The NFL was loaded with breakthrough teams during the 2025 season, but teams that won division titles last season don't have the luxury of comfort at the top. The deck has been reshuffled for everybody, and every division around the league is once again up for grabs.
And for the AFC, it could be a year where we see literally every division have a different champion in the 2026 season compared to 2025. That would be extremely rare, but it's possible that none of the teams that won their respective divisions last year will win them again this coming season.
This is the deepest the pool of talent has looked around the league in quite some time. Last year's division champs -- the Broncos, Patriots, Jaguars, and Steelers -- will all have a lot of work to do to defend their titles in 2026.
Which teams pose the biggest threat to them in the 2026 season? Who has the best chance to take over each division and push last year's winners down the ladder?
NFL Power Rankings: The top threat to every AFC division winner entering 2026
4. AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers
The biggest threat to the Denver Broncos in the AFC West is the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers may have lost defensive coordinator Jesse Minter this offseason, but Jim Harbaugh's squad is looking like the most talented from top to bottom that he's had in his brief time with the team.
Justin Herbert now has Mike McDaniel calling the plays offensively, which should bring even better balance to the Los Angeles offense since McDaniel is something of a genius when it comes to run schemes offensively.
The Chargers' biggest issues last season stemmed from their offensive line and injury issues up front. With Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater expected back for this season, the Chargers' offensive line could be fortified and as strong as ever.
Defensively, even with Chris O'Leary calling plays for the first time at the NFL level, the Chargers have so many veteran players they can lean on on that side of the ball.
If anyone in the AFC West is a threat to the Denver Broncos, it's the Chargers. The Chiefs still have so many question marks on their roster as well as the health of Patrick Mahomes coming back from a major knee injury.
3. AFC East: Buffalo Bills
It's not difficult to see the Buffalo Bills taking the AFC East away from the New England Patriots. The Patriots won 14 regular season games last year, and represented the AFC in the Super Bowl, but the Bills were right on their heels all season long.
Buffalo won 12 games last season, and they're obviously one of the truly elite teams in the AFC.
The Patriots have come under a lot of fire since that Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks for having the "easiest" road to the Super Bowl imaginable, and while there is some merit to the notion that the Patriots played a relatively easy schedule, nobody is denying that team played outstanding football last season.
We'll see if there are any on-field effects of everything Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has been dealing with on a personal level this offseason, but even if there is minimal impact there, the Bills seem poised to steal back the AFC East from New England. And they are certainly the most equipped team in the division to do so. The Dolphins are a total rebuilding project right now, while the Jets are rising but not quite ready yet.
2. AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals
When it comes to an NFL team losing its grip on a division title from last season, there might not be lower-hanging fruit than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers moved on from Mike Tomlin in the 2026 offseason, and even though they'd been stuck in some sort of purgatory as a team (despite Tomlin's regular season success), it almost feels like missing the playoffs in the first year without him is a foregone conclusion.
And that's not to say the Steelers will be a bad team, but the Bengals and Ravens are poised for bounce-back years in 2026 after dealing with a bunch of injuries in 2025. The Bengals, in particular, seem like a team poised for a huge ascent this year. They're already favored in the majority of their games this season, and with a massively upgraded defensive front, they will be tough to beat all year.
1. AFC South: Houston Texans
The Jacksonville Jaguars surprised a lot of people by ascending to the top of the AFC South last season. This was one of the divisions that felt like a foregone conclusion in favor of the Houston Texans going into the season, and that all the Texans would need to do is stay on auto-pilot all year to win the division.
The Jaguars emerged, caught fire, and took the division away from Houston.
That excitement might be short-lived as the Jaguars had a relatively terrible offseason, losing both Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd, while the Texans got better in every possible way. Considering Houston has arguably the best defense in the NFL (and it might not even be arguable), it's easy to see them getting back on top of the AFC South for the 2026 season.
They might be the most likely team to steal a division title out of any team in the AFC right now.
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