2. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars looked like they might be the biggest threat in the AFC in the second half of the 2025 season, and they’re on a similar trajectory already in 2026.
Although they lost in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, every other game for this Jaguars team has been rather impressive. Trevor Lawrence is once again playing really well-rounded football, the Jaguars have a ton of playmakers in the passing game, and this is a well-coached team defensively.
If you need any indicator of what makes this Jaguars team so special early this season, look no further than their success situationally.
Offensively, the Jags rank 3rd in the NFL in both 3rd-down success rate and red zone success rate. Defensively, they rank 5th on 3rd down and 2nd in the red zone. They are tough to get off the field, tough to stop in the red zone, tough to sustain drives against, and tough to finish drives against.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
It’s still super early in the season, but I’m not afraid to admit that my skepticism about the Kansas City Chiefs was wrong going into this year.
I felt like we were asking all of the right questions:
How is Patrick Mahomes going to look after a major knee procedure? Would his offensive line hold up in front of him? How is that new-look defense going to play for Steve Spagnuolo? Do the Chiefs have the playmakers necessary to take pressure off of Mahomes?
They’ve answered all of those questions in an emphatic way. It’s possible that Kenneth Walker could be on track to be the first non-QB MVP that we’ve had since Adrian Peterson in 2012. The Chiefs are 4-0 at their bye week, and it doesn’t get better than that.
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