4. AFC South
The AFC South comes in at No. 4 in our power rankings. At one point, it seemed like all of Jacksonville, Houston, and Indianapolis were headed to the playoffs, but the Colts totally collapsed after an insane 7-1 start. As for the Texans, while this team did win 12 games, quarterback CJ Stroud has been rather average these past two seasons and does appear to be a legitimate weak link on this roster.
The Jaguars broke out big-time in 2025, winning 13 games and capturing the division title. At the moment, the Tennessee Titans aren't anything special, but second-year quarterback Cam Ward is absolutely a player to keep an eye out for headed into 2026, as he got better down the stretch and now has Brian Daboll calling the shots on offense, which is going to do wonders for his development.
At the moment, though, you really only look at Jacksonville and Houston as being the two legitimate teams, and even they both sport some roster flaws that could prevent them from advancing deep into the playoffs this coming season.
3. AFC West
The AFC West was quite the division in the 2026 season, coming in at No. 3 in our power rankings. The West featured a new face at the top for the first time since they last won it in 2015, as the Denver Broncos captured the division with multiple games to spare, winning 14 and also earning the top seed in the AFC playoffs.
For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Chargers went a respectable 11-6, but they also got blown out in the Wild Card Round for the second year in a row, so this team's ceiling is in question. And even during a down year, the Kansas City Chiefs were still hanging around.
Patrick Mahomes' season-ending knee injury ended their season, but I am not sure anyone is looking at the Chiefs as being a dysfunctional team. The Las Vegas Raiders appear to be on the right track, as they landed Fernando Mendoza in the 2026 NFL Draft, but that squad could still be multiple years away.
Heading into 2026, it's a near-guarantee that both Denver and Los Angeles will each finish with double-digit wins and make the playoffs, as that has been the case over the last two seasons, and the Chiefs having a bounce back season would not shock a single soul.
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