My 2026 NFL Season Predictions
- Linus O'Howell
- 13 hours ago
- 17 min read
With just a few days to go until the start of the Regular Season, it’s the perfect time for me to release my 2026 NFL Season Predictions! Just like every year, I will break down all 8 divisions, going over every team’s record before I make my Playoff Predictions! Considering I predicted the Buffalo Bills to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LX, I wouldn’t worry if I don’t have your team making it to Valentine’s Day! Right, let’s start with the AFC!
AFC:
AFC East
The AFC East contains the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, and the New York Jets! In my Power Rankings, I had The Patriots 8th, The Bills 9th, The Dolphins 29th, and The Jets 27th! For Me, I’ve gone with the New England Patriots to win the AFC East with a record of 12-4-1! The Patriots still have a decent schedule in the sense that I’ve got them playing against 9 teams with a winning record, but that does include road trips to Seattle, Jacksonville, and Los Angeles (against The Chargers), whilst they’re also going to play the Detroit Lions in Germany (in Week 10)! Ultimately, though, a 12-4-1 record is enough for New England to take the AFC’s Number 3 seed!
In second place, I have the Buffalo Bills to end up with a good record of 11-5-1! The Bills are set to play 10 games against teams with a winning record, which includes starting the season against The Texans, Lions, Chargers, Patriots, and Rams! As long as they get through that with a couple of wins, I believe that The Bills will take the AFC’s Number 5 seed!
Next comes the New York Jets, with a poor 3-13-1 record! The Jets have to play 9 games against teams with a winning record, with their most winnable-looking games on paper being in Tennessee (Week 1), at home against The Browns (Week 5) and The Raiders (Week 8), a road trip to Arizona (Week 15), and, of course, their two games against division rivals Miami!
And finally, I have the Miami Dolphins to finish bottom of the AFC East with a rubbish 3-14 record! The Dolphins have a pretty nasty schedule, playing 12 games against teams that I have to end up with a positive record! If The Dolphins are going to win any games this season, they’re going to need to beat the likes of The Raiders and Jets! On the flip side, they might not want to win any game given that if all of these predictions become correct, Miami would “only” get the 5th overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft!
Final Division Standings
3. New England Patriots: 12-4-1
5. Buffalo Bills: 11-5-1
12. New York Jets: 3-13-1
14. Miami Dolphins: 3-14
AFC North
The AFC North contains the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Cleveland Browns! In my Power Rankings, I had The Steelers 20th, The Ravens 6th, The Bengals 15th, and The Browns 32nd! As you would expect based on these rankings, I have the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC North with a great record of 13-4! The Ravens have a tough schedule in the sense that they’re playing 11 games against teams with a winning record, but having one of their road games in Brazil is quite helpful! As a result, Baltimore will take the AFC’s Number 2 seed!
In second place, I have the Cincinnati Bengals to end up going 10-6-1! The Bengals have a much easier schedule than The Ravens, playing just 8 games against teams with a winning record, whilst playing all four teams in the NFC South is very helpful! Impressively, a 10-6-1 record is enough for Cincinnati to get into the Playoffs as the AFC’s final side!
Next comes the Pittsburgh Steelers, with an 8-8-1 record! Due to winning the AFC North last year, The Steelers will have to play 11 games against teams with a winning record (including 4 from their own division), with road trips to New England, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville looking pretty tough (as well as a home game against The Broncos)! Whilst they won’t make the Playoffs, I do believe that Pittsburgh will do just enough to avoid having a losing record for the first time since 2003!
And finally, I have the Cleveland Browns to finish bottom of the AFC North with a shambolic 2-15 record! I don’t really care about the fact that The Browns will get to play 7 games against teams with a losing record, as they’re just useless! Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are two torrid Quarterbacks, and given the fact that Myles Garrett has left, maybe two wins is generous?! On the plus side, at least Cleveland would get the Number 1 Pick in next year’s Draft!
Final Division Standings
2. Baltimore Ravens: 13-4
7. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-6-1
8. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-8-1
16. Cleveland Browns: 2-15
AFC South
The AFC South contains the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Tennessee Titans! In my Power Rankings, I had The Jaguars 18th, The Texans 19th, The Colts 12th, and The Titans 31st! In my opinion, the Indianapolis Colts easily have the best offense in this division, so I’ve got them to win the AFC South with an 11-6 record! I have The Colts playing 8 games against teams with a winning record this season, but that does include home games against The Ravens, Cowboys, and Bengals! Add in more home games against The Giants and Dolphins, plus a London trip to take on The Commanders, I have Indy winning this division, but they’ll have to settle for the AFC’s Number 4 seed!
