2025 NFL Second Half Predictions: Selecting Super Bowl Winner, Playoff Bracket, No. 1 Pick

The 2025 NFL season is a little over halfway complete, and the playoff race is picking up by the week. A handful of teams seem to be on the outside looking in, while other teams look the part of early Super Bowl favorites.

To prepare you all for the rest of the year, we went through every remaining game (from Week 11 onwards) to project all 32 NFL teams’ final records by the end of the season. From there, we built out a playoff bracket, made selections based on those matchups, and set up an order for the 2026 NFL Draft. As an added bonus, we made prospect selections for each first-round pick based on our custom draft order.

Every NFL Team’s Final 2025 Record

NOTE: Teams listed in italics indicate Wild Card selections.

AFC East:

1. Buffalo Bills (13-4)
2. New England Patriots (12-5)
3. Miami Dolphins (6-11)
4. New York Jets (3-14)

As of this writing, the New England Patriots hold the lead in the AFC East. At 8-2, they’re sitting firmly in position to make the postseason in Mike Vrabel’s first year as their head coach. They don’t keep that divisional lead in these predictions, but they safely make the playoffs by a considerable margin.

Ultimately, I have the Buffalo Bills taking the first-place spot back by the end of the year, due largely in part to a Bills victory on the road over the Patriots in Week 13. They have the third-best offense in the NFL by PFSN’s Offense Impact scoring, and their experience winning in key situations gives them the advantage over New England.

In these predictions, Buffalo finishes off the season with a five-game winning streak and rides that momentum into the 2025-26 NFL postseason. The Miami Dolphins win a few more games, but a 6-11 record likely wouldn’t be enough to save Mike McDaniel’s job as their head coach.

AFC North:

1. Baltimore Ravens (9-8)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (7-10)
4. Cleveland Browns (3-14)

The AFC North is a challenging division to predict this year, particularly given the impact of injuries on two of its top teams. Lamar Jackson was among several key Baltimore Ravens to miss time this season, which brought them out to a 1-5 start. That said, they’re winners of three straight going into Week 11 and are now back in the playoff hunt.

Assuming Jackson stays healthy for the remainder of the 2025 NFL season, I trust their roster and coaching staff to propel them back over .500 and into a playoff position. Luckily for them, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been unstable this year, as neither their offense nor their defense has been able to find consistent footing.

I have Mike Tomlin’s streak of finishing the year above .500 continuing in 2025, but with more talented teams in other divisions within the AFC, I don’t think Pittsburgh makes the postseason if they fail to win the AFC North outright. In this instance, I give the Ravens the tiebreaker due to a 2-0 record in their matchups against the Steelers.

The Cincinnati Bengals are another tough team to project, as well. Assuming Joe Burrow comes back later in the year, they could find a way to catch fire down the stretch. Late-season matchups like Miami, Arizona, and Cleveland all seem winnable. However, they face the obstacle of having a porous defense, which could bury them in a tough stretch of immediate games post-Week 11.

AFC South:

1. Indianapolis Colts (12-5)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)
3. Houston Texans (7-10)
4. Tennessee Titans (2-15)

Are the Indianapolis Colts for real? Their 8-2 record would seem to indicate so. Their offense has been an unstoppable juggernaut for much of the season, as they lead the NFL with a 94.2 OFFi grade. Daniel Jones has looked a little more human in his last two games, though, and they face a difficult schedule the rest of the way through.

Realistically, the Colts have won too many games at this stage of the season to blow their lead atop the AFC South, barring a catastrophe. Remaining opponents like the Chiefs, Seahawks, and 49ers will provide a great gauge as to how strong of a Super Bowl contender Indianapolis really is.

I don’t expect the AFC South to have any additional playoff representation this year, as the success of other Wild Card teams could mean the AFC’s playoff race starts to finalize early in December. Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans have shown flashes in spurts this season, but with two below-average OFFi scores, I don’t think either has the offensive firepower to catch up to the loaded AFC West and whoever doesn’t win the AFC East.

