2025 NFL Playoffs: Three Most Dangerous AFC Teams

Heading into the 2025 NFL playoffs, here are the three most dangerous AFC teams to watch out for.

Three Most Dangerous AFC Teams In The 2025 NFL Playoffs

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags have been one of the biggest surprises of the NFL season in 2025. At 12-4, the Jags have shown in a year where there aren’t any obvious contenders in the playoff picture that the Jags have the making of a team that could go on a run. Jacksonville is in the midst of a seven-game winning streak and is one of, if not the hottest, team in the NFL heading into the postseason.

They have wins this season over the Broncos, Chargers, and Texans, who are all teams they could potentially see in the postseason.

First-year head coach Liam Coen has the team playing with a lot of confidence, most importantly, the quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. Coming into the season, it was going to be a make-or-break year for Lawrence, and it looks like now he is playing like the top overall pick he was. During Jacksonville’s win streak, Lawrence ranks third in the NFL out of all quarterbacks in adjusted Expected Points Added per play. He also has two-plus offensive touchdowns in each of his last seven games. Heading into week 18, Lawrence has 3,752 yards passing and 26 passing touchdowns, which both rank in the top ten among all quarterbacks. He has also added nine rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, the Jaguars are stout as well. They are second in the NFL in takeaways and interceptions. The Jags are playing their best football at the right time, which makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the AFC playoffs.

2. Houston Texans

After starting the season 0-3 with their season looking dead to rights in just one month of play, the Texans have since gone 11-2 and are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak and are in a battle for the AFC South division title with the Jaguars.

How did Houston turn their season around, and what makes it one of the biggest threats in the 2025 NFL playoffs? Their defense. The Texans have the best defensive unit in the playoffs, and that includes both the AFC and the NFC. Houston’s defense ranks first in points per game allowed, with 16.6, and first in yards allowed per game. It also leads the league in allowing a score on a league-leading 25.9 percent of drives.

At times, the offense has been underwhelming, but the Texans’ defense has single-handedly won them games. Every AFC quarterback in the playoffs is going to have a rough time against the Texans’ defense, which makes them one of the more dangerous teams in the NFL in the postseason.

Luckily for the Texans, they have faced essentially every quarterback in the regular season that they could run into in the postseason, which will be a real advantage for them.