In second place, I have the Houston Texans to go 8-8-1! As much as The Texans have a really great defense, their offense is very questionable, and their schedule is tough! Starting the season against The Bills, Bengals, Colts, and Cowboys isn’t easy, whilst they’ve also got to play The Chargers, Ravens, Packers, and Eagles later in the year! As a result, I actually have Houston missing out on the Playoffs altogether!
Next comes the Jacksonville Jaguars, with an interesting record of 7-8-2! The Jaguars are set for a difficult schedule, playing 11 games against teams with a winning record, which includes The Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, Eagles and Texans (in London), before returning from a bye to take on The Colts and Ravens! 7-8-2 might actually be a bit generous on Jacksonville based on that list of opponents, but I will give The Jags some escape due to them winning this division last season!
And finally, I have the Tennessee Titans to finish bottom of the AFC South with a weak 3-14 record! The Titans are set to play 10 games against teams with a winning record, with their most likely victories set to come in Week 1 (against The Jets), Week 7 (against The Browns), and Week 13 (against The Commanders)! If they’re going to win on the road, it’s probably going to either be in New York (against The Giants) or in Las Vegas! A terrible season like this would give Tennessee the 4th-overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and I feel pretty confident about this given the fact that I correctly predicted The Titans to go 3-14 in last season’s article!
Final Division Standings
4. Indianapolis Colts: 11-6
9. Houston Texans: 8-8-1
10. Jacksonville Jaguars: 7-8-2
15. Tennessee Titans: 3-14
AFC West
The AFC West contains the Denver Broncos, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Las Vegas Raiders! In my Power Rankings, I had The Broncos 5th, The Chargers 7th, The Chiefs 21st, and The Raiders 30th! In my opinion, The Denver Broncos are the best team in the entire AFC, which is why I have them going 14-3 to win the AFC West! The Broncos are fortunate in the fact that they’re set to play more games against teams with a negative record (based on my predictions), but they do have a tougher start in the form of The Chiefs, Jaguars, Rams, 49ers, Chargers, and Seahawks before they even get to Week 7! The schedule then eases up ahead of a key final 3 games against The Bills, Patriots, and Chargers (again)! Whilst it sounds very difficult to do based on all of the teams that they have to play, I actually have Denver taking the AFC’s Number 1 seed, earning a bye to the Divisional Round!
In second place, I have the Los Angeles Chargers to end up 11-6! The Chargers actually have a tougher schedule than The Broncos on paper, playing 10 games against teams with a winning record, including road trips to Buffalo, Seattle, “LA” (against The Rams), Baltimore, and Denver! Ouch! However, other than that, I expect the LA Chargers to be good, hence why they’ve taken the AFC’s Number 6 seed!
Next comes the Kansas City Chiefs, with a pretty shocking 4-12-1 record! The Chiefs are set to play 12, yes, 12 games against teams with a winning record over the course of this season, with only The Dolphins, Raiders (x2), Jets, and Cardinals feeling like obvious wins! I think people have forgotten just how bad KC were last season, and based on their schedule, they’re not going to win many games for a second-straight season!
And finally, I have the Las Vegas Raiders to finish bottom of the AFC West with a disappointing record of 3-14! The Raiders will play 9 games against teams with a winning record (including twice against The Broncos and Chargers), which includes a 7-game stretch of The Patriots, Bills, Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, and Broncos, with The Jets nicely placed in the middle! A Week 13 bye also doesn’t help matters, but at least they’re starting their season at home against The Dolphins!
Final Division Standings
1. Denver Broncos: 14-3
6. Los Angeles Chargers: 11-6
11. Kansas City Chiefs: 4-12-1
13. Las Vegas Raiders: 3-14
NFC:
NFC East
The NFC East contains the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Commanders, and the New York Giants! In my Power Rankings, I had The Eagles 3rd, The Cowboys 13th, The Commanders 25th, and The Giants 28th! For me, the Philadelphia Eagles are once again the clear favourites to win the NFC East, which is why I have them going an incredible 15-1-1! The Eagles are set to play just 8 games against teams with a winning record, and that includes home games against The Rams, Colts, Seahawks, and Texans! Flip those over, and I definitely don’t have Philly winning 15 games, but for now, I will put them as my Number 1 team in the entire NFC!
