Given how much of the offseason has gone so far for certain teams in the AFC, it would feel like a shock if the same seven teams again made the playoffs in the 2026 NFL Season. The AFC is really a talented, deep conference, as there are solid arguments for multiple non-playoff teams to make it in 2026.
It's still hard to believe that the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, and Baltimore Ravens all missed the playoffs in 2025. It feels like a rather safe bet that at least one of those teams would return in 2026, but I guess if all three missed it in 2025, there would be nothing stopping that from happening in the 2026 campaign.
Let's continue our NFL power rankings for this season and power-rank the seven AFC playoff teams. It's a rather clear divide, too.
NFL Power Rankings, 2026: AFC playoff team rankings for this season
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers just do not appear to scare you on paper at all for the 2026 season. Not only did they just barely get into the playoffs, but it was another embarassing first-round playoff loss last year, which was thanks to Houston.
Aaron Rodgers is a year older, and he was functional, at best, in 2025. Mike Tomlin is no longer in the picture, so this weird non-losing season streak that the Steelers were obsessed with is now in jeopardy. And, on paper, the Steelers aren't really excellent anywhere.
There is a lot of average and some spots of good, but the roster isn't built to win late in the season. I guess if you're a Steelers optimist, you can bank on this team being able to replicate 2025 into 2026, as many of the same players are in the picture, but this coming season again feels like another year where the Steelers max-out at 9 or 10 wins.
Pittsburgh is firmly our worst-ranked AFC playof team as the 2026 season rapidly approaches.
6. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers come in at No. 6 in our power rankings. In each of the past two seasons, which have been the first two years of the Jim Harbaugh era, the Chargers have gone 11-6 and have proceeded to get throttled in the Wild Card Round.
Quarterback Justin Herbert is now 0-3 in the playoffs with three forgettable performances. I guess if you want to bank on the Mike McDaniel hiring unlocking that offense, that's a fair point, but this team did not get noticeably better anywhere on the roster.
Even the weak interior offensive line was only marginally improved this offseason thanks to the Tyler Biadasz signing. All in all, it's going to be another Wild Card season for the Chargers.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are No. 5 in our power rankings. This team lost both Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd in free agency. Those two were some of their best players in 2025, so the talent loss is going to have a massive impact.
And even if those two were still in the picture, the roster would have needed more work. While the Jaguars have a ton of competent players all over the place, I am left wanting more at several positions. What should surely go in their favor is Trevor Lawrence, as he was playing out of his mind in the back half of the 2025 season, and if that carries into 2026, Lawrence could win the MVP.
4. Houston Texans
Houston is No. 4 in our power rankings. Arguably the best roster in the NFL, the Texans' only roster question might be CJ Stroud and just how good he can be. After a ridiculously awesome rookie season, Stroud has since been rather average and has not been able to lead this team past the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
That's really it with Houston - it comes down to Stroud's performance, and if he can flirt with that 2023 level of play, the Texans would emerge as the best team in the conference.
3. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo is No. 3 in our power rankings. After a rather active offseason, the Bills clearly hope that a major head coaching change is what this franchise needed all along. Thanks to another playoff heartbreak, this time by the Denver Broncos, the Bills were once again wondering what went wrong.
The Bills have made the playoffs each year since 2019 and did have a five-year run winning the AFC East. It's unfathomable that the team failed to at least get to the Super Bowl in any of those years. Buffalo is again very talented on paper, but the ceiling of this team in the postseason will continue to come into question.
2. New England Patriots
Coming in at No. 2 in our power rankings, the New England Patriots broke out big-time in the 2025 season, winning 14 games and capturing the AFC East title from Buffalo. New England's schedule is going to get a lot harder this season, but given how many games this team won in 2025, it would be hard to envision a stark drop-off.
The Patriots had the No. 2 finisher in the MVP race in Drake Maye, and also have a future Hall of Fame coordinator in Josh McDaniels running the show on offense. This team should still be quite good in 2026.
1. Denver Broncos
The Broncos are the best team in the AFC right now and should be viewed as the team to beat in the conference. If the team had Bo Nix on the field and still lost in the AFC Championship Game, you could easily make the argument that the Patriots are better.
But even without Nix and even starting running back J.K. Dobbins, the Broncos still only lost by three points. Denver's roster talent is rather overwhelming in many areas, and now with Jaylen Waddle in the picture, the offense finally has that No. 1 playmaker it lacked in the first years of the Nix era.