AFC West:

1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-5)
2. Denver Broncos (12-5)
3. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
4. Las Vegas Raiders (6-11)

Despite having a top-four offense and a top-ten defense in the NFL by PFSN’s Impact grading, the Kansas City Chiefs enter Week 11 at just 5-4. That’s a completely respectable record for most teams, but it falls far below the expectations the franchise has set over the years. But there’s still plenty of reason to be optimistic.

The Chiefs’ losses have all come against teams currently sitting over .500. At +76, they have the second-best point differential in the AFC and the fifth-best in the NFL, faring better than two-loss teams like the Broncos, Eagles, and Patriots. They still have to face Denver twice, Indianapolis once, and the Chargers once the rest of the way, but three of those four games happen in a favorable home environment.

In the end, Kansas City goes 7-1 the rest of the way through to secure the AFC West crown over the Denver Broncos through the tiebreaker of Denver’s loss to the Colts earlier in the season; I have the Chiefs beating Indianapolis in Week 12.

It’s clear that both the Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers are playoff-caliber teams, and either team would fare a lot better if they didn’t have to battle through grueling divisional schedules each season. Denver’s No. 1-ranked DEFi score shows how dominant their defense has been this year, which could help them come playoff time.

NFC East:

1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-4)
2. Dallas Cowboys (6-10-1)
3. Washington Commanders (5-12)
4. New York Giants (4-13)

At this juncture, the Philadelphia Eagles are the clear favorites to win the NFC East. An injury-ravaged Washington Commanders team has been unable to replicate its successes from last year, while the Dallas Cowboys’ defense has been too porous to keep them in a favorable position in the playoff hunt.

Going into Week 11, the Eagles are already 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Cowboys. The defending Super Bowl champions have too good a roster to expect them to lose that many games, so unless Dallas wins out the rest of the year, their current 3-5-1 record is too big a hole to overcome within the division.

The question isn’t so much around which team will win the NFC East; it’s pretty clear that team will be Philadelphia. Rather, the question remains how the Cowboys will fare the rest of the year. Their 85.8 OFFi grade ranks sixth in the NFL, and they just added Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson at this year’s trade deadline.

Dallas ranks just 23rd in strength of schedule for the rest of the year, but that remaining stretch still includes teams like Detroit, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and the Chargers. Their deadline additions should help their defense, but there are still too many holes for them to make the playoffs in a loaded NFC.

NFC North:

1. Detroit Lions (12-5)
2. Green Bay Packers (10-6-1)
3. Chicago Bears (10-7)
4. Minnesota Vikings (7-10)

For what would be the second year in a row, the NFC North brings three teams into the NFL postseason in these second-half season projections. This year, though, it’s not the Minnesota Vikings that join the likes of the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

Rather, it’s the Chicago Bears who sneak into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, making their first postseason appearance since 2020. There’s another team with a 10-7 record in the NFC (spoiler alert: it’s the 49ers), but I have Chicago picking up the win in their matchup against each other, thus giving them the tiebreaker to make it to the postseason.

The first two teams in the NFC North feel like foregone conclusions to make it to the playoffs at this current rate. Both are led by efficient passing attacks and top-ten defenses; it’s really only a matter of whether the Lions or Packers win the division. I have Detroit picking up the win due to Green Bay’s recent inconsistency.

It’s entirely possible the Bears and Vikings switch places in real life. Minnesota has already beaten Chicago once this season, and they recently picked up an upset victory over the Lions. The Bears are unproven against top NFL teams this year, as well. In the end, however, Chicago’s current 6-3 record positions them well, and key wins against toss-up opponents like the 49ers and Vikings get them into the playoffs.

NFC South:

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
2. Carolina Panthers (8-9)
3. Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
4. New Orleans Saints (4-13)

Save for the battle for second place between the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons, the NFC South feels like one of the easier divisions in the NFL to predict for the remainder of the year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in spite of their bite from the injury bug this season, are a game and a half ahead in the division and have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NFL.

