NFL Season Predictions 2025-26 (AFC)

Welcome back to another edition of my season predictions. For this spin on the upcoming NFL season, I’ll separate it into two parts: AFC and NFC. This is what I did for my MLB season predictions as well, and I really like this format. It keeps the write-ups from becoming 50 pages long. In both parts of this write-up, I’ll talk about each conference’s 4 divisions and 16 teams with divisional superlatives to help explain the vibes. And just because I’ve been receiving so many requests, I’ll throw in my record predictions for each team as well. Don’t hold them against me though.

AFC East - Most likely to: Be dominated by one team for another year

1. Buffalo Bills: (13-4) and #2 Seed

There’s one team in the AFC East that’s a clear cut above the rest: Buffalo, and it’s been so the past few years. All this talk about Miami and New York fizzles out by Week 3 at best. Buffalo has won the East from 2020-present, and before them New England won it from 2009-2019. Competition hasn’t exactly opened up since Tom Brady left. Dominance merely changed hands. I give much of Buffalo’s credit to QB Josh Allen and his ability to extend drives with his legs when the passing game gets shut down. Ever since Allen’s rookie season in 2018, the Bills have lacked in some aspect. For years it was the running game, then it was the receivers, but then it was the defense. Now after several drafts, and a very good one this year, they finally have all the pieces together. Buffalo doesn’t have an easy schedule, but they win the games they’re supposed to win, unlike the 3 Stooges of this division. Can they finally take down those dang Chiefs? Remember: kryptonite!

2. New England Patriots: (8-9)

The Pats are in the thick of a long, long rebuild. They’ve already had several coaching and QB changes ever since Brady left, but now they’re serious. HC Mike Vrabel means business, and as a former Patriots linebacker he knows the system quite well. They’re still too inexperienced to be considered any sort of contenders in my mind, but all the pieces are there. Another year under QB Drake Maye’s belt will bode well for him as the franchise starter, and some fresh legs at RB and along the O-Line will help. What I don’t like about this team is WR Stefon Diggs. He has been a problem both on and off the field for years. From Minnesota, to Buffalo, to Houston, this guy has caused issues. Some people call him an “inspirational leader,” but I just think he’s mean. New England has an easy schedule, and I won’t be surprised if their final record is close to or above .500. Tanking isn’t in Mike Vrabel’s vocabulary. The NFL’s Evil Empire will soon be back to their winning ways. Vrabel and Maye remind me A LOT of Belichick and Brady.

3. New York Jets: (6-11)

The Jets have a habit of perpetually rebuilding so they can keep a young roster. Problem is, if you never keep your players once they develop into veterans, you’re always going to be rebuilding. QB Justin Fields enters the locker room as the 5th “Franchise QB” since 2017. When will they figure it out? Countering my initial point, they’ve extended some young stars like WR Garrett Wilson and CB/S Sauce Gardner to deals that some consider to be overpays. If I had to look into a crystal ball that I definitely don’t have hidden somewhere, I’d say the Jets plan on throwing this season away for a very high draft pick. Justin Fields is on a 2-year contract, they signed Brady Cook (Missouri) as an undrafted free agent, and Tyrod Taylor is just there to hang out with the young guys. The Aaron Rodgers experiment was a disaster, and they have to play against him in Week 1. My money is on New York to tank and draft a young, superstar QB with their first pick. Maybe Cade Klubnik? The Jets are a sham. I’ve never once bought into their hype.

4. Miami Dolphins: (5-12)

“It was all that Dan Marino's fault, everyone knows that. If he had held the ball, laces out, like he was supposed to, Ray would never have missed that kick.” -Mrs. Finkle, Ace Ventura. I had to cut out the rest of that quote for legal reasons, but it’s applicable to today’s Dolphins all the same. Miami never does anything right, and when they do, some unfortunate injury derails their whole season. QB Tua Tagovailoa is adamant about continuing to play despite being asked to medically retire because of his concussions. His O-Line is made of cellophane, WR Tyreek Hill can’t stay out of trouble (and bedrooms), and they continue to draft poorly every season. They did make a good trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to give some much needed help to their secondary. They actually won that trade against Pittsburgh in my opinion. I see the vision, but I don’t see the application. They’ve got some good pieces, but there are too many uncertainties heading into the season. Can they convert in the redzone? Are they healthy? From the sights and sounds of training camp and preseason, no one seems happy to be a part of this team. Laces out Dan!

