2026 NFL Season: Super Bowl Rematch, Australia Debut — SkimNews
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- NFL launches its 2026 season Wednesday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) with a Super Bowl rematch between the 14-3 Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, followed Thursday by the Rams-49ers in Australia (Netflix), and concludes Feb. 14 with Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium (ESPN).
- Los Angeles Rams carry the season's highest playoff odds at 84.9% (11.3 projected wins, 50.4% division odds) behind MVP Matthew Stafford, who set a career high with 46 passing TDs; ESPN Research notes Stafford has regressed sharply after each prior 40-TD season (41→10 in 2022).
- Buffalo Bills (84.1% playoff odds, 67.1% division odds) are built around Josh Allen, who already owns 299 combined passing/rushing TDs through eight seasons — 40 more than the next-closest QB — under new head coach Joe Brady and a 3-4 defensive scheme.
- Seattle Seahawks are the defending champions but face an offensive coordinator question with first-time play-caller Brian Fleury replacing Klint Kubiak; Sam Darnold joins Tom Brady as the only QBs with consecutive 14-win seasons, with no QB ever posting three in a row.
- Baltimore Ravens (79.8% playoff odds) enter with Lamar Jackson coming off his first losing record as a starter (6-7) and a major question at center after losing three-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum — Jackson's health is the team's defining variable per Jamison Hensley.
- ESPN's Football Power Index projects a massive volatility range for the Rams — best-case 14-3, worst-case 9-8 — and 13-4/8-9 ranges for both the Bills and Seahawks, signaling how thin margins separate favorites from also-rans.
- Rams rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson is ESPN analyst Seth Walder's bold pick for eight touchdown catches, slotting in as a potential third receiving option behind Davante Adams (14 TDs) and Puka Nacua (129 catches).
Why it matters: The Rams' 84.9% playoff probability and the source's explicit bar — 'this season is a success if the Rams win the Super Bowl' — crystallize how much leverage Los Angeles has placed on maximizing **Matthew Stafford**'s remaining window after a career-high 46-TD season. The ESPN FPI's best-case 14-3 / worst-case 9-8 spread for the Rams underscores how a single injury or the unresolved Alaric Jackson offensive tackle situation can swing a Super Bowl favorite out of contention. Defending champion Seattle's offensive coordinator debut and Baltimore's center question add two more variables that could reshuffle the NFC and AFC hierarchy by February.
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