The Buccaneers have a solid defense and an offense that should get better as key pieces like Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin return from injury. As hit or miss as Baker Mayfield has been this year (his 72.5 QBi grade ranks just 23rd in the NFL), he’s still a much more reliable passer at this stage than anybody else in the NFC South.

Carolina has remained competitive at 5-5, and while their run game continues to look strong thanks to Rico Dowdle, they also face the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL post-Week 11. They haven’t shown a good enough passing attack under Bryce Young to project as consistent winners against playoff-caliber competition.

The Falcons could be an interesting team to watch, as they’ve already played most of the hard parts of their schedule. That said, their current 3-6 record won’t be enough to hang as postseason contenders in an NFC where the first team out of playoff contention currently has a 6-4 record.

NFC West:

1. Seattle Seahawks (13-4)
2. Los Angeles Rams (13-4)
3. San Francisco 49ers (10-7)
4. Arizona Cardinals (6-11)

For my money, the NFC West features not just the two best teams in the NFC this year, but arguably the two best teams in the entire NFL. Both the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams are the only teams in the league with top-five offenses and defenses by PFSN’s Impact scoring.

Despite finishing with a similar 13-4 record in these predictions, the Seahawks take first place in the division thanks to a superior divisional record. I have Seattle finishing 4-2 within the NFC West, while I have the Rams ending up at 3-3. The Los Angeles-Seattle game in Week 16 will play a key role in deciding who wins the competitive division.

The San Francisco 49ers are in a good position at 6-4 currently, but they’re projected to barely miss the playoffs if the NFL season ended today. Luckily for them, it doesn’t, but they’ve also faced plenty of injuries along the way. Key players like Nick Bosa, Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk, Fred Warner, and Mykel Williams are all injured, as of this writing.

With a four-game stretch of Arizona, Carolina, Cleveland, and Tennessee, the 49ers have the chance to win four straight and get to a 10-4 record going into Week 16. They’ll need to make sure they don’t blow any of those games if they want to make the playoffs, and their year-end stretch of Indianapolis, Chicago, and Seattle won’t be easy.

Playoff Bracket and Super Bowl Winner

Wild Card

AFC:

• No. 4 Ravens def. No. 5 Broncos
• No. 6 Patriots def. No. 3 Colts
• No. 2 Chiefs def. No. 7 Chargers

The only real upset in the AFC Wild Card round would be the Patriots beating the Colts. Call it reactionary, but Daniel Jones’ aforementioned slump the last two games worries me a bit. Should they run into a Patriots team led by a red-hot Drake Maye, I think New England would enter the game with more momentum.

NFC:

• No. 5 Rams def. No. 4 Buccaneers
• No. 3 Lions def. No. 6 Packers
• No. 2 Seahawks def. No. 7 Bears

Based on our analytical model, the Rams and Seahawks’ victories both seem like fairly easy assumptions, given their opponents. The Buccaneers are a talented team, yet haven’t compared to Los Angeles’ extreme efficiency, while Chicago is a team on the rise that likely has another year before they start making any noise in the playoffs.

I have the Lions defeating the Packers, which feels like a matchup that could go either way. Green Bay picked up the win in their first game in Week 1, and the two teams square off again in the regular season in Week 13. I think the Lions have gotten back on track since that slow start to the year.

Divisional Round

AFC:

• No. 2 Chiefs def. No. 4 Ravens
• No. 1 Bills def. No. 6 Patriots

I have the Patriots’ Cinderella season coming to a close with a postseason matchup with the Bills. Though a loss to a divisional rival in the playoffs would sting, this feels like only the beginning for New England. As remarkable as Baltimore’s comeback would be from an NFL bottom-feeder early in the year to a division winner, I think the Chiefs have the more well-rounded team this season.

