A team going from worst to first within its division is nearly an annual occurrence in the NFL.
With last-place teams getting advantages like favorable schedules and higher draft picks, there have been 25 teams since the league’s 2002 realignment that followed up a last-place finish with a division title the following year.
While no team pulled off the trick last season, it had happened least once in each of the previous four seasons. Perhaps no team is better positioned to do it this season than the San Francisco 49ers, who followed up a Super Bowl loss in the 2023 season with a 6-11 record in 2024 to finish at the bottom of the NFC West.
The 49ers, who were done in by a string of injuries to key players, will head into the 2025 season with the weakest projected schedule, thanks in part to three games against fellow last-place teams: the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.
Here’s a look at the contenders, from most likely to least likely to finish first this year based on their odds from BetMGM Sportsbook.