![\"trevor](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/trevor-lawrence-trade-1024x683.jpg\")
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4)<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\nThe Jaguars currently hold the final AFC Wild Card spot at 5-4, but their grip is slipping fast. They started the season strong at 4-1 after a statement 31-28 win over the Chiefs on Monday Night Football in Week 5. That game made many believe Jacksonville was ready to join the AFC elite. Since then, though, it\u2019s been a different story.<\/p>\n
The Jaguars have dropped three of their last four, with their lone victory coming against a struggling Raiders team, and even that one was close. Their latest loss to Houston and backup quarterback Davis Mills raised major concerns about the team\u2019s direction. Trevor Lawrence hasn\u2019t been playing like a top-tier quarterback, and the offense around him is breaking down. Brian Thomas Jr. has been inconsistent, and Travis Hunter just landed on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered during the bye week.<\/p>\n
The midseason addition of Jakobi Meyers should help, but the schedule ahead is rough. The Jaguars still have to face the Chargers, Broncos, and Colts (twice), all teams capable of giving them trouble. If Lawrence and the passing game don\u2019t find their rhythm, Jacksonville could easily fall out of the playoff picture, especially with Baltimore and Kansas City right behind them.<\/p>\n
Minnesota Vikings (4-5)<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\nAfter finishing 14-3 last season, the Vikings have been mediocre in 2025. They sit at 4-5, two games out of a Wild Card spot, and face a brutal road ahead.<\/p>\n
Losing J.J. McCarthy for five games was a huge setback, and while Carson Wentz managed a 2-3 record filling in, the offense has been inconsistent. Even their big Week 9 win over Detroit didn\u2019t fully hide the flaws. The Vikings have struggled to sustain drives, and they are taking too many penalties, which cost them 40 yards against the Ravens.<\/p>\n
The remaining schedule doesn\u2019t do them any favors: Chicago, Seattle, Detroit (twice), and Green Bay all loom. Five of their final eight games come against legitimate playoff teams. If McCarthy doesn\u2019t continue to improve, Minnesota could easily miss the postseason, a shocking outcome for a team that won 14 games a year ago.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\nThe Steelers are 5-4 and sit in first place in the AFC North, but their season feels like it\u2019s slipping away again with Baltimore heating up and only one game back. The Steelers started 4-1 before another midseason collapse. A trend that\u2019s become all too familiar under Mike Tomlin.<\/p>\n
The defense has looked vulnerable for most of the year, and while it\u2019s improved slightly lately, the offense is trending downward. Their performance in the recent loss to the Chargers was downright painful to watch. With a brutal stretch ahead, including games against the Bears, Bills, Ravens (twice), and Lions, Pittsburgh\u2019s margin for error is basically gone.<\/p>\n
The Steelers haven\u2019t won a playoff game since 2017, and fan frustration is boiling over. If this slide continues, a major shake-up could finally be coming in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
Main Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three NFL teams are in danger of missing the playoffs. The Jaguars, Vikings, and Steelers are collapsing in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5513,"featured_media":254403,"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":[6431,13,26,9],"tags":[275,32298,32358,6181,32476,6249],"class_list":["post-254206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-jaguars","category-vikings","category-steelers","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-brian-thomas-jr","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-justin-jefferson","tag-travis-hunter","tag-trevor-lawrence"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254206","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\/5513"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254206"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254404,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254206\/revisions\/254404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
After finishing 14-3 last season, the Vikings have been mediocre in 2025. They sit at 4-5, two games out of a Wild Card spot, and face a brutal road ahead.<\/p>\n
Losing J.J. McCarthy for five games was a huge setback, and while Carson Wentz managed a 2-3 record filling in, the offense has been inconsistent. Even their big Week 9 win over Detroit didn\u2019t fully hide the flaws. The Vikings have struggled to sustain drives, and they are taking too many penalties, which cost them 40 yards against the Ravens.<\/p>\n
The remaining schedule doesn\u2019t do them any favors: Chicago, Seattle, Detroit (twice), and Green Bay all loom. Five of their final eight games come against legitimate playoff teams. If McCarthy doesn\u2019t continue to improve, Minnesota could easily miss the postseason, a shocking outcome for a team that won 14 games a year ago.<\/p>\n