Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the main deck of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken have informed me they are locked in and ready to do their part in putting together this 2026-2027 NFL preview edition …
I assume their part is keeping tabs on who has the best commercials this year.
Anyway, yes, the new NFL season is upon us. Tonight. Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Whatever happened to the good ol’ days when football was strictly a weekend proposition? Friday night was reserved for high school, Saturday for college, and Sunday for the professionals. Now, it’s well nigh impossible to find a day ending in -y that doesn’t have some kind of game, usually televised on ESPN. Look, I like football as much as the next guy. But a break now and then would be appreciated.
It is what it is, however, so let’s get into it. The season starts with a rematch of the most recent NFL game played on February 8, 2026, in which the Seattle Seahawks dominated the New England Patriots en route to winning the Super Bowl. It’s not improbable that the same two teams could meet again at next year’s Super Bowl, to be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (i.e., Los Angeles) on … drum roll, please … Valentine’s Day 2027. Because nothing screams romance like taking your dream date to a Super Bowl party, with multiple flatscreens at the local sports bar subbing for candlelight and blushing beauties being presented with bouquets of nachos in lieu of flowers.
Okay, to the actual games and teams and stuff. The Seahawks are little, if at all, the worse for wear from last year’s championship team, thus should figure prominently in the conversation for that NFL rarity otherwise known as a repeat champion. Granted, Sam Darnold is making no one forget Tom Brady, but he is eminently serviceable and enjoys the luxury of being able to throw the ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Combine that with a ferocious defense, and you’ve got a force to be reckoned with.
The Seahawks’ primary challenger