10. Kansas City Chiefs
There are two sides of the coin when it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs. On one side of the coin is the star power and living legends, the very reasons this team is being considered a Super Bowl bounce-back team by many in the NFL media world.
Having Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones seems to make people think that this team is inevitably going to reach the AFC Championship Game (or further). And honestly, that's pretty understandable, considering their history of doing just that.
But this Chiefs team has been on a downward trajectory, and we saw them take a huge step back last season. Not only did they take a step back as a team, but Patrick Mahomes suffered the first major injury of his NFL career, which he's already come back from.
Still, even before the injury, Mahomes was not playing at the level we have all grown accustomed to seeing. The Chiefs have question marks at receiver, offensive line, and their defense is loaded with new faces. They've got a lot to prove beyond just their history and reputation to rise up this list.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers feel like the one true foregone conclusion of the AFC entering 2026.
Anything can happen in the NFL, and it's entirely possible that they exceed these expectations, but does this team not seem like an obvious 8-9 win team?
After moving on from Mike Tomlin this offseason, the Steelers hired former Cowboys and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, to come in and lead the charge. McCarthy has had a ton of success in the NFL as a head coach, so you can't just discount the possibility of this team thriving under his watch. But the pieces they have in place really don't seem like they can come together to contend in this conference.
Even after winning the AFC North last season, the Steelers are going to have to overachieve to be in the mix for the division this coming season, and the offense is going to need to be much better all around.
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