The start of the 2026 NFL Season is now about a month away, and with the Hall of Fame game kicking us off for preseason action, the start of the new year is finally getting closer. When you assess the NFL, the worst teams in the league are not hard to identify, and the same goes for the best teams.
But figuring out who emerges in the end is a nearly impossible task. We're going to try, though. Last year, the final four teams were the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks.
Let's try to predict the conference championship game teams and winners for the 2026 season.
Predicting the AFC and NFC championship games for the 2026 NFL Season
AFC Championship Game
Cincinnati Bengals @ Denver Broncos
Could the AFC title game be in the same place in 2026 as it was in 2025? When you look at the Broncos roster, you really don't see a major hole. You add that in with the team bringing in Jaylen Waddle on offense and a top-3 scoring defense returning, and it's not hard to see why the Broncos could again emerge. The coaching staff is also among the best in the league, and quarterback Bo Nix has progressed each year of his career, so the odds of another jump here in year three feels likely.
I might have to convince you more with the Cincinnati Bengals, though, but I have said for a while now that I'm getting 2021 vibes with this team. They revamped the defensive side of the ball and suddenly have the best roster of the Joe Burrow era. With the offense being as good as it is, the defense finishing, let's say, top-15 in the NFL would not only be enough to get them into the postseason, but a Super Bowl run would not be out of the cards, either.
This team did do just that in 2021, so why can't it happen again? In our first prediction, though, the Broncos end up making it out as the winner.
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