The halfway point in the NFL season has some of the favorites so lost that GPS can’t save them, while some of the perennial losers and a few surprise teams are achieving like virtually unknown athletes at the Olympics.
The 7–1 Buffalo Bills look and play like Super Bowl favorites, and taking down the quarterback-hampered Minnesota Vikings 23–6 on Monday night only boosted that notion. But a couple of the preseason picks to contend are lined up and more likely limping toward disappointment rather than a victory parade.
Here’s a look at each division.
NFC West
The season started Down Under for San Francisco, but the 49ers (7–1) have been up top ever since.
Experts guaranteed this to the best division before the season started, but the reigning Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks are off course, the super team Los Angeles Rams are meandering through uneven performances and the Arizona Cardinals are 3–6.
But it’s the 49ers who have shone brightest. In fact, the Niners’ quarterback Brock Purdy is stirring up debate because, while he hasn’t exactly put up MVP-worthy numbers, he hasn’t steered the S.F. car into a ditch.
Meanwhile, the “ramifications” of a slow start for the Rams—the preseason Super Bowl favorite—are that L.A. has very little wiggle room to even reach the playoffs.
The Seahawks, who squawked and called themselves the most disrespected reigning championship team in memory in the offseason, have failed to live up to their own hype, in part because of QB issues that include injuries.
They own the same 5–4 record as the Rams, but seem better equipped to battle through to the postseason because of roster depth.
NFC East
The Dallas Cowboys have been holding their own rodeo—they get thrown off and get right back on again. And at 4–5, the falls are likely to keep coming, with opponents such as the Rams, the Seahawks, and the surprise Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 5-2-1 New York Giants are leading the division, but that’s another team with a fluid quarterback situation—the recently added J.J. McCarthy and the effervescent Jameis Winston—that doesn’t appear to have playoff-push potential.
The Philadelphia Eagles are floundering at 2–7, while the Washington Commanders are at 2–5–1, which includes a tie game.
NFC North
This might be the best division in football with the Vikings heavily in the running, despite a quarterback situation that was on shaky ground, at best. But the Vikes traded for QB Kirk Cousins on Tuesday.
Carson Wentz made most fans squint in Monday’s loss to Buffalo, and Kyler Murray has been inconsistent and injured. It appears a strong defense might not be enough to play winning football the rest of the way after a 6–0 start.
The Chicago Bears—looking super at the moment with four consecutive victories—lead the division at 7–2, and two teams are at 6–2, while the Green Bay Packers are 6–3. But the second half of the schedule will create separation, and talk of all four teams reaching the playoffs will likely subside soon.
Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with Chris Godwin Jr. #14 after his two-point conversion against the Chicago Bears during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on November 08, 2026. (John Fisher/Getty Images)NFC South
The Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Atlanta Falcons each have three wins. Enough said.
AFC West
The chief reason why Kansas City is in the running: QB Patrick Mahomes—a two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP. The Chiefs are 6–2, but the 7–2 Denver Broncos lead the division, thanks to their strong defense.
Denver QB Bo Nix needs to step it up if the Broncos are going to make a serious playoff run.
The 4–5 Las Vegas Raiders are at the Mendoza line—the win-loss ratio compelled them to tap top draft pick Fernando Mendoza on the shoulder and place him in the QB-1 role.
And the 0–8 L.A. Chargers simply have zero juice.
AFC East
Buffalo and the division entered the season with high expectations. The New England Patriots were the Super Bowl runners-up and Josh Allen was looking to stamp his name in postseason history.
Allen is leading the Bills, but the Pats just came off their worst defensive showing at Gillette Stadium, allowing 45 points for the first time since the facility opened in 2002.
The New York Jets (2–7) and Miami Dolphins (1–7), however, are what we thought they were. And they seem to be getting worse.
AFC North
The Cincinnati Bengals are better than many thought. A 6–2 start, to match the Pittsburgh Steelers, means we can expect a great finish to the division race in the second half.
Last season, the defense let Joe Burrow and company down, but the Bengals have made enough stops to give their star QB a chance, and he has delivered on multiple occasions. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is performing adequately for a defense-led squad.
The Cleveland Browns figure to be on the outside looking in when the postseason comes along, but they might be overachieving at 5–4. And with Baltimore two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson sidelined for the season, the Ravens no longer pack much of a punch.
AFC South
The Jaguars, who jumped hard and fast at the opportunity to upgrade their roster ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, have one of the top QBs in the league in Trevor Lawrence and the additions of safety Jessie Bates III, defensive linemen Davon Godchaux and Jordan Davis shored up the defense.
The division’s other teams will have to muster up long winning streaks to impact the playoff picture.
