Some NFL teams will face elevated pressure to win the Super Bowl next season.
FS1's Chris Broussard ranked the five organizations facing "Super Bowl or bust" expectations in 2026 on Tuesday's First Things First. Two perennial AFC contenders lead the list after repeatedly falling short in recent years.
However, Broussard also included two recent Super Bowl champions among the squads most in need of capturing the Lombardi Trophy.
Baltimore Ravens
Broussard began with the Ravens, who finished 8-9 after losing a Week 18 game to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North title. They made the playoffs in six of John Harbaugh's last eight seasons as head coach before hiring Jesse Minter.
Baltimore upped the ante for a 2026 run by sending two first-round draft picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby. The Ravens are also working on an extension with Lamar Jackson, who is still seeking his first AFC title.
"He's the only multiple-time MVP winner who has not won a championship in NFL history," Broussard noted of Jackson. "Every year he goes without winning a Super Bowl ratchets up the pressure more and more."
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have now won a playoff game in six straight years, but they can't get over the hump. Their postseason woes continued with a gut-wrenching AFC Divisional Round loss to the Denver Broncos in overtime.
Buffalo responded to the shortcoming by replacing longtime head coach Sean McDermott with offensive coordinator Joe Brady. There's pressure for Josh Allen to finally get to the Super Bowl after seven consecutive seasons with 10 or more regular-season wins.
"The fact that they hired the head coach, Joe Brady, from within, to me tells me they expect -- we're picking up where we left off and taking it to another level," Broussard said. "So they got to win it."
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are only four years removed from winning a Lombardi Trophy, but Broussard still feels their "all-in" approach amplifies expectations in L.A. After falling short to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, they traded the No. 29 pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in a package for cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Matthew Stafford will return after an MVP campaign, but Sean McVay may not have the 38-year-old around much longer.
"They're clearly playing for now," Broussard said. "Like there's no tomorrow as far as they're concerned. The whole 'f the picks' and all that stuff, they are about winning now ... And this could be Stafford's last year, for all we know."
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have lost two Super Bowls to the Kansas City Chiefs in the last seven seasons, but they fell short of another NFC title when getting annihilated by Seattle in the Divisional Round.
Broussard suggested San Francisco's championship window could be closing behind an aging core of Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, and the recently signed Mike Evans. He also thinks the pressure's on head coach Kyle Shanahan to capture a championship.
"I know he's the boy wonder, but when are you gonna win a Super Bowl?" Broussard wondered. "... He's not on the hot seat if he doesn't win it. But at some point, he's got to win it."
Philadelphia Eagles
Broussard said he also considered the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions for the final spot. He instead chose the Eagles, who have won two Super Bowls in the last decade.
The analyst still believes head coach Nick Sirianni will begin the 2026 season on the hot seat after last year's late pitfalls. An 11-6 campaign and first-round exit wasn't nearly enough to satisfy fans and pundits.
"You won the Super Bowl two years ago," Broussard said. "This year you made the playoffs, and everybody's acting like the sky is falling there. The bar is so high."
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