2026 Midseason Playoff Outlook
The 2026 season has reached its halfway point, making this the perfect time to assess where every team stands in the playoff race. Each team falls into one of four tiers:
· The Favorite: The clear front-runner—the team everyone else is chasing.
· The Contenders: Teams that have separated themselves through consistent scoring and strong records.
· In the Hunt: Teams with playoff-caliber talent but clear flaws that must be addressed to become true contenders.
· Tankathon: Teams whose uneven play—and placement in the Patrick Division—leaves them heavily dependent on total points for a wild-card berth. Unfortunately, each faces a significant deficit in that category.
The Favorite
Stick Rock: Stick Rock is running away with the division and scoring in bunches. The franchise has a history of starting fast before fading in the second half, but its divisional lead may already be large enough to withstand a downturn. Wide receiver remains the biggest weakness, though several viable options are available on the waiver wire.
The Contenders
MKBA: The division title may already be out of reach, but MKBA remains one of the league’s most productive scoring teams. Quarterback health is the primary concern, making dependable backup options a priority.
Ghostbusters: The Ghostbusters appear to have all the necessary pieces, but the lineup has yet to fully click. The 4–2 record is strong, while the point total is merely average. A major second-half run remains possible.
Springfield Flanders: Like the Ghostbusters, Flanders has a good record but only middling point production. Something still seems to be missing. Josh Jacobs’ return from the exempt list should help, but quarterback remains an area in need of an upgrade.
In the Hunt
Skoal Bandits: An up-and-down season appears to be trending downward again. As with Flanders, quarterback play has been inconsistent from Drake Maye and virtually nonexistent from Bo Nix. Still, Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey give this team a chance to win every week.
Dark Helmet: Another inconsistent team, Dark Helmet started slowly but has surged in recent weeks. The team is only two games back in the division, but it must sustain its recent run of high-scoring performances.
John’s Scary Team: Matthew Stafford and Jaxon Smith-Njigba provide a reliable weekly floor, but the running back position needs a significant upgrade if this team hopes to remain in the playoff chase.
Tankathon
Wrath of Khan: Despite a two-game winning streak, Khan has considerable ground to make up before joining the next tier. Quarterback play has been a major weakness, and the running backs have disappointed.
Milford Football Team: Josh Allen and the running backs have performed well, but the wide receivers have been ineffective and injury-plagued. Until that position improves, Milford remains firmly in Tankathon territory.
Peeping Tomlins - Is this Groundhog Day?
Injuries? Check.
Inconsistent QB play? Check
Justin Jefferson not living up to past performance"? Check
Lack of Top 10 Talent up and down the lineup? Check
Congratulations, Jared! You recreated your 8th place roster from last year.
Week 6 Recap
Ghostbusters 153.04 — Milford Football Team 102.12
No Jared Goff, Ja’Marr Chase, or Amon-Ra St. Brown? No problem. The Ghostbusters entered the matchup without their top three scorers and still cruised to victory. Waiver-wire pickup Tre Tucker led the way with 28 points, while Bhayshul Tuten (24) and Jordan Love (22) helped secure the team’s second consecutive win.
Meanwhile, Milford Football Team dropped its third straight game after scoring just 102 points. Josh Allen (22), DK Metcalf (20), and Emeka Egbuka (17) combined for 59 points, but the rest of the lineup offered little support. MFT is wasting an all-world season from Allen, and with injuries piling up, it may be time to panic.
Springfield Flanders 127 — Peeping Tomlins 108
Flanders eked out a low-scoring victory to remain tied for first place in the Adams Division, but it was not pretty. Tyler Shough (32) caught fire in the second half, and DeAndre Swift (23) delivered a strong performance. No other Flanders starter scored more than 15 points.
The Tomlins are a mess. DeVonta Smith (20), Colston Loveland (18), and the Kansas City D/ST (18) came to play, but the rest of the roster was noncompetitive. Jared has now slipped behind Khan and Helmet into last place in the league.
Wrath of Khan 147 — Skoal Bandits 138
Make it two in a row for Jimmy. After looking like a strong candidate to finish 0–13, Khan has improved to 2–4—and looked good doing it. The Giants duo of Malik Nabers (28) and Isaiah Likely (23) led the way again, while Carnell Tate added 19 points. If Tate can find consistency, Khan will have an imposing trio of pass-catchers.
The Bandits reverted to their early-season, low-scoring form, making the Week 3 and Week 4 scoring surge look like a mirage. Drake Maye (29) continued his improved play, Chuba Hubbard (20) looked sharp in the Panthers’ offense, and Luther Burden chipped in 17 points. CMC (30) tried to make it interesting on MNF, but they fall 9 points short of the victory.
Dark Helmet 166 — John’s Scary Team 150
Dan won the second father-son matchup with an impressive 166-point effort in Week 6. Trevor Lawrence (35), Michael Penix Jr. (29), and James Cook (24) were the team’s top scorers.
John’s Scary Team jumped out to an early lead behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 25 points on Thursday night. C.J. Stroud (29) and Matthew Golden (22) added punch to the lineup, but it was not enough to beat dear old Dad. John finishes the season series against Dan with a split.
Stick Rock 136 — Mel Kiper’s Best Available 119
Finally, we come to the marquee matchup of the week: the top two teams in KAOS facing off in what was expected to be a high-scoring affair. Would we see two 200-point performances? Not even close. Neither team brought its best, but Stick Rock earned the victory, strengthened its hold on the No. 1 spot, and opened a two-game divisional lead over MKBA. Rocky also improved to 2–0 against Pete, securing the tiebreaker and effectively creating a 2.5-game advantage in the Adams Division. K.W. III (28), Kirk Cousins (22), and Jonathan Taylor (21) led the way in the comfortable win.
MKBA endured a rough week with Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams on bye and Lamar Jackson sidelined by injury. Jayden Daniels (25), CeeDee Lamb (16), and Tyler Huntley (15) led an otherwise toothless Week 6 attack.