AFC North - Most likely to: Make the most headlines, and not in a good way

1. Baltimore Ravens: (14-3) and #1 Seed

First half of the season: brutal. Second half of the season: cakewalk. Baltimore will get hot late, carry their momentum into the playoffs, and clinch the all-important #1 seed. They last won the Big Game 12 years in 2013. 12 years before that, they won it in 2001, but each time their exceptional offense has been in the shadow of an even better defense. This year’s roster looks identical to that formula, and I give much of that credit to HC John Harbaugh. I think QB Lamar Jackson has reached his final form, and winning a ring is all he needs to solidify himself as a Hall of Famer. He’s hungry for it. He can always just hand it off to RB Derrick Henry too. The secondary is loading up after giving up an alarming number of big plays last season. My only qualm about this defense now is that they don’t have an identifiable, influential leader. Sure they have good players, but they’re no Ray Lewis or Terrell Suggs. Someone needs to emerge as the heart and soul. Regardless, I think this team wins 13 games at MINIMUM. High ceiling, high floor.

2. Cincinnati Bengals: (10-7) and #7 Seed

Ah yes, the Buccaneers of the AFC: A great QB with elite receivers but a lacking defense playing behind them. QB Joe Burrow’s offense won’t have any problem putting up 600 yards a game, but if the defense continues to allow 601, then they’re in trouble. His supporting staff is star-studded with WRs Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Andrei Iosivas. Chase Brown has emerged as the lead RB behind a nonexistent O-Line. I love watching this guy play. The Bengals will survive by getting the ball out quick and beating their man 1-on-1. They have the players to do that. The defense had a tumultuous offseason, but when the dust settled, everything turned out to be alright. Two DEs held out the whole time, another one straight up retired, and the secondary only had a few reliable players. They have some good, young LBs in place and it’s up to HC Zac Taylor to finally take the training wheels off. They have their core, a Top 5 offense in the league, and plenty of draft picks. I think I know what their gameplan is, but I’m still not sure about them taking home any hardware this season. 10-7 is a risk that I’m taking.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers: (9-8)

Another above .500 year for HC Mike Tomlin, but now his team actually stands a chance in the grand scheme of things, if all goes to plan. They brought in their field general, QB Aaron Rodgers, on a one-year deal. I expect him to coach up my guy Will Howard to be the next franchise QB. They traded away defensive cornerstone Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith, which was a little baffling to me, but Rodgers really wanted Ramsey on the team. What’s funny is that each time he says that about someone, the team honors his request and it goes horribly wrong. It already has. Several players have held out and are still holding out for more money on their contracts. There are too many competing personalities in this locker room for me to have full faith, but let’s talk about the good things. They have an easy first half of the season like always, and those wins will cushion their late season hiccups. The Front 7 is stacked with young talent, and they’ll have no problem stopping the run. The O-Line is a different question, especially with an immobile QB like Rodgers. This season will be Mike Tomlin’s last ditch effort to avoid a rebuild. In 2020 this roster would win the Super Bowl, but now we’re in 2025.

4. Cleveland Browns: (4-13)

Death, taxes, and the Browns failing miserably at everything they do. So as the superlative states, the Browns consistently find themselves at the center of controversy. Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Myles Garrett, and now Quinshon Judkins can’t seem to stay out of trouble. All of these guys cause bigger distractions and more problems than Aaron Rodgers and the Bengals DEs do combined. One thing the Browns did do well, surprisingly, is nail their first round draft pick. First, they traded down to #5 with the Jaguars to draft DT Mason Graham and secure the Jags’ 1st round pick in next year’s draft. Given how abysmal this D-Line has been (apart from DE Myles Garrett), I expect him to get plenty of snaps this season and become a fan favorite. The rest of the team is in complete disarray. They had five QBs battling for the starting job, yet none of them would start on any other team. Welcome to the Browns. The Factory of Sadness is churning out more of their speciality for another long, grueling, disappointing season.

