Bengals, Jets and Bears Among NFL Teams Ready to Rebound After Missing Playoffs in 2023

There’s a ton of turnover year-to-year in the NFL, whether it’s the coaching carousel, free-agent frenzy and even a handful of high-profile trades. That much movement begets changes in the standings, which plays out each year when the playoffs begin in January.

The league expanded to a 14-team postseason format four years ago. Since then, at least six new teams have gone to the playoffs each year and there have been seven playoff newbies each of the last three seasons.

Predicting stability in the NFL (aside from the Kansas City Chiefs contending for a Super Bowl) feels like a fool’s errand, but it wasn't easy to arrive at seven new playoff teams based on the league’s current landscape. So with apologies to the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers, who just missed this list, here are five potential new playoff teams to look out for in 2024.

Cincinnati Bengals

Before Joe Burrow was lost for the season last November to a wrist injury, the Bengals had won back-to-back AFC North titles for the first time since the 1980s. With Burrow back under center, Tee Higgins in town for one more year on the franchise tag and an impact rookie class arriving, Cincinnati can vault from worst to first in what might be the toughest division in football.

Defensive tackle D.J. Reader left in free agency, but the Bengals signed safety Geno Stone and reunited him with safety Vonn Bell to reinforce a secondary that finished bottom five in passing yards allowed per game. On offense, Cincy replaced running back Joe Mixon with Zack Moss, signed veteran tackle Trent Brown and drafted tackle Amarius Mims in the first round and receiver Jermaine Burton in the third.

Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan left to take the Tennessee Titans’ top job, but longtime quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher is stepping into that role for a unit that finished just outside the top 10 in DVOA with Jake Browning starting seven games. Worst case, this is a wild card team as the Bengals benefit greatly from playing a fourth-place schedule.

New York Jets

Last season was when the Jets were supposed to put an end to their playoff drought until Aaron Rodgers went down. One year later, New York is running it back with a 40-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles tear and perhaps the best defense in the NFL. And it just might work.

The Jets did make moves to insulate Rodgers by acquiring a bunch of offensive linemen. They signed tackle Tyron Smith, traded for tackle Morgan Moses, drafted tackle Olu Fashanu and added guard John Simpson in free agency. New York also added in the trenches on defense with the signing of defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and a trade for defensive end Haason Reddick, though the latter has requested a trade amid an ongoing contract holdout .

Receivers Mike Williams and Malachi Corley were also brought in to give Rodgers weapons beyond Garrett Wilson. It’s been nine years since the Jets fielded an offense that ranked in the top half of the league in scoring and even average play from Rodgers should get them in that range. Add in an elite defense and New York could be playoff bound for the first time since 2010.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons last made the playoffs in 2017 when Kirk Cousins was still in Washington, Raheem Morris was on Atlanta’s staff as an assistant and current Falcons players Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts were all in high school. It was an odd offseason for the Falcons , who handed out a hefty contract to Cousins in free agency and doubled up on quarterback by selecting Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. Still, the overwhelming expectation is that Atlanta will win a weak NFC South.

According to Sharp Football Analysis , no team has an easier schedule in 2024 than the Falcons, who start their schedule against three 2023 playoff teams but then face only three (two against the Buccaneers) the rest of the way. Upgrades are on the way on offense with former Rams coordinator Zac Robinson in the building to put three consecutive top-10 picks at skill positions — Robinson at running back, London at wide receiver and Pitts at tight end — to use with Cousins at quarterback.

It remains to be seen where this defense will be after Atlanta largely ignored its needs on that side of the ball in free agency and with its first-round pick. Morris must coach up this unit to see that it’s not a detriment to the Falcons’ playoff hopes. But the division is such that nine or 10 wins should be more than enough to win it, and Atlanta’s schedule is certainly advantageous.

Chicago Bears

Expectations for the Bears are high given what the last few years have looked like in the Windy City , but that’s what happens when you drop a No. 1 pick at quarterback onto a roster that’s ready to compete. Chicago closed 2023 on a high note and then had the best offseason of any team , headlined by the selection of quarterback Caleb Williams.

But it’s not just Williams who has the Bears ready to return to the playoffs. Chicago quietly has one of the better offensive lines in the league and a claim to the best receiving corps after trading for veteran Keenan Allen and drafting Rome Odunze to line up alongside DJ Moore. The offensive talent in place around Williams takes some of the immediate pressure off the rookie and it helps to have a defense that found something down the stretch last year after adding defensive end Montez Sweat.

The Bears are in a division that’s home to a pair of legitimate NFC playoff contenders in the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. Still, Chicago is up against one of the easier schedules in the league, which strengthens its case to post a winning record for the first time since 2018.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks missed the playoffs last season for the second time in three years under Pete Carroll and moved on from their longtime head coach. Former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is now at the helm in Seattle to breathe some life into an underperforming defense.

The front office addressed perhaps its most-pressing issue with its Round 1 selection of run-stopping defensive tackle Byron Murphy II. The Seahawks have a strong secondary, headlined by Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, but their run defense has been a sieve. The biggest change on offense, other than adding depth to a line that was decimated by injury, was the hiring of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb from the University of Washington . The Huskies had a high-scoring offense last season, led by a trio of receivers who Grubb has compared to his current group of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Geno Smith took a step back in 2023 after his breakout season, but perhaps a new system will allow him to elevate his play and take advantage of Seattle’s talented group of pass catchers. Still, the onus is on the defense to take the necessary steps forward to return to the postseason out of an ascendant NFC West. Macdonald’s track record in Baltimore indicates there’s a good chance that happens.

Related: 5 NFL Droughts That Could Come to an End in 2024

Related: Joe Burrow’s Preseason Preparation, Light September Schedule Bodes Well for Bengals