Kansas City Chiefs: Contender
This might be the most obvious one of the group here. The Kansas City Chiefs won six games all of 2025 and have already reached half that total in 2026. With that being said, the Chiefs do have wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins, so they have not exactly beaten great teams.
They got the best of the Denver Broncos in Week 1, but the Broncos also missed tackles at a historic rate. With that said, the Chiefs have been contenders for about 95 percent of the Patrick Mahomes era, and they've won three Super Bowls since the 2019 season.
There are some flaws with this roster, but Mahomes looks like himself again, and the defense has largely played well despite not having the most aggressive talent. Until the Chiefs stumble, they'll be looked at as contenfers.
Buffalo Bills: Contender
Being looked at as a contender doesn't mean you had to have won a Super Bowl recently. While the Buffalo Bills have had years of playoff heartbreaks, they've still been among the five best teams in the NFL for years now.
The defense has been a bit shaky to begin the season, but Josh Allen and the offense are humming as expected. We could see a more explosive and aggressive team as the year goes on, as the defensive-minded Sean McDermott was replaced by Joe Brady, a younger, offensive-minded coach.
The Bills have not done anything to not be considered a contender right now.
Las Vegas Raiders: Pretender
The 3-0 start is awesome, but this team has 'only' beaten the Miami Dolphins, the dysfunctional Los Angeles Chargers, and a not-quite-there-yet New Orleans Saints team. The overall quality of wins are rather low, as their opponets have a combined record of 1-8.
The mid-season definitely gets tough, as from now until November 22nd, the Raiders will face teams like Kansas City, Buffalo, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and Denver. With that being said, Raiders fans should absolutely enjoy this hot start, as Klint Kubiak seems to be cut out for this job, and Kirk Cousins is playing some fun football.
The Raiders are going to endure some form of a losing streak, and while they likely won't make the playoffs or anything, there appears to be a clear direction for the future.
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