With how good the AFC turned out to be in the 2025 NFL Season, anything can happen in 2026. Not only are there a ton of capable and young quarterbacks, but many of these teams also sport rosters good enough to get into the playoffs in 2026.
And even with the NFL having expanded to a seven-team playoff format a while back, there are still good teams on the outside looking in. That is going to be as true as ever for the 2026 campaign, which is now just a few short weeks away with the unofficial start of preseason action.
Let's dive into a fresh AFC playoff prediction exercise with the preseason now ramping up.
Brand-new AFC playoff predictions following preseason action ramping up
7. Kansas City Chiefs
I have been critical of the Kansas City Chiefs for a while now, but perhaps adding Kenneth Walker III into the backfield does end up being enough for this team to get back into the playoffs. It may not take more than 10 wins, which could be possible for the Chiefs.
This roster is flawed, though, as the same front office that got them into this roster trouble were the ones working on trying to revive the roster this offseason with the Walker signing and an influx of defensive talent. With that said, the Chiefs do possess that 'how did they do it?' style of play, and this team has been criticized this offseason, so perhaps all of this added motivation could lead to a postseason berth.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars
Losing Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd in free agency will hurt, but the Jacksonville Jaguars are still well coached enough to scrape together another double-digit winning season. The main challenger in the AFC South, though, does sport a better roster and was able to radically improve it this offseason, so Jacksonville may take a small step back this year.
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