The 2026 NFL season is almost here, and the league feels wide open. The defending champions remain loaded, several AFC contenders are trying to finally break through, and a few teams that made deep playoff runs last season believe they can take the next step.
This isn’t a prediction of exactly how the standings will finish. It’s a ranking of the five best teams in football going into the 2026 season based on what they accomplished last year, the talent on their rosters and how much I trust them when January arrives.
Here are my top five.
5. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are officially contenders.
Denver went 14-3 last season and reached the AFC Championship Game, where its season ended with a 10-7 loss to New England after Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury.
Nix has already shown through his first two NFL seasons that he can lead a winning football team. Under Sean Payton, Denver has developed into one of the AFC’s most dangerous teams, and after coming within one victory of the Super Bowl, expectations should be even higher in 2026.
The Broncos don’t need to prove that they’re a playoff team anymore. We’ve already seen that. Now the question is whether they can take the next step.
With Nix back healthy and another year of experience throughout the roster, Denver enters 2026 as my fifth-best team in football.
4. New England Patriots
What a turnaround.
The Patriots went from 4-13 in 2024 to 14-3 in 2025, winning the AFC and reaching Super Bowl LX in Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach. Their season ultimately ended with a 29-13 loss to Seattle, but that shouldn’t erase everything New England accomplished.
Drake Maye has helped bring hope back to a franchise that spent several seasons searching for its next quarterback. Vrabel immediately changed the direction of the team, and New England went from one of the worst teams in football to representing the AFC in a single season.
So why do I have the reigning AFC champions all the way down at #4?
The Super Bowl hangover is real.
Getting all the way to February and then coming back the following season to make another championship run is incredibly difficult, especially after losing on the biggest stage. Everyone knows New England is dangerous now. Nobody is overlooking them, and they’ll enter 2026 with a much bigger target on their backs.
I still believe the Patriots are one of the best teams in football. That’s why they’re in my top five. But after such a dramatic rise last season, I want to see them prove they can sustain it.
The Patriots earned their place among the NFL’s elite. Now comes the difficult part: doing it again.
3. Buffalo Bills
At some point, the Buffalo Bills have to finish the job.
Josh Allen remains one of the most dominant players in football. Buffalo went 12-5 in 2025, but another promising season ended without a Super Bowl appearance when the Bills lost to Denver in the Divisional Round.
We’ve already seen enough regular-season success from this team. We’ve seen the division titles, huge performances and MVP-level football from Allen.
The question hasn’t changed.
Can Buffalo finally win the AFC?
There are very few players capable of taking over an entire football game the way Allen can. As long as he’s behind center, Buffalo has a legitimate chance to beat anybody.
But the standard has changed. Making the playoffs isn’t enough anymore. We’ve seen Buffalo be one of the best teams in football for years. Now it’s time to turn that success into a trip to the Super Bowl.
It’s Super Bowl or bust in Buffalo.
2. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams might be the scariest team in football going into 2026.
Los Angeles came painfully close to reaching the Super Bowl last season, losing 31-27 to Seattle in the NFC Championship Game. They were already good enough to nearly knock off the eventual champions, and somehow they may be even more dangerous now.
Matthew Stafford enters the season as the reigning MVP, Sean McVay remains one of football’s best offensive minds, and the Rams have continued aggressively building a roster designed to win right now.
Then there’s the defense.
Los Angeles acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, who broke the NFL single-season sack record last season. And as if that wasn’t enough, Aaron Donald has worked out with the Rams and is considering coming out of retirement.
Imagine having to deal with that defense and then watching Stafford and McVay walk onto the field on the other side.
The Rams don’t need much improvement from last season. They were already four points away from the Super Bowl.
They’re my #2 team entering 2026 and the biggest threat to the defending champions.
1. Seattle Seahawks
You have to respect the champs.
The Seattle Seahawks went 14-3, earned the NFC’s top seed and finished the job by beating the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.
So until somebody takes the crown from them, they’re number one.
Seattle proved last season that it could win throughout the regular season and then handle the pressure when the games mattered most. There will always be reasons to fall in love with another team during the offseason. Someone makes a huge trade. Someone signs a star. Someone looks unstoppable on paper.
That’s all fine.
Seattle has the trophy.
The Rams may be coming. Buffalo may finally break through. New England wants another opportunity. Denver believes its time is now.
But until somebody actually knocks Seattle off the mountain, I’m not moving them.
The road to Super Bowl LXI goes through the defending champions.
Final Ranking
1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Los Angeles Rams
3. Buffalo Bills
4. New England Patriots
5. Denver Broncos
Denver is trying to finish what it started. New England wants to prove last year’s Super Bowl run wasn’t a one-year explosion. Buffalo desperately needs to turn years of contention into a championship appearance. The Rams look built to win immediately, while Seattle enters the year with the crown.
But remember, this ranking is only about where these teams stand going into the season.
Will we see some teams take a leap in 2026? Absolutely. Every NFL season produces teams that exceed expectations, young players who become stars and contenders that seemingly come out of nowhere. By the middle of the season, this top five could look completely different.
That’s what makes the NFL so unpredictable.
For now, though, these are my five.
And at the top, I’m keeping it simple:
Seattle has the crown. Until somebody takes it, respect the champs.
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