In second place, I have the Dallas Cowboys to go 9-7-1! The Cowboys have a harder schedule, playing 10 games against teams with a winning record, including The Ravens (in Brazil), as well as road trips to Houston, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Seattle, LA (to take on The Rams), and, of course, Philadelphia! The positive for Dallas is I have them ending the season with wins over The Jaguars, Giants, and Commanders, which will just about edge them into the final NFC Playoff spot!
Next comes the New York Giants, with a surprising 5-11-1 record! Whilst The Giants will have to play 10 games against teams with a winning record (including road trips to Los Angeles, Seattle, and Detroit), playing home games against The Titans, Cardinals, Saints, Commanders, and Browns opens the door for New York to actually win some games this season!
And finally, I have the Washington Commanders to finish bottom of the NFC East with a shambolic record of 2-14-1! The Commanders are going to have to play 12 of their 17 games against teams with a winning record in 2026, whilst going on the road to New York (to take on The Giants), Arizona, and Tennessee aren’t at all guaranteed wins! In fact, I think Washington are so bad that they’re actually going to get the Number 2 Pick in the 2027 NFL Draft!
Final Division Standings
1. Philadelphia Eagles: 15-1-1
7. Dallas Cowboys: 9-7-1
13. New York Giants: 5-11-1
16. Washington Commanders: 2-14-1
NFC North
The NFC North contains the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Detroit Lions! In my Power Rankings, I had The Bears 23rd, The Packers 16th, The Vikings 17th, and The Lions 2nd! Alongside The Eagles winning the NFC East, the Detroit Lions winning the NFC North is the other division-winning prediction that I’m most confident about! The Lions’ disappointing 2025 campaign has yielded games against The Cardinals, Giants, and Titans, whilst they’re also getting to play The Dolphins and Jets, as well as the entirety of the NFC South! I’d expect Detroit to win almost all of those games, and as long as they’re good against their division rivals, Detroit will go 15-2!
In second place, I have the Green Bay Packers to go 9-8! The Packers are unfortunate in the fact that they’re having to play 11 games against teams with a winning record this season, which includes road trips to New England, LA (to play The Rams), and of course against fellow NFC North sides! Whilst they’ll still end up with a winning record, I have Green Bay just missing out on the Playoffs!
Next comes the Minnesota Vikings, with a solid 8-8-1 record! Alongside being in a tight and tough division, The Vikings will have to play 10 games against teams with a winning record, including The Colts, Bills (both at home), 49ers (in Mexico City), and Patriots (in Foxborough)! I think the large majority of Minnesota’s roster is very good, Playoff-worthy in fact, but their Quarterback room completely lets them down, hence why I have them missing the post-season!
And finally, I have the Chicago Bears to finish bottom of the NFC North, albeit with a record of 6-11! As a result of winning the NFC North last year, The Bears are set to play 12 games against teams with a winning record, and I just can’t see how they’re going to beat any of The Eagles, Patriots, Seahawks, and Bills! I’m also not convinced that Chicago was even that great of a team last season, despite making it to the Divisional Round back in January, so I have them regressing a lot!
Final Division Standings
2. Detroit Lions: 15-2
8. Green Bay Packers: 9-8
10. Minnesota Vikings: 8-8-1
12. Chicago Bears: 6-11
NFC South
The NFC South contains the Carolina Panthers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Atlanta Falcons, and the New Orleans Saints! In my Power Rankings, I had The Panthers 24th, The Buccaneers 14th, The Falcons 10th, and The Saints 22nd! In my opinion, the Atlanta Falcons are a lot better than people are giving them credit for, which is why I have them going 13-3-1 to win the NFC South! The Falcons will play 9 games against teams with a winning record in 2026, but the large majority of those games are at home! So, as a result, Atlanta will take the NFC’s Number 4 seed heading into the Playoffs!
In second place, I have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go 8-8-1! The Buccaneers have it tough in that they’re set to play 11 games against teams with a winning record, including road trips to Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, and Baltimore! Going to Chicago also isn’t easy, which is why I have The Bucs missing out on the Playoffs by just 1 win!
Next comes the New Orleans Saints, with a record of 7-10! The Saints will play 10 games against teams with a winning record, which includes starting the season with road trips to both Detroit and Baltimore! However, home games against The Raiders, Browns, and Cardinals should open up opportunities for more wins than New Orleans are used to (in recent seasons)!
