Finding an NFL team that qualifies as underrated isn’t easy given the landscape of the league after 10 weeks.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the league’s middle class appears to be thinning out. Only seven teams currently stand either at .500 or one game away in either direction. The league has a solid collection of overachievers setting the pace for the playoff push, as well as established contenders still trying to find their form. On the other end are teams that, regardless of whether they have embraced their cellar status, have little hope left for 2025.
To make the exercise of identifying underrated teams even more difficult, we limited ourselves to those that were outside the top 10 of USA TODAY Sports’ latest NFL power rankings. So while the likes of the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions might be even better than some give them credit for, they’re hardly flying under the radar.
Who then qualifies as underrated right now? Here are our five picks of teams that at the very least might be undervalued:
Baltimore Ravens
There’s almost no point in judging Baltimore based on its early-season returns. Though the Ravens’ 1-5 start still follows them around in the standings, this is almost a completely different operation from the one seen before their Week 7 bye. That’s a welcome shift for John Harbaugh and Co. – and one that’s tough for the rest of the AFC to stomach.
A defense that started the season as a sieve has found its stride, allowing just 17.5 points per game in the last four contests while also notching eight takeaways. That transformation surely stems in part from a much better health outlook after the unit was severely undermanned in the opening weeks, but putting Kyle Hamilton in the slot upon safety Alohi Gilman’s arrival via trade has helped Baltimore create more havoc. The upshot is undeniable: Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry can fall short of world-beater status and the Ravens can still prevail, as was the case in Sunday’s 27-19 triumph over the Minnesota Vikings. With four of their next five games coming against teams with three or fewer wins, sure feels as though it will only be a matter of time before this team finds its way back to at least a wild-card spot.
Houston Texans
Between the rise of the Indianapolis Colts and the Texans’ 2-4 start, it was straightforward enough to toss aside the two-time AFC South champions as they continued to be dogged by the same offensive line issues that plagued them throughout 2024. But Sunday’s rally to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 36-29 via a 26-0 fourth-quarter run could prove to be an inflection point for this season.
Houston enjoyed a good bit of success deploying jumbo packages in a win over the San Francisco 49ers, but C.J. Stroud was lost to a concussion early the following week in a close loss to the Denver Broncos. But if backup Davis Mills can hold things down for another week against the floundering Tennessee Titans, the Texans might be in position to make a late push. A truly superlative defense that ranks first in yards allowed (261.3 per game) and expected points added per play (-0.18) will keep the team in almost any game. Now, however, the ground game is making headway with rookie Woody Marks leading the charge, and the Nico Collins-led receiving corps is actually being afforded opportunities to do some damage. Rallying all the way back to reclaim the division seems far-fetched, but Houston still has two tilts against the Colts coming up. Don’t rule out the team making a run back to the AFC playoff picture.
Minnesota Vikings
Sitting in fourth place in the NFC North is unquestionably a letdown for a franchise that went to great lengths to facilitate a changing of the guard behind center after a 14-win season. And a good deal of unease traces back to J.J. McCarthy and what he has – or hasn’t – shown in the first four starts of his career. Yet with a sample size this small for a young quarterback, it’s wise to resist sweeping proclamations about both the short and long term.
Even with McCarthy far from fully settled, particularly when operating outside the pocket, Minnesota has found enough of a spark from its second-year signal-caller to power a Week 9 win over the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions. Still, given the passer’s bouts of inaccuracy and proclivity for putting the ball in harm’s way, there has to be somewhat of a reduced ask for him. That isn’t a problem when Minnesota can stay on schedule and play complementary football. But the Vikings also need their defense to provide more of an edge with takeaways, as the unit has generated just nine after collecting 33 a year ago. With better fortune overall on the turnover front, however, the Vikings can keep things simple for McCarthy and reassert their relevance in the NFC.
Cincinnati Bengals
It’s easy to dunk on Cincinnati for a defense that’s on track for historic levels of ineptitude, with the unit on track to break the record – held by last year’s Carolina Panthers – for most points surrendered in a single season. And with consecutive collapses to the New York Jets and Chicago Bears that underscored how singularly ineffective they are in stopping anyone, the Bengals also seemed ready to be written off. But that’s probably still premature for a team with this ceiling.
Simply put, there aren’t any other teams with three or fewer wins that can match Cincinnati in firepower, with the offense having averaged 32.8 points per game in Joe Flacco’s four starts since being traded to the team. Things can’t get much worse for the error-prone defense, so any progress in cleaning up the rampant missed tackles might make a world of difference. So, too, would having starting rookie linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter better trigger against the run. But the real reason for hope is the layout of the AFC North, which comprises a flawed foursome of teams. The Bengals have already beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers once and could score an all-important sweep on Sunday, though they’ll likely have to do so without injured edge rushers Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart. If they manage that, then the two looming contests against the Ravens take on added significance, especially with Joe Burrow eyeing a return in the first tilt on Thanksgiving night. The path to making
Atlanta Falcons
Things certainly seem to be getting dire for a franchise that’s tied for the second-longest active playoff drought at seven seasons. Riding a four-game losing streak, the Falcons are staring down the likelihood of again falling short of the postseason, which could prompt some difficult decisions for owner Arthur Blank, who said this summer he’s ‘impatient to win.’ Still, Atlanta is probably somewhere closer to the NFC’s middle class than its 3-6 record indicates.
Third downs have been the offense’s undoing, with the Falcons ranking 29th in conversion rate after going 0-for-8 in a 31-25 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Berlin. Getting to more manageable outlooks in that setting could yield massive improvement and also place less stress on volatile second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., whose inability to work the middle of the field has severely limited an Atlanta attack that has failed to even approach lofty preseason expectations. There’s still enough talent for a late-season surge, though, and an upcoming three-game stretch against the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets could help the Falcons put things together after near misses against two of the AFC’s best in the Colts and New England Patriots. Don’t count on the postseason drought ending, but Atlanta has a chance to finally start delivering on its promise.