Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

2025–26 NFL Season Prediction for Every AFC Team and Division – High Competition in the AFC West, Surprise Contenders Might Emerge From the AFC North and AFC East

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

If you’re anything like me, then you know very well just how hard it is to contain the excitement of the upcoming 2025-26 NFL season. With kickoff for the season opener just around the corner, the wait is nearly over.

And before the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, play host to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, it is worth getting in some predictions for the season ahead. In this article, we will try to predict the records as well as the floor and ceiling for all 16 teams from the AFC.

Do bear in mind that these are only predictions based on how teams have performed over the past couple of seasons, the offseason changes, the strength of schedule, and more. And, after it’s all said and done, I neither expect a home run nor a strikeout, but a double or triple would be nice, if you know what I mean.

But enough of baseball, and let us begin predicting the 2025-26 NFL regular-season records of the AFC teams with a division-by-division approach.

AFC East Predictions for 2025-26 NFL Season

The Buffalo Bills are still the team to beat in the AFC East. Last season, the Bills were not expected to perform as well as they did, given all the talent they lost during the offseason, but they still managed to reach the AFC Championship game. Josh Allen is the reigning MVP for what it’s worth.

The Patriots look like the team that can improve significantly in this division under new head coach Mike Vrabel. They also have one of the easiest schedules this season. For all the work the Jets have done during the offseason, it still looks like they will end up with a similar record as their 2024 season.

The Dolphins, on the other hand, seem to have hit a wall, and it is hard to see them improving on their record from last year.

Team	Predicted Record	Floor	Ceiling
Buffalo Bills	12-5	10-7	13-4
New England Patriots	10-7	8-9	11-6
Miami Dolphins	7-10	5-12	8-9
New York Jets	6-11	5-12	8-9

Josh. Allen. 📈@JoshAllenQB | #NFLTop100 pic.twitter.com/6ux0nhxeVz
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 2, 2025

AFC West Predictions for 2025-26 NFL Season

The AFC West still belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs, but the gap is closing. Both the Chargers and Broncos have drafted well and brought in talent during the offseason. Both teams are coached by experienced head coaches who have had time to set up their teams to their liking.

The Chiefs and Chargers have a similar strength of schedule, with the Broncos and Raiders not too far behind. The AFC West should be a much tighter division than the recent past, well, except for the Las Vegas, which is still in the rebuilding phase.

That said, the Raiders can spring up a couple of surprises along the way with all the offseason work they have out in.

Team	Predicted Record	Floor	Ceiling
Kansas City Chiefs	11-6	9-8	13-4
Los Angeles Chargers	10-7	9-8	11-6
Denver Broncos	10-7	8-9	11-6
Las Vegas Raiders	7-10	6-11	9-8

One day closer to gameday 😤 pic.twitter.com/rGgPNZY9bJ
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 2, 2025

AFC North Predictions for 2025-26 NFL Season

The AFC North should once again prove to be the toughest division in this conference. The Ravens, Bengals, and Steelers are all perennial playoff contenders in the recent past and with the offseason these teams have had, it looks like nothing has changed.

Cleveland is the only team in the AFC North that has major problems and although they were able to extend pass rusher Myles Garrett for the foreseeable future, there is still a lot left wanting, especially in this tough division.

All four teams from this division come inside the top 15 for the hardest strength of schedule in the upcoming season.

Team	Predicted Record	Floor	Ceiling
Baltimore Ravens	12-5	10-7	13-4
Cincinnati Bengals	11-6	9-8	12-5
Pittsburgh Steelers	10-7	8-9	11-6
Cleveland Browns	6-11	5-12	8-9

Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase in the Top 6.

Best QB/WR duo in the league. 🔥 #Bengals #NFLTop100 pic.twitter.com/RppbFendbl
— Cincinnati 💔 (@CincyProblems) September 2, 2025

AFC South Predictions for 2025-26 NFL Season

The AFC South is still one of the weaker divisions in the league. The Houston Texans still hold the edge in this division, but perhaps the Jaguars can mount a challenge this season. As for the Colts and the Titans, things are looking bleak.

Team	Predicted Record	Floor	Ceiling
Houston Texans	10-7	8-9	11-6
Jacksonville Jaguars	8-9	7-10	10-7
Indianapolis Colts	6-11	4-13	8-9
Tennessee Titans	4-13	3-14	6-11

It will certainly be interesting to see how the upcoming season pans out. There are plenty of factors that go into the performance of teams.

Player injuries can completely derail a team’s entire season, while breakthrough performances can give a huge boost, and you can never know what to expect from the rookie class. That said, it is now time to enjoy another season of football action, starting with the Eagles and Cowboys this Thursday.

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

2025 NFL predictions

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!