playDan GrazianoOct 16, 2026, 06:35 AM ETCloseDan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsEvery year around this time, we like to rank the NFL’s divisions against each other. We have a tool that does that — ESPN’s Football Power Index — but the powers that be also ask me to do it, which I take as license to disagree with FPI.One of my quiet personal obsessions is the idea that, at some point, a division will send all four of its teams to the playoffs in a given year.
This has been possible only since 2020, when the NFL expanded the playoff field to seven teams from each conference, and we are 0-for-6. We’ve had divisions in which every team finished with a winning record — most recently last season’s NFC North. But it hasn’t been enough to put all four teams in the postseason.So far in 2026, we have two divisions in which all four teams have winning records. And if the season ended right now — after the Seahawks lost to the Broncos on Thursday night to kick off Week 6 — all four of the teams in the NFC North would hold playoff spots.
So there’s hope, even though at this point the other one of those divisions (AFC North) would have just one playoff team.Because I’m mildly obsessed with this idea, I use it as a gauge for this exercise. It’s not the only qualification, but I do tend to rate a division higher if it’s close and I believe one has the better chance of pulling off the all-four. That’s a bit of an explanation about the madness behind my method. Here are the rankings for you all to get upset about.
Enjoy. (Note: FPI rankings are through Week 5.)Jump to a division … AFC: East | West | North | South NFC: East | West | North | South1. NFC NorthCombined FPI rating: 6.0 (No. 2 of eight)Detroit Lions: 2.1 (10th in the NFL)Chicago Bears: 1.7 (12th)Minnesota Vikings: 1.5 (13th)Green Bay Packers: 0.7 (16th)It was a tough call between this division and the NFC West, which has three teams in the FPI’s top six while this one has only one in the top 10. But the premise here is that we want to know which division has the best chance of landing all four of its teams in the playoffs, and with apologies to the Cardinals, I believe that puts the NFC North up top.
This division features three teams (Detroit, Chicago, Green Bay) with high-end offenses but shaky defenses and one team (Minnesota) with the best defense in the league but an offense that’s still putting things together.At 5-0, the Vikings are still ranked 13th by FPI because of their 26th-ranked offense. But their defensive and special teams FPI both rank No. 1 overall, and if you look at the injury issues they’ve had on offense, it’s not difficult to imagine that unit improving. The Packers are 10th in offensive FPI despite massive offensive line issues and a complete lack of a run game. Those issues feel less likely to improve than Minnesota’s weaknesses, but it’s not out of the question.
And the eventual return of edge rusher Micah Parsons should boost Green Bay’s 19th-ranked defense.Chicago ranks 12th in FPI offense and defense, and it could get quarterback Caleb Williams back from injury in Week 6. Detroit is fourth in offensive FPI and 30th in defensive, and the Lions’ playoff hopes rest on their ability to outscore the teams on their fourth-place schedule. I like their chances.2. NFC WestCombined FPI rating: 8.8 (No. 1 of eight)San Francisco 49ers: 6.7 (first in the NFL)Los Angeles Rams: 4.5 (third)Seattle Seahawks: 3.5 (sixth)Arizona Cardinals: minus-5.9 (30th)Like everyone else who has assumed since the Myles Garrett trade that the Rams are an unstoppable force, FPI continues to leave me alone on the “Shouldn’t we wait to see it first?” island.
There is no way anyone who has watched them play this season truly believes the 2-3 Rams are the third-best team in the NFL. Yet there they sit by being fifth in offensive FPI, sixth in defensive FPI and, of course, that pesky 32nd in special teams. With nearly 30% of the season complete, they’ve allowed more points than they’ve scored. They’ve lost to all three teams they’ve played that have a winning record, and if not for the Eagles gifting them a Week 4 win, they’d be 1-4.
I’m willing to believe the Rams have what it takes to be one of the best teams in the NFL, but right now they are absolutely not.Meanwhile, the 49ers look elite despite being riddled with injuries. They’re 5-0, second in offensive FPI and 10th in defensive FPI. They beat the Rams handily in the season opener and just won a knock-down, drag-out game against the Super Bowl champion Seahawks. Seattle (now 3-3) went into Thursday night’s game ranked second in FPI defense and special teams — but a troubling 14th in offense.
If the Seahawks want a shot at repeating, they need to get the run game figured out the way they did as last season went along.The Cardinals rank 23rd in FPI’s offensive rankings, dead last in defense and 29th in special teams. They are the main reason this division can’t dream of putting all four teams in the playoffs, but again, the Rams have yet to show us anything this season that should make us think this division could get three.3. AFC NorthCombined FPI rating: minus-2.5 (No. 5 of eight)Cincinnati Bengals: 2.4 (eighth in the NFL)Baltimore Ravens: 0.9 (15th)Pittsburgh Steelers: minus-1.1 (19th)Cleveland Browns: minus-4.7 (27th)This is one of two divisions, along with the NFC North, in which all four teams have winning records. FPI doesn’t particularly love any of them.
It has Cincinnati’s offense ranked sixth, Baltimore’s offense 11th (though Lamar Jackson’s absence is woven in there), Pittsburgh’s offense 19th and Cleveland’s offense 31st. Defensively, FPI ranks the Ravens 14th, Steelers 15th, Browns 16th and Bengals 18th, which is about as mediocre and closely bunched as you can get.Cincinnati’s offensive ranking, combined with FPI’s assessment of the 3-2 Bengals’ remaining schedule as the easiest in the league, offers hope for Joe Burrow’s return to the postseason. Baltimore has the 4-1 first-place record and has yet to play a division game, so opportunity is there for the Ravens to take control. Jackson’s left ankle injury isn’t believed to be long term, and they just beat the Falcons with Tyler Huntley anyway.FPI (and history) identify the Browns as the weak link here.
They’ve been outscored by an average of 3.8 points per game but still have a 3-2 record. That’s a testament to the job first-year coach Todd Monken is doing, but it certainly offers license to wonder how sustainable it is over the rest of the season. And the Steelers? Well, quarterback Aaron Rodgers is flinging it, running back Jaylen Warren is on a hot streak, and the defense looks better than it did last season.
They also have the head-to-head win over the Bengals in their pockets (though they also lost to the Browns). The Steelers are hard to figure, but they’re even harder to count out.This division always feels like it has a chance to put at least three teams in the playoffs each season, and if the Browns keep overachieving, the North could make history.play2:09What Lamar’s potential return means for Ravens’ season4. AFC WestCombined FPI rating: 1.8 (No. 3 of eight)Kansas City Chiefs: 4.3 (fourth in the NFL)Denver Broncos: 1.5 (14th)Los Angeles Chargers: minus-1.3 (20th)Las Vegas Raiders: minus-2.7 (22nd)The Chiefs are back! FPI has them seventh in offense and eighth in defense after their bye week.
And Patrick Mahomes seems to be feeling all the way recovered from last season’s major knee injury. After reaching the AFC Championship Game seven years in a row and winning three Super Bowls along the way, the Chiefs watched as two other AFC West teams made the playoffs l
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