Early in the 2026 NFL season, it's become abundantly clear that the AFC is absolutely wide open.
We've seen a record number of 0-4 teams to start the 2026 season (5), but after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' shocking win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, only four winless teams remain.
All of them are in the AFC.
This is not exactly a top-heavy conference. We also don't exactly have much clarity on the identity of some of these teams. Two AFC head coaches made major changes this week in the play-calling department. There is so much to unpack heading into a pivotal Week 5. Let's take a look at our newest NFL Power Rankings, stacking up every AFC team so far this season.
NFL Power Rankings, Week 5: Jaguars and Chiefs entrenching themselves atop the AFC early
16. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins have just one game remaining before their Week 6 bye week, and it feels like the analysis of this team is pretty much the same every single week. The problem for this Dolphins fan base right now is that there are simply far too many other winless teams in the NFL right now, so they can’t properly anticipate the future arrival of Jeremiah Smith just yet.
All kidding aside, what have we been saying about this Miami team all year? They are in evaluation mode. And for the time being, there’s nothing wrong with that. Head coach Jeff Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan have been given the proper runway from the organization to be able to build this thing brick by brick.
The question we have at this stage of the season is whether or not the Dolphins are going to be big sellers at the NFL trade deadline, and what pieces they would realistically want to move on from.
15. Tennessee Titans
Going into this season, I thought it was only a matter of when the Titans would turn things around as a team, not if. So far this season, there have been some positive signs on both sides of the ball – at times – but the Titans still look very much like a work in progress.
The biggest update heading into Week 5 is that the chemistry between quarterback Cam Ward and star rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate appears to be skyrocketing upward. They connected nine times in the Titans’ loss last week against the Ravens, and we’ll have the popcorn ready for this week’s matchup with the Texans coming to town.
If Ward and Tate can have a big performance against that secondary, even with the Texans struggling so far to an 0-4 record this season, it will go a long way.
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