And finally, I have the Carolina Panthers to finish bottom of the NFC South with a very disappointing 3-13-1 record! As a result of winning the NFC South last year, The Panthers are set to play a ridiculous 13 games against teams with a winning record, with me not exactly sure how this team is going to pick up wins over the likes of The Lions, Eagles, Broncos, and Seahawks! The positive for Carolina is they will get a pretty high draft pick due to losing so many games, but it’s quite the regression from appearing in the Playoffs back in January!
Final Division Standings
4. Atlanta Falcons: 13-3-1
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-8-1
11. New Orleans Saints: 7-10
14. Carolina Panthers: 3-13-1
NFC West
The NFC West contains the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Arizona Cardinals! In my Power Rankings, I had The Seahawks 4th, The Rams 1st, The 49ers 11th, and The Cardinals 26th! Whilst I do think it’s going to be a tight battle (once again) for the Division Title, I do think the Los Angeles Rams will have just enough to edge it! The Rams are set to play 11 games against teams with a winning record, which includes 3 standout games back-to-back-to-back against The Broncos, Eagles, and Bills! LA will also start the season in Australia (against The 49ers), whilst they’ll play The Seahawks twice in the final three weeks of the season! Ultimately, a 13-3-1 record will see the LA Rams take the Number 3 seed in the NFC Playoffs (due to having a better Conference record than The Falcons)!
In second place, I have the Seattle Seahawks to finish 13-4! Interestingly, if my predictions come true, The Seahawks would only play 9 games against teams with a winning record, which honestly surprised me a little bit! Still, a 5-game stretch of playing The Chargers, 49ers, Broncos, Chiefs, and Bears should be interesting (although Denver is the only road trip), whilst having 3 of their final 4 games of the Regular Season being played against The Rams (twice) and The Eagles is challenging! Still, Seattle will take the NFC’s Number 5 seed!
Next comes the San Francisco 49ers, with a bizarre record of 10-5-2! The 49ers will play 10 games against teams with a winning record, including an opening game trip to Australia to play The Rams! San Fran will also take on The Vikings in Mexico City, whilst a 4-week stretch of playing The Rams, Chargers, Chiefs, and Eagles will probably not yield too many victories! However, despite all of that, I have The Niners taking the Number 6 seed, meaning 3 teams make it into the Playoffs from the NFC West (again)!
And finally, I have the Arizona Cardinals to finish bottom of the NFC West with a record of 3-14! The Cardinals are set to play 11 games against teams with a winning record, which includes 6 games in their own division! Games against The Lions, Broncos, and Eagles also aren’t fun, but at least they have a chance to win against the likes of The Giants, Commanders, Jets, Saints, and Raiders! I’d also argue that taking the Number 6 pick in the Draft would be disappointing for Arizona; they need a Top 3 pick (at least)!
Final Division Standings
3. Los Angeles Rams: 13-3-1
5. Seattle Seahawks: 13-4
6. San Francisco 49ers: 10-5-2
15. Arizona Cardinals: 3-14
2027 NFL Playoffs:
Wild Card Weekend
In the first of three AFC matchups on Wild Card Weekend, the 11-5-1 Buffalo Bills travel to Indianapolis to take on the 11-6 Colts! This is one of those games that could honestly go either way; The Colts have home-field advantage, whilst The Bills are ever so slightly higher on my Power Rankings! In the end, I’m going to back Indi; I think Josh Allen will fall short once again!
The next matchup sees the 12-4-1 New England Patriots welcome the 11-6 Los Angeles Chargers to Gillette Stadium! In my opinion, I think The Chargers are the better team; I even have them winning the Regular Season meeting between them in Week 12! However, Justin Herbert seems allergic to winning a Playoff game, whilst Drake Maye proved last year that he knows how to guide The Patriots to post-season victories!
The final AFC Wild Card game of 2027 stays in the AFC North as the 13-4 Baltimore Ravens host the 10-6-1 Cincinnati Bengals! Given that I have The Ravens comfortably higher than The Bengals in my Power Rankings, it’s fair to say that I’m picking Baltimore to advance to the Divisional Round!
My first NFC matchup on Wild Card Weekend sees the 13-4 Seattle Seahawks travel to Georgia to take on the 13-3-1 Atlanta Falcons! Both teams have done well to win 13 games this season, but despite being the home team, I can’t see The Falcons knocking off The Seahawks, meaning Seattle’s Title defence will last for at least another week!
