2. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots have a couple of distinct advantages offensively entering the postseason. They finished the 2025 season 2nd in points scored, 3rd in total yards, 5th in passing, 6th in rushing, and 6th in the NFL in third-down efficiency.
In almost every way, the Patriots have been the most balanced team in the AFC this entire season, but they had one fatal flaw that nearly cost them a trip to the AFC Championship Game: Ball security.
Over the course of the regular season, the Patriots were one of the 10 best teams at taking care of the football with just 16 giveaways in 17 regular season games. But in playoff matchups against elite defenses (Chargers, Texans), they've already turned the ball over five times. Luckily for them, they were able to overcome three turnovers in the Divisional Round against the Texans with five takeaways defensively.
The elements obviously played a bit of a factor in that game, which featured eight turnovers in all, but the Patriots also entered the postseason as the team with the worst sack differential out of all teams. Meaning, Drake Maye has been willing to take hits and sacks again in year two.
With all of the negative out of the way, there's also a lot to like about the Patriots' offense. This is one of the best teams at attacking downfield this season and creating big plays. They have so many different weapons offensively who can hurt you, even without a ton of household names.
Maye does a great job spreading the ball around to different receivers, and every single one of their guys in the top five on the team in targets has a catch percentage of 67.4 percent or better.
Drake Maye was named 2nd-team All-Pro in just his second NFL season, so the Patriots have an MVP-caliber player under center. We'll see how they fare against a third-straight elite defense, this time on the road, against the Denver Broncos.