Five NFL Teams Need Fast 2026 Starts to Avoid Firings, Chase 17-Game Playoff Spots
Updated
Updated · FOX Sports · May 20
Five NFL Teams Need Fast 2026 Starts to Avoid Firings, Chase 17-Game Playoff Spots
3 articles · Updated · FOX Sports · May 20
Five teams stand out after the 2026 NFL schedule release as needing early wins most: the Buccaneers, 49ers, Steelers, Colts and Ravens.
Tampa Bay and Indianapolis face the most direct job pressure—Todd Bowles is coming off a 1-7 finish, while Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen enter a fifth straight playoff miss with Ballard in a contract year.
San Francisco and Baltimore have schedules that make September and October pivotal: the 49ers face four playoff teams in their final seven games and 38,105 travel miles, while the Ravens avoid any 2025 playoff team until Week 8.
Pittsburgh’s urgency centers on Aaron Rodgers, 42, in his declared final season; a soft first eight games could buy momentum, but early struggles could accelerate calls to test Drew Allar or Will Howard.
The broader theme is thin margin in a 17-game season, where injuries, international trips and slow starts can quickly turn playoff hopes into coaching and front-office jeopardy.
With Aaron Rodgers in his final year, can Mike McCarthy's new offense overcome the Steelers' significant roster holes?
How will the 49ers' record-breaking 38,105 travel miles impact their Super Bowl aspirations this season?
Which new coach, Baltimore's Jesse Minter or Atlanta's Kevin Stefanski, will achieve a more successful first-year turnaround?