The next game is all about the NFC West as the 10-5-2 San Francisco 49ers take on the 13-3-1 Los Angeles Rams! Funnily enough, this would be the first Rams-49ers game at SoFi Stadium this season, given that The Rams’ home game against The Niners is taking place in Australia! Whilst San Fran will give it a good fight, the LA Rams will win this game!
And the final game on Super Wild Card Weekend sees the 15-2 Detroit Lions play host to the 9-7-1 Dallas Cowboys! Honestly, I feel like this is the most obvious winner of them all; I don’t really need to explain why I’ve got The Lions advancing!
Divisional Round
We start the Divisional Round off in a big way as the 12-4-1 New England Patriots head to Maryland to take on the 13-4 Baltimore Ravens! Both of these two teams appear inside the Top 8 of my 2026 NFL Power Rankings, so they’re in the ballpark of teams that I could actually see making this season’s Super Bowl! Out of the two Quarterbacks, Drake Maye is the only one who’s made it to the grandest stage, but I honestly believe that he won’t be going back-to-back! So yeah, a Baltimore win for me!
The other AFC Divisional Round matchup sees the 14-3 Denver Broncos enter the Playoffs at home against the 11-6 Indianapolis Colts! The Colts are without a doubt the outsiders in this one; both based on Power Rankings and overall win-loss records! The Broncos are also boosted by an elite-level defense, although Indianapolis’ offense is pretty strong! Despite this, a Denver win feels like the smart pick!
The first matchup in the NFC Divisional Round sees the 13-3-1 Los Angeles Rams take on the 15-2 Detroit Lions in a mouthwatering clash! These are literally the Number 1 and Number 2 teams in my Power Rankings, so you can’t get any bigger than this! Offensively, these two teams are top-tier, whilst The Rams’ defense is the better of the two! Ultimately, though, with both of these teams being good enough to win the Super Bowl on Valentine’s Day, I have to give the home team the edge, which means The Lions will advance (watch this age terribly)!
The final game in the 2027 NFL Divisional Round is arguably the biggest as the 13-4 Seattle Seahawks travel cross-country to take on the 15-1-1 Philadelphia Eagles! These are the other two teams who appear in the Top 4 of my 2026 NFL Power Rankings, with The Seahawks boasting the best defense of all! It’s also worth highlighting that this is a battle between the previous two Super Bowl Champions, so both organisations can’t be accused of not knowing how to win! Back in Week 15, I had Philadelphia beating Seattle on home soil, and based on my pre-season expectations of The Eagles, I sort of have to pick them to win this game! Having said that, having neither The Rams nor The Seahawks in the NFC Championship doesn’t exactly sound like a good bet!
Conference Championship
For the second-straight year, the AFC Championship game will take place in Colorado as the Denver Broncos welcome the Baltimore Ravens! Not only are these two teams seeded 1st and 2nd in the AFC, but these are also the two highest-ranked AFC teams in my Power Rankings! On paper, The Broncos have both a better offense and a defense, but I’d definitely choose Lamar Jackson over Bo Nix! Based on my predictions, Baltimore are the team who enter the Playoffs off the back of a harder schedule, whilst Denver are used to playing strong teams in a row! Ultimately, after missing this game entirely last season, I think Nix will help guide The Broncos back to the Super Bowl (under Sean Payton)!
The battle for the NFC Championship sees the two teams with the best records face off as the Detroit Lions head to Lincoln Financial Field to take on the Philadelphia Eagles! Both teams’ “strength of schedule” is almost identical, so both of these teams are here fully on merit! In a similar way to the AFC Championship game, The Eagles are slightly better on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, but I would again choose Jared Goff over Jalen Hurts! Ultimately, though, an Eagles return to the Super Bowl feels pretty predictable!
Super Bowl LXI
SoFi Stadium plays host to Super Bowl LXI as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Denver Broncos battle over the Vince Lombardi Trophy! Power Rankings-wise, it’s not exactly a surprise that these two teams have ended up here; their position in the Top 5, plus their strength of schedule, meant that it was always going to be hard to stop either The Eagles or The Broncos! Now, Philly have appeared in 2 Super Bowls in the last 4 years (winning it 2 seasons ago), whilst Denver’s last Super Bowl appearance saw them win Super Bowl 50! Ultimately, after unsuccessfully backing AFC teams in the past two seasons, I’m going to go with the Philadelphia Eagles to win Super Bowl 61, on the basis that they have more recent experience than Bo Nix and The Broncos!
Go Hawks!!!