The 2025 NFL playoffs begin in just five weeks, and as of today, there are 10 NFC teams that still have a somewhat real chance to make the playoffs. The greatest part about this season is that everyone’s vulnerable. Just when a team begins to look unbeatable, they lose (i.e. Rams losing to Carolina). The parity this year has made the league so much more entertaining than a normal year.

Pretty much every team has a glaring weakness on their roster. Whether it’s just one position group or an entire offensive or defensive unit as a whole, there’s something that could derail each team’s season at any minute. Today, I’ll be looking at every NFC team’s biggest weakness and how they can fix it before the postseason (or if they can even fix it at this point).

Los Angeles Rams: Secondary

The Los Angeles Rams might be the least-flawed team in the league. They don’t really have an Achilles heel. Matthew Stafford is leading the most efficient passing attack in the league and Kyren Williams is having a great year on the ground. Defensively, their pass rush is getting home and they’re stuffing the run. If they have a weakness, it’s probably their pass defense, but even that isn’t a major issue.

Through 14 weeks, the Rams rank 16th in passing yards allowed per game (211). In their three losses this year, the passing defense has been an issue. Jalen Hurts threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Mac Jones threw for 342 and two scores. And most recently, Bryce Young threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns. When they’ve lost, that’s been their biggest issues, but they’ve been able to manage it for most of the year.

At this point, there’s no real way for them to get better. I wish they were a bit more aggressive at the deadline. They added Roger McCreary, but he hasn’t played a game for them and now he’s on IR. If they used one of their two firsts this year and went out and got Sauce Gardner, that would’ve solved a lot of their issues. But still, this is a pretty solid secondary, so I’m not too worried about the Rams.

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Green Bay Packers: Offensive Consistency

Green Bay’s weakness is a lot like Jacksonville’s. Their offense has been very inconsistent at times, but it feels like they’re beginning to hit their stride these past three or four games. Jordan Love looks much more comfortable in the pocket. I think it just took some time for him to get used to his big safety blanket, Tucker Kraft, being out. But now that he’s missed more than a month, he’s finding ways to work around it.

Like Jacksonville, I do worry that they could be peaking too early. They’ve had peaks and valleys all year long, and if this is one of those peaks and not a plateau, then they could find themselves struggling in the playoffs. This does feel a bit different than their other peaks. They’re playing complementary football, and it feels like this run will be more sustainable than their run early in the season.

Philadelphia Eagles: Scoring Points

The Philadelphia Eagles’ biggest weakness at the moment is their offense. They have scored 20+ points on time in their last five games, and it was 21 against the Dallas Cowboys, who have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. They have been their own worst enemy this season, and if they don’t figure things out, they have no chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

If they want to fix their offensive woes, it starts up front. Their run game needs to be better. We saw a glimpse of it against LA on Monday night, with Saquon Barkley rushing for 122 yards and 6.1 yards per carry, but they haven’t consistently gotten that kind of production out of him. They were able to last year, and it masked all of Jalen Hurts’ deficiencies, but now that they don’t have that run game, Hurts is being exposed.

They simply have to be better. I know they lost Mekhi Becton and they’ve had some injuries up front, but it’s just been horrible this year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Passing Defense

We’re used to seeing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the better defenses in the NFL, but this year, that has not been the case. They’re giving up 25 points per game, which ranks 23rd, and it’s largely due to their inability to defend the pass. They’re giving up 237 passing yards per game, which ranks 27th in the NFL, and with their recent offensive issues, they just can’t have that.

You can certainly point to their offense and say they’ve been the problem, but if they weren’t absolutely destroyed by injuries, they’d still be one of the better units in the league. They’re getting guys back now, so if they don’t improve, I’d say offense is their biggest issue, but for now, it’s their secondary.

They’re not going to be able to find anyone of use on the free agent market, so they just need guys to step up and make plays. They have some talent on the backend, but they’re not living up to expectations.

Seattle Seahawks: Zach Charbonnet

The Seattle Seahawks’ biggest weakness is Zach Charbonnet. I don’t like to hate on players because they’ve all accomplished more than I ever will, but he is significantly worse than Kenneth Walker, and yet, he continues to split carries with him. Just look at their stats and tell me why he has 132 carries to Walker’s 170.

