Well, that was fast. We’re already two games into the 2026 NFL season now that we’ve seen a Super Bowl 60 rematch between the Seahawks and Patriots and an NFC West divisional showdown in Australia between the 49ers and Rams.
The fun continues Sunday and Monday, Sept. 13-14, when everyone else joins the fray, so let’s dive right into what might happen in and around the league by making 26 wild yet reasonable predictions about the 2026 season.
Ready or not and in no set order, here’s what I came up with — although I reserve the right to deny parts or any of this if I end up being wrong:
1. Kyler Murray, now the starting quarterback for the Vikings, gets revenge against the guy who benched him, Jonathan Gannon, the former coach of the Cardinals who is
now the defensive coordinator for the Packers, when Green Bay plays at Minnesota in a Week 1 tilt. The problem is that the Packers will make the playoffs and the Vikings won’t.
2. After establishing the single-season sacks record with 23 last season for the Browns, edge rusher Myles Garrett of the Rams will not lead the league in sacks. He finishes with 13 or fewer.
3. The Bills will win the AFC East. They fall short of reaching the Super Bowl, though.
4. The Cardinals will finish with the worst record in the NFL, get the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 draft, and Texas quarterback Arch Manning will decide to stay in school for another year.
5. Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals will come close but fall shy of becoming the first wide receiver to reach 2,000 yards in a season.
6. Caleb Williams becomes the first quarterback in Bears history to pass for 4,000 or more yards.
7. The Raiders will trade edge rusher Maxx Crosby (probably to the Cowboys) before the trading deadline on Nov. 10.
8. The Cowboys will win the NFC East and yet they won’t reach the Super Bowl -- for the 31st consecutive year. Hang in there, Jerry.
9. Sports media personality Pat McAfee will get suspended for saying something overtly offensive and, sadly, it probably will make him even more popular.
10. Offensive Rookie of the Year honors will go to a running back from Notre Dame and the guess here is Jadarian Price of the Seahawks will edge out Jeremiyah Love of the Cardinals.
11. Buccaneers pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. will edge out defensive back Caleb Downs of the Cowboys to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
12. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart will spend so much time in the blue medical tent this season that he’ll start bringing a sleeping bag and a lantern to games.
13. Despite all the preseason hype, the favorable odds, the addition of Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald coming out of retirement, the Rams won’t win the Super Bowl because they won’t make it that far.
14. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wins Comeback Player of the Year by appearing in all 17 games after returning from a torn ACL. However, Kansas City fails to reach the playoffs.
15. The Texans will reclaim the AFC South from the Jaguars to win their third division title in four years, but they won’t go far in the postseason due to insufficient quarterback play from C.J. Stroud.
16. A major gambling scandal will rock the NFL that might result in some key figures getting banished for life. We’re at the tipping point, people.
17. Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushes for nearly 2,000 yards to win Offensive Player of the Year, teammate Aidan Hutchinson leads the NFL in sacks to win Defensive Player of the Year and Detroit not only goes from worst to first in the NFC North but advances to the NFC championship.
18. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 42, will end up missing a few games due to injury and walk away from the team before the end of the regular season. McAfee most likely will break the news.
19. Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck, who is third on the depth chart, will start the last four games of the season, and it won’t be a large enough sample size to convince the team he can be the starter in 2027.
20. Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the first overall pick in this year’s draft and the backup to veteran addition Kirk Cousins, will make at least eight starts and never look back.
21. The AFC West title will be decided in the regular-season finale between the Broncos and the Chargers. The game is in Denver, so I’m picking the Broncos. But something tells me to pull for the Chargers.
22. One of four teams will win the NFC South and outside of Tampa, Atlanta, New Orleans and Charlotte, no one will care. My gut says the Buccaneers capture the division, but I don’t really care, either.
23. I’m guessing only three coaches will truly be on the hot seat — Dan Quinn of the Commanders, Aaron Glenn of the Jets and Shane Steichen — and just one of them gets fired. Maybe.
24. Upon guiding the Lions to the NFC championship game, Dan Campbell earns Coach of the Year honors over Jesse Minter of the Ravens and Brian Schottenheimer of the Cowboys.
25. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks hold off the Rams and 49ers to capture their second straight NFC West title, and they defeat the Lions to get back to the Super Bowl.
26. After missing the playoffs each of the past three years, the Bengals advance to the AFC championship, where they beat the Bills and then knock off the Seahawks in Super Bowl 61 as quarterback Joe Burrow wins his first league Most Valuable Player award.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic .Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
Sign up for our free newsletters at https://profile.azcentral.com/newsletters/manage/ for complete coverage.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cards to Kyler to McAfee, 26 predictions for the 2026 season | Opinion