AFC South - As voted by their peers: Most winnable division

1. Houston Texans: (10-7) and #4 Seed

The AFC South is easily the most winnable division, but the Texans are over-hated every year. It’s quite impressive how this team went from 3-win a dumpster fire with Deshaun Watson at QB to back-to-back division champs. I think HC DeMeco Ryans deserves a standing ovation for that. The 49ers certainly miss him. I have Houston coming out on top of this lowly division solely because of who Ryans is as a person and a coach. He is a competitor, yet he is ultra calm. He is also a defensive mastermind and is seemingly immune to mismatches. The defense has no holes. He loaded up his already stacked WR room with two draftees (both from Iowa State) and a few free agents. The RBs are solid, the TEs are reliable, but the O-Line is the one weakness to this team. That’s a big weakness to have, but I trust the extremely talented, 2023 Rookie of the Year QB C.J. Stroud to do his thing yet again all year long. Houston is a playoff city all around.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars: (8-9)

Some would say it’s a make or break year for QB Trevor Lawrence and the Jags, but I point to his long-term contract and dedicated ownership. The nice thing about playing for the Jags is not having the weight of expectation. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. That’s a good position to be in. Apart from trading away next year’s 1st round pick, the Jags drafted okay. I would have drafted differently for other needs, but that’s besides the point. They better hope that WR/CB Travis Hunter is an A1 superstar or else their trade to get him will be in vain. They have an agile O-Line in front of Lawrence, and I think the goal is to pass protect longer so he stops scrambling and getting injured as a result. They have plenty of new WRs and RBs, but the Jags’ problem is defense. All of it. They are incapable of getting to the QB, and their soft zone coverage to limit the big plays downfield allows other teams to run right through them. Hook, curl, and sinker. That’ll be an issue, as always, but having them in 2nd place just goes to show how much more important offense is than defense in this league.

3. Indianapolis Colts: (7-10)

The Jags and Colts are interchangeable in my mind, and really, their records come down to who wins that Week 17 game in Indiana. I like the Jags to wrangle Indy twice this season, but we’ll see if I’m wrong about that. The Colts might have the best defense in this division. If anything, they’re a close second to Houston. Their offense, however, is an interesting one. They have forgone former 4th overall pick QB Anthony Richardson and are now starting Daniel Jones (nicknamed Danny Derps), who has yet to prove himself as an NFL talent. He’s their 11th starting QB since 2018. RB Jonathan Taylor has seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth, and their receivers are a new LOL: the Legion of Letdowns. WRs Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr. may combine for 80 fantasy points one week, and then both drop 0 the next. While they brought in a ton of high-caliber defensive players, it is only sustainable for so long. The Colts are shrouded in mystery. They haven’t figured this offense out since QB Andrew Luck retired.

4. Tennessee Titans: (3-14)

So I know I said this division is winnable, but that’s a tall task for the Titans. I think my nickname for this team is going to be the Junior Jaguars, because they are practically the Jags on a worse level. They have a franchise QB with plenty of weapons around him, but the defense might as well not get off the bus. The Titans might be better off just leaving the tackling dummies out there and make teams run practice drills to avoid them. Someone’s bound to trip on one. The two defensive players I do recognize are Amani Hooker and L’Jarius Sneed, who won a ring with the Chiefs and was very important to that team. I think the Titans can help out their win total by keeping the defense off the field by extending some drives and teaching QB Cam Ward to control the game from a young age. Their RB duo was supposed to elevate this team, but both Pollard and Spears didn’t produce squat last year. There are a ton of rookies on this Starting 11 for the Tennessee offense, and I’m excited to watch some fun football. It’s totally unpredictable.

AFC West - Most likely to: Finally dethrone the golden boy Patrick Mahomes

1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) and #3 Seed

You might be asking yourself, will the Chiefs ever NOT win the division? The answer is yes, eventually, in like 10 years probably. We’ve seen this before. The Chiefs are the modern Patriots, and even when Brady didn’t win a ring for a decade, that Pats team still won the division every year. Oh and please don’t forget how much Brady got helped along by the refs. The defense is one of the league’s best with the Oppenheimer of blitz packages at DC, their HC Andy Reid is one of the most decorated, experienced, and respected head coaches in all of the league, and they somehow draft the best player at the end of Round 1 every year. They’re literally the Patriots of old. They finally got punched in the mouth by the Eagles in the Big Game, and if it wasn’t for some blatantly missed calls, the Chiefs never would’ve been there in the first place. Their downward turn is coming, but I think they ride Mahomes’s coattails for another year.

