The NFL is back Wednesday, and with the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots meeting in a Super Bowl LX rematch to kick things off, theScore’s football staff is already looking way ahead. The panel - Alex Chippin, Brenden Deeg, Caio Miari, Eric Patterson, Daniel Valente, Matt Washington, and Adam Stites - weighed in on playoff races, championship picks, award winners, and a few bold swings that could look brilliant or brutal by season’s end.
The AFC is where the uncertainty really starts. Even after New England won the conference in 2025, just two panelists are backing the Patriots to return to the postseason in 2026.
Kansas City, meanwhile, drew far more faith after last year’s 6-11 stumble; five of the seven believe Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes get things turned around. And every single panelist has the Bengals ending their three-year playoff drought.
The NFC predictions are a little more lopsided. Only one panelist thinks the Seahawks will repeat as division winners, while the rest are leaning hard toward the Rams. The NFC North is the wild card in this exercise, especially with all four teams finishing above .500 a year ago, and the NFC South produced one of the more aggressive calls on the board: two panelists see that division sending two teams to the playoffs even after its messy 2025.
When it comes to the conference title games, the AFC board is all over the place. Five different teams were picked to emerge from the conference, a step up in variety from last year’s group that mostly settled on the Bills, Ravens, and Chiefs. The Jaguars got the most attention there, with one pick sending them to the Super Bowl for what would be the first time in franchise history.
The NFC picture is tighter. Five panelists chose the Rams to come out of the conference, while the other two went with the Eagles. The defending champion Seahawks were only placed in the NFC title game by one panelist.
That leads to Super Bowl LXI, where the Rams are the favorite in this exercise. Four panelists picked Los Angeles to win it all, two went with the Bills, and one sees the Eagles finishing the job under the confetti.
There were also some notable calls on the bottom of the standings. Miami is the most common pick to land the No. 1 overall selection, with the Dolphins’ thin roster making them an easy target. Tennessee is another team drawing attention there, though one panelist clearly isn’t sold on the Titans despite their spending spree this offseason.
On the coaching front, Todd Bowles is the name that keeps popping up first. He’s the longest-tenured coach among the candidates and is entering his fifth season in Tampa Bay with three division titles, but his 35-33 record leaves plenty of room for pressure if the start is slow.
The offseason acquisition discussion produced a few interesting splits too. Mitchell, now with the Chargers, is the outlier to watch after durability issues in Baltimore, though his speed makes him a fit for Mike McDaniel’s scheme.
Brown’s production dipped over the last two seasons with the Eagles, and two panelists aren’t ready to blame that decline on the internal discord in Philadelphia. Two others don’t think Walker will move the needle much in Kansas City.
For MVP, Allen and Jackson are the obvious headliners, and that showed up in the voting. Four panelists picked one of those two, while Lawrence is the longshot in the group at +1500 on theScore Bet.
The offensive player race features a familiar cluster of stars. Nacua, Chase, Gibbs, and Cook all got love, with Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba coming off last season’s league-high 1,793 receiving yards after winning the award.
On defense, the picks all pointed toward the line. Hunter stood out most, in part because of his consistent production and in part because he’s often viewed as second fiddle to Anderson on the Texans.
The Coach of the Year race is being framed through improvement. The Ravens and Saints have the clearest paths to better records, which makes Minter and Moore sensible choices for an award that often comes down to year-to-year win differential. Coen also got attention after winning 13 games in 2025, and he’ll be in the mix again if the Jaguars can match that total.
The rookie awards brought a mix of the expected and the adventurous. Price, Love, and Tate were the safer offensive selections, but Lane and Stribling were the bolder names, with both Day 2 receivers potentially stepping into meaningful roles for the Ravens and 49ers after strong training camp and preseason showings. Downs is a popular defensive pick, and if the Cowboys can repair a defense that struggled badly last season, the former Ohio State safety would likely be central to that turnaround.
The Comeback Player of the Year discussion included one notable omission: Donald. The award is meant for players who return from injury, illness, or similar adversity, so retirement doesn’t qualify. That left most of the panel leaning toward a quarterback who endured a rough season a year ago.
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