NFC:

• No. 2 Seahawks def. No. 3 Lions
• No. 5 Rams def. No. 1 Eagles

Looking at this NFC playoff bracket, I don’t envy the coaches who have to plan for these opponents. All four of these teams are extremely talented, making predictions difficult. However, the Rams have been more consistent on offense than the Eagles this year, which I think overrides Philadelphia’s home-field advantage. Seattle playing at home, with how explosive their offense has been, would make for a tough game for the Lions to win.

Conference Championship

AFC:

• No. 2 Chiefs def. No. 1 Bills

Since 2020, the Chiefs have faced the Bills four times in the playoffs, and they’ve won every time. As painful as it would be for Buffalo to experience yet another loss in the AFC Championship game, I can’t pick against Patrick Mahomes here.

NFC:

• No. 5 Rams def. No. 1 Seahawks

Picking between the Rams and the Seahawks feels like a true 50-50 toss-up with how good both teams have been this season. Though Seattle would have the home-field advantage in this hypothetical, I trust Matthew Stafford over Sam Darnold a little bit more in a high-leverage postseason matchup due to his prior experience.

Super Bowl LX: Rams def. Chiefs

With the second-best offense and the third-best defense by PFSN’s analytical models, the Rams are playing at an unbelievably high level right now. Matthew Stafford leads the NFL in passing touchdowns and passing yards per game, Puka Nacua looks like an Offensive Player of the Year contender, and Davante Adams has been an incredible addition to their offense that was already high-powered to begin with.

Los Angeles’ defensive line is good enough to give anybody fits, too. Both Jared Verse and Byron Young are top-12 edge rushers in EDGEi grading this year, and the latter ranks fourth in the NFL with 9.0 sacks going into Week 11. Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske have both been above-average starters, too.

READ MORE: PFSN’s 2025 NFL Midseason Awards: Predicting the MVP, DPOY, OPOY, Coach of the Year, and More

Ultimately, I believe the Rams have a roster that is too strong not to make a deep push towards the Super Bowl this year. A second Super Bowl victory would secure Matthew Stafford’s legacy as a Hall of Famer and give Sean McVay one of the most impressive head coaching resumes in recent memory.

2026 NFL Draft Projected First Round Order and Mock Draft

1. Tennessee Titans (2-15): Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE, Miami (FL)
2. Cleveland Browns (3-14): Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
3. New York Jets (3-14): Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
4. New Orleans Saints (4-13): Dante Moore, QB, LSU
5. New York Giants (4-13): Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
6. Washington Commanders (5-12): Arvell Reese, LB/EDGE, Ohio State
7. Miami Dolphins (6-11): Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
8. Las Vegas Raiders (6-11): Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
9. Arizona Cardinals (6-11): Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
10. Dallas Cowboys (6-10-1): Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn
11. Cincinnati Bengals (7-10): Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
12. Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons, 7-10): Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami (FL)
13. Minnesota Vikings (7-10): Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
14. Houston Texans (7-10): Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
15. Carolina Panthers (8-9): Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
16. Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars, 9-8): Makai Lemon, WR, USC
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8): Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
18. San Francisco 49ers (10-7): Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah
19. Chicago Bears (10-7): David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7): Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
21. Dallas Cowboys (via Packers, 10-6-1): Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
22. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6): Olaivavega Ioane, OG, Penn State
23. Denver Broncos (12-5): Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
24. New York Jets (via Colts, 12-5): Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
25. Baltimore Ravens (9-8): Cashius Howell, EDGE, Texas A&M
26. New England Patriots (12-5): T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson
27. Detroit Lions (12-5): Mateo Uiagalelei, EDGE, Oregon
28. Philadelphia Eagles (13-4): Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
29. Buffalo Bills (13-4): CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
30. Seattle Seahawks (13-4): Isaiah World, OT, Oregon
31. Kansas City Chiefs (12-5): Quincy Rhodes Jr., EDGE, Arkansas
32. Los Angeles Rams (13-4): Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State