It's hard to believe we're already at this point of the 2026 NFL season, but we're onto October.
The month of September flew by after what felt like the most brutal offseason in recent memory, and we're already seeing some big time movement in every division in the AFC.
With a loaded slate of games on deck for Week 4, our newest NFL Power Rankings are going to take a look at every team currently leading each division in the AFC, and rank each of those teams worst to best. Which of these teams is most likely to keep hanging on as the season keeps rolling?
NFL Power Rankings: Every AFC division leader ranked heading into Week 4
4. Pittsburgh Steelers, AFC North
As critical as I've been of the Pittsburgh Steelers this year, they have a chance to get to 3-1 and on top of the AFC North by the end of the night on Thursday.
And with the Cleveland Browns in their way, you've got to think there's at least a decent chance of that happening.
But let's not underestimate the suddenly sneaky-hot Cleveland Browns, either.
What are the Steelers? Is this a defensive team? I'm not getting that impression through the first three weeks of the season. Is this an offensive team? I'm not getting that impression, either. This feels like a team that will consistently play up and down to its competition, which makes it really hard for me to put any stock in where they're heading this season.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars, AFC South
This was a really tough ranking. Putting the Jaguars 3rd on this list feels gross, but the AFC has been looking loaded so far this season.
The Jaguars have whooped up on both the Browns and Patriots so far this season, and nobody's going to fault them too much for going into Denver and losing to the Broncos in a hostile environment.
This is a phenomenal football team, and Liam Coen is a phenomenal coach. Trevor Lawrence is currently running his offense to near-perfection, getting all of their weapons involved. And after their absolute dismantling of the New England Patriots, they've proven they can bounce back nicely after a tough loss.
This team is going to be a problem all year long, it appears.
2. Buffalo Bills, AFC East
I really struggled with putting the Bills in the 2nd spot on this list, but this is really more of a "tied for 1st" sort of situation.
The Bills are a great team, but it was rather shocking to see them drop 30-plus points and one of the biggest passing performances on the Houston defense in Week 1. Then they absolutely crushed the Detroit Lions on a short week in Week 2.
Yes, they struggled against the Chargers with five turnovers. Perhaps that was part of the reason they fell into this slot. But there's no doubt that this is one of the premier teams in the NFL, much less the AFC.
1. Kansas City Chiefs, AFC West
To say I was not buying the offseason "Chiefs are back" hype would be putting it mildly. The question marks at offensive tackle, Patrick Mahomes coming back from a major injury, the defense being almost completely revamped...
It all felt like it was adding up to a "struggle to 9 wins" season for the Chiefs.
That appears to have been a misfire from the take machine.
The Chiefs not only look like the Chiefs of old, but maybe even a better version. The addition of Kenneth Walker has been absolutely ridiculous for them. They went from being the least explosive rushing team in the NFL for two straight seasons to being the most explosive rushing team in the NFL -- overnight.
What were the Seahawks thinking letting Walker out the front door, again?
This Kansas City team dominated Denver in the Monday night opener, they beat the Colts in overtime the next week, and they handled business against the Dolphins. And they've looked good during all of it. Really good.
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