dare I say that things may be trending upward in The Land?
Season-defining moment: Myles Garrett breaks the single-season sack record. Week 18.
Dallas Cowboys - Failure
From the Micah Parsons trade to the Monday Night Football stinker against the Cardinals to three-straight losses in December, there was no shortage of lowlights for the Cowboys this season. They couldn't even upset the Green Bay Packers when they went head-to-head, instead settling for a tie, which actually allowed Green Bay to make the playoffs. It felt like the mid-season trade for Quinnen Williams was a turning point for this team, but they finished the campaign 4-5 after that move.
Season-defining moment: Allowing the Detroit Lions to score 17 points in the fourth quarter of their matchup. Week 14.
Detroit Lions - Failure
Detroit looked like the belle of the ball through the first five weeks of the season. Then, they suffered a disappointing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and were never able to recover. After that, the Lions went 5-7 and lost three games in a row from Weeks 15 to 17 to miss out on the playoffs. The season of disappointment culminated in a 23-10 loss against the Minnesota Vikings in a game where the Vikes had three net passing yards. Maybe a different offensive coordinator and some new linemen can help them get back to the postseason.
Season-defining moment: Giving up a 65-yard touchdown to Jordan Addison, allowing the Minnesota Vikings to go up by two scores in the fourth quarter of their second game. Week 17.
Indianapolis Colts - Success
After starting the season 8-2, they lost their last seven consecutive games to miss out on the playoffs. With that in mind, the Colts were never supposed to be that good to begin with. I expected Indy to win five games at most, so winning eight seems like a success in my eyes. Who knows? Maybe if Daniel Jones doesn't tear his Achilles tendon, they win one of their last few games and are in the playoffs. They might have failed based on mid-season expectations, but, considering what we thought of this team before the season started, this was a successful year.
Season-defining moment: Daniel Jones tears his Achilles tendon against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Week 14.
Kansas City Chiefs - Failure
A case can be made that the Chiefs had the most disappointing season of any team in the NFL this year. They completely missed out on the playoffs and will likely be without quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the early part of next season following a torn ACL. After beating the Colts to improve to 6-5, KC didn't win another regular-season game. In all likelihood, the Chiefs will be bad next year, too.
Season-defining moment: Patrick Mahomes suffers a torn ACL against the Los Angeles Chargers. Week 15.
Las Vegas Raiders - Failure
This is the other team that had the most disappointing 2025-26 season. I'm particularly embarrassed because I thought this team would compete for a playoff spot and finish with the third-best record in the AFC West. Going 3-14 was obviously not the expectation for Vegas. If it were, then they wouldn't have hired an experienced 74-year-old head coach. At least with the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, they can finally find a long-term solution at quarterback.
Season-defining moment: Geno Smith's two-point conversion attempt in overtime gets batted down at the line of scrimmage, costing the Raiders the game. Week Nine.
Miami Dolphins - Failure
It was unclear what the hope was for the Dolphins going into this season. Ownership obviously wanted to make the playoffs, but that never seemed possible after they started the year 1-6. Then they turned things around and started to make some noise by going 5-1. From there, they lost two straight games and got themselves eliminated from the playoffs. Now, they have a tough task ahead of them, trying to figure out what to do with Tua Tagovailoa and that mammoth contract.
Season-defining moment: A Tua Tagovailoa interception is returned 34 yards for a touchdown in a 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Week Seven.
Minnesota Vikings - Failure
This was a back-and-forth decision that I had to make, but I ultimately deem the Vikings' 2025-26 campaign a failure for a few different reasons. J.J. McCarthy dealt with multiple injuries and finished the regular season with the seventh-lowest passer rating in the NFL. The Vikes will probably go out and get a veteran quarterback in the off-season, which could cause doubt to creep into the back of McCarthy's head. After seeing Sam Darnold lead the Seattle Seahawks to the best record in the NFC, it's hard not to view this season negatively if you root for Minnesota.
Season-defining moment: The Baltimore Ravens go up by two scores after recovering a fumbled Vikings kickoff. Week 10.
New Orleans Saints - Success
This season was an actual success for the Saints because they finally found a quarterback they can build around. Rookie QB Tyler Shough went 5-5 in games that he started, with 2,384 passing yards, six interceptions, and 13 total touchdowns. That projects to 3,684 passing yards, 15 passing TDs, nine interceptions, five rushing touchdowns, and a 91.3 passer rating over the span of a 17-game season. Those are solid numbers for a rookie QB. The fact that New Orleans will go into the off-season with clarity at the quarterback position means this season was a success.
Season-defining moment: Tyler Shough records 300+ yards and a touchdown in a win over the Carolina Panthers. Week 15.
New York Giants - Failure
Big Blue is another one of the fringe teams that could look at this season as a success. The most important thing the Giants needed to do was make sure that Jaxson Dart was the quarterback of the future, and they did just that. Unfortunately, they also won two meaningless games at the end of the year that cost them the number one overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. We cannot call this season a success when the Giants fired their head coach midway through the campaign.
Season-defining moment: Brian Daboll is fired after the Giants' fourth-quarter collapse against the Chicago Bears. Week Ten.
New York Jets - Failure
Some Jets fans actually thought Gang Green would make the postseason! We should all aspire to reach that level of delusion. Following the win over the Atlanta Falcons, tank commander Brady Cook became the starting quarterback and lost all of the Jets' remaining games. The biggest concern was the defense. The Jets hired a defensive-minded head coach and allowed opponents to score almost 30 points per game. Aaron Glenn is destined to be fired next off-season. At this point, the 2026-27 campaign is just a formality.
Season-defining moment: Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence scores six touchdowns in a 48-20 rout of the Jets. Week 15.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Failure
This was one of the biggest failures in the NFL this season. If Tampa had beaten the New Orleans Saints in Week 14 or the Miami Dolphins in Week 17, they would've qualified for the playoffs. Plus, that fourth-quarter collapse against the Falcons has to sting a little bit extra since they were up by 14 points and still found a way to lose. If they had won any of the three aforementioned games, we would be having a different conversation... but they didn't, so here we are.
Season-defining moment: The Bucs allow the Falcons to complete the comeback by giving up 17 points in the fourth quarter of their second matchup. Week 15.
Tennessee Titans - Success
It's hard to believe that a team that finished with the same record as last year can consider the season a success, but the Titans managed to do it. Cam Ward has a lot to prove still, but he showed flashes of brilliance at many points throughout the season. Tennessee also managed to move on from their lame duck head coach, which means it'll have a new head honcho leading the charge next year. They'll also add a top-flight playmaker with the number-four overall pick and have promising weapons in Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike.
Season-defining moment: Cam Ward posts the best passer rating of his young career in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Week 16.
Washington Commanders - Failure
Some regression was to be expected from the Commanders from last season to this one, but Washington was absolutely dreadful this year. They had one of the worst defenses in the NFL and have a ton of holes on that side of the ball. It was also a disastrous second season for Jayden Daniels, who was in and out of the lineup with multiple severe injuries. Next season will be about keeping Daniels healthy and seeing improvements defensively.
Season-defining moment: A fourth-quarter fumble sets up a Chicago Bears game-winning field goal. Week Six.
