For the past few years, the AFC has basically been a three-team race. With all due respect to the other playoff teams -- and with one notable exception from the Bengals -- the top of the AFC has belonged to the Bills, Chiefs and Ravens. Those teams were the top three seeds in 2023 and 2024. In 2022, the Chiefs and Bills were atop the conference, and the Ravens might have been third if not for Lamar Jackson's late-season knee injury (they were sixth).
In a league where parity is all but guaranteed, these three teams and their quarterbacks have been locks.