I know the Seahawks’ offensive line is below average as run blockers, but Walker is still having a really solid season. It’s not necessarily Charbonnet’s fault that the coaching staff continually gives him touches, and I’m not saying he should be off the team or anything, but I think Seattle needs to lean into Walker more, and their offense would be better.

San Francisco 49ers: Injuries

The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the most injured teams in the league this season, but somehow they’re 9-4. They have overcome a slew of injuries at pretty much every position group, but I still think it will be their downfall in the end.

The 49ers have proven they can hang with anyone, but they’ve struggled to win big games. Their four losses have come to the Jaguars, Buccaneers, Texans and Rams, all of whom are playoff teams. They have taken down the Rams and Seahawks, but that was early in the season, and those teams are a whole lot better now than they were back then.

If the 49ers were at full health and had guys like Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams, it would be a whole different story. Their defense, which is already eighth in scoring, would be even better, and I would say they’re one of the favorites in the NFC. But with all their injuries, I just don’t see them stopping the Rams, Seahawks or any other top NFC team, and it sucks, because there’s nothing they can do about it.

Chicago Bears: Inexperience

The Chicago Bears are having one of their best seasons in recent memory. Their offense has really found its stride and is thriving. Their defense still has some issues, but they’ve been improving as the season has gone on. While I could point to a couple places on their defense as their biggest weakness, I think their inexperience will hurt them the most in the postseason.

This is a very young roster. That’s not a bad thing, except for when you make the playoffs for the first time. Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, Colston Loveland and most of this offense don’t have any playoff experience. They have a couple of veterans on their defense, like Kevin Byard, who do, but this is largely an inexperienced team.

Their coaching staff also doesn’t have a ton of playoff experience. Ben Johnson is a first-year head coach. Dennis Allen made the playoffs a few times as the Saints’ defensive coordinator, but that was five years ago. And their offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle, is in his first year as an OC.

This team has some holes, but I think their inexperience is what will do them in.

Detroit Lions: Secondary Depth

The Detroit Lions have statistically one of the best offenses in the league, but their defense, which has been great at times, has fallen behind the eight-ball in recent weeks. They have given up 24+ points in each of their last three games, and it’s not because of their run defense. It’s because of their struggles against the pass.

To be fair to Detroit, their secondary has suffered a lot of injuries this season. At some point or another, pretty much everyone has missed time, and now Terrion Arnold and Brian Branch are out for the season. They have struggled replacing their starters all year long, and now they have to finish the year without two of their best players in the secondary.

If the Lions don’t make the playoffs, it won’t be because of their offense or run defense. It will be because they just ran out of bodies on the backend, and there’s nothing they can really do it fix it.

Carolina Panthers: Being the Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are somehow in playoff contention with just four games to go. They’re 7-6 and tied with the Buccaneers for the NFC South lead, and they still get to face their rivals two more times before the year is up. So what is their biggest weakness, you might ask? Being the Panthers.

I mean, is anyone actually scared of Carolina? Every time they get a win, it just feels like a fluke. I’m still not convinced this team is good enough to make it to the playoffs, much less win a game in the postseason. So while being underestimated could be their biggest strength, I think it’s also their biggest weakness. They’re inexperienced, and nobody is going to be shaking in their boots when they have to travel to Carolina for the first game of the playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys: Passing Defense

If this were written a month ago, I’d say Dallas’ entire defense is its glaring weakness. However, ever since they added Quinnen Williams, their run defense has become one of the best in the league. They are the No. 1 graded run defense on PFF since the deadline, and I know PFF isn’t the end-all be-all, but it gives you an idea of how good they’ve been.

Their secondary is still an issue, though. Just last week, Jared Goff threw for 300+ yards against them. The week before that, Patrick Mahomes had four passing touchdowns. The week before that, even Jalen Hurts looked good. You can keep on going back and keep on finding great quarterback performances against the Cowboys.

I know it’s already very hard for Dallas to make the playoffs, but if they don’t pull off a miracle, they can blame their secondary. They have been getting burned all season, so despite having the No. 3 scoring offense, Dallas likely will miss the postseason.