{"id":249854,"date":"2025-10-07T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=249854"},"modified":"2025-10-06T22:24:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T02:24:52","slug":"2026-super-bowl-rankings-top-10-contenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/10\/07\/2026-super-bowl-rankings-top-10-contenders\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Super Bowl Rankings: The Top 10 Contenders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After five weeks of the NFL season, we think we have an idea of who these teams are. Here are the top 10 teams we think will challenge for the 2026 Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<h2>The Top 10 Contenders for the 2026 Super Bowl<\/h2>\n<h3>1. Buffalo Bills<\/h3>\n<p>As long as Josh Allen is healthy, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bills\/\" target=\"_self\">Bills<\/a> should be able to beat anyone. Their run defense could cause issues, but they can outscore everyone, and James Cook continues to be a huge part of their success on offense. The loss to the Patriots doesn&#8217;t change anything.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Philadelphia Eagles<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-249858\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27254419_168419650_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/eagles\/\" target=\"_self\">Eagles<\/a> are the defending champs, and they have begun the season with a 4-1 record. They have yet to play their best football, but that will come. This is a team that knows how to win close games.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Detroit Lions<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/lions\/\" target=\"_self\">Lions<\/a> look to be an elite team once again. The offense cannot be stopped, and their defense gets after the QB and can force turnovers. They are the most complete team in their division.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Kansas City Chiefs<\/h3>\n<p>As long as the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/chiefs\/\" target=\"_self\">Chiefs<\/a> get into the playoffs, they are a threat to go to the Super Bowl. They will continue to get healthier and eventually get Rashee Rice back from suspension. They have a playmaking defense that usually improves throughout the season as well.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Denver Broncos<\/h3>\n<p>What a huge road win for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/broncos\/\" target=\"_self\">Broncos<\/a> in Week 5. They went into Philly and beat the defending champs. They have a championship-caliber defense, and Bo Nix has improved each week.<\/p>\n<h3>6. San Francisco 49ers<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-249859\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27051781_168419650_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/49ers\/\" target=\"_self\">49ers<\/a> have dealt with more injuries than anyone in the league, but still find themselves at 4-1 on the season. Once they get healthy, they could be a team to watch.<\/p>\n<h3>7. Indianapolis Colts<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/colts\/\" target=\"_self\">Colts<\/a> started the season 3-0 and look excellent on both sides of the ball. Although they suffered their first loss of the season in week 4, it came on the road in Los Angeles against the Rams, who are one of the best teams in football. They beat up on the Raiders in week 5 and are now 4-1. Daniel Jones continues to impress.<\/p>\n<h3>8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/buccaneers\/\" target=\"_self\">Tampa Bay<\/a> offense looks unstoppable, and they keep winning close games. Even without Mike Evans and Bucky Irving in Week 5, they put up 38 points. Their ability to show up in the clutch will serve them well late in the season and into the postseason.<\/p>\n<h3>9. Green Bay Packers<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-249860\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27216349_168419650_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/packers\/\" target=\"_self\">Packers<\/a> haven\u2019t looked their best the past two weeks before the Bye week, but this team is very talented and will only get better as the season progresses. They do need to get their run game going with more consistency, but Josh Jacobs is still making plays.<\/p>\n<h3>10. Los Angeles Rams<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/rams\/\" target=\"_self\">Rams<\/a> lost a tough game in Week 5, and that moves them down the rankings a little. The offense played great, but the defense wasn\u2019t good. Playing on a short week probably didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After five weeks of the NFL season, we think we have an idea of who these teams are. Here are the top 10 teams we think will challenge for the 2026 Super Bowl. The Top 10 Contenders for the 2026 Super Bowl 1. Buffalo Bills As long as Josh Allen is healthy, the Bills should [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5634,"featured_media":249861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,3,15,24,25,12,16,34,6431,21,31,29],"tags":[2320,1010],"class_list":["post-249854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-bills","category-broncos","category-lions","category-packers","category-colts","category-chiefs","category-rams","category-nfl-teams","category-eagles","category-49ers","category-buccaneers","tag-nfl-schedule","tag-super-bowl"],"modified_by":"Lou Landers, Fantasy Sports","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249854"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249903,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249854\/revisions\/249903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}