Given how talented and loaded the AFC was in 2025, there should be some good teams that miss the playoffs in the conference in the 2026 NFL Season. There were also some breakout teams like the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars that made things very interesting in 2025, to say the least.
Even if the NFL further expanded to eight playoff teams in each conference, we would still see some talented teams on the outside looking in, but limiting the playoff teams does make the playoff push and Super Bowl run that much more meaningful and urgent.
Now that OTAs and minicamp across the league is wrapped up, and training camp is on the horizon, let's dive into predicting the sevel AFC playoff teams, and their seeds, for the 2026 season.
Predicting all 7 AFC playoff teams with seeding following OTAs and minicamp
7. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals revamped the defensive side of the ball this offseason, adding new key players like Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe, and Bryan Cook. The defense is going to look totally different, and even if the unit is just barely average, that should create a team plenty good enough to make the playoffs.
With how explosive the offense can be with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, you really aren't asking much from the defense, which should ease the pressure. The Bengals may not be quite ready to rack up 12+ wins, but a more modest 10 or 11 wins could be a positive step in the right direction, and that would help the franchise get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
6. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers have gone 11-6 and earned a Wild Card playoff spot in both years of the Jim Harbaugh era, and I truly struggle to see how this team improved enough to avoid that. Sure, the roster is good, but this is more of a 'high floor' team than a high ceiling, Super Bowl-caliber squad.
Somehow, the offensive line is still a concern, and the weaponry surrounding Justin Herbert didn't get significantly upgraded this offseason, either. The defense lost a stud coordinator in Jesse Minter, so a slight regression on that side of the ball is not unrealistic.
Overall, the Chargers know how to win games and will do that in 2026, but this offseason felt like the time to take that next step into contention, and I am not sure if that was done. Another Wild Card spot could be coming for the Bolts in what feels like one of the more important seasons for the team in recent memory.
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