2. Denver Broncos (11-6) and #5 Seed

If there was a team capable of shutting up golden boy Mahomes, it would be the Broncos. However, I think their offense is still a year or two removed from that. QB Bo Nix (formerly known as Bo Pix from all of his interceptions) is finally breaking out as a high-level QB. We’ve seen what this Sean Payton air raid offense is capable of with the right pieces in place, and opening up the run game would make them even better. The problem with the Broncos is that they’re one dimensional. Luckily their talent allows them to be, but it’s still not championship material. They were clearly the worse team in the matchup against the Bills last playoffs, but it’s a new year. Their defense is one of the best and competes with the top dogs for the best secondary in the league. The pass rush is frightening for any QB, their linebacker core is very strong, and they brought in some big time free agents. Now that is championship material. I expect the Broncos to build on last year’s success and have a defense to sustain them in a hotly contested AFC West. Every year I pick out my sleeper championship team. This year, it’s the Denver Broncos.

3. Los Angeles Chargers: (10-7) and #6 Seed

Make no mistake, the Chargers are no slouches. While they may only be competitive in the regular season, LA is in prime position to have a breakout year. QB Justin Herbert has one of the best arms in the league, but HC Jim Harbaugh loves the run game. He knows how to work a defense: pass first, run later. That formula worked quite well for him at Michigan when the defense was tired from all of the deep coverage. Michigan would come out in the second half, run the ball 30 times, and still win. That gameplan will be even better with RB Omarion Hampton entering the mix. The Broncos stupidly skipped over him, so he landed in the hands of their division rival. The offensive line did some reshuffling due to injuries, and that may turn out for the worst. The Chargers added some important pieces at WR and TE for Hollywood Herb, and they retooled their defense to replace the old guys with young, lightning-fast pass rushers. Stopping the run will again be the test for this team. You have to be able to take what you dish out, Coach Harbaugh.

4. Las Vegas Raiders: (4-13)

As a 49ers fan, I love this! The Raiders have become one of the worst run franchises in all of sports ever since they wanted out of Oakland. Mark Davis ran the team into the ground only to realize he wouldn’t have a competitive team for Vegas fans. Oops! They interestingly brought HC Pete Carroll out of the cryogenic freezer… um, I mean, the retirement home to coach his former QB Geno Smith in this revamped LV offense. RB Ashton Jeanty was boldly drafted 6th overall, but I actually agreed with that pick. The Raiders had the worst rushing offense in all of football last year. They also had one of the worst passing offenses. I’m beginning to think they just had a really bad offense. (Hint: They did). TE Brock Bowers will once again be the star of the show and likely Geno Smith’s hot route every play of the game. Smith will face tons of pressure, and I’m not sure if they have the O-Line to open up gaps for Jeanty to run. Their lone bright spot on defense (DE Maxx Crosby) is a gamewrecker, but he’s only one guy. They should trade him at peak value if this team is serious about winning, but I don’t think they are.

Playoff Picture

#1 Baltimore Ravens -> BYE

#7 Cincinnati Bengals @ #2 Buffalo Bills

#6 Los Angeles Chargers @ #3 Kansas City Chiefs

#5 Denver Broncos @ #4 Houston Texans

In The Hunt

Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)

Jacksonville Jaguars (8-9)

New England Patriots (8-9)

Wild Card Round

#7 Cincinnati Bengals @ #2 Buffalo Bills -> Bills

#6 Los Angeles Chargers @ #3 Kansas City Chiefs -> Chiefs

#5 Denver Broncos @ #4 Houston Texans -> Broncos

Divisional Round

#5 Denver Broncos @ #1 Baltimore Ravens -> Ravens

#3 Kansas City Chiefs @ #2 Buffalo Bills -> Chiefs

AFC Championship

#3 Kansas City Chiefs @ #1 Baltimore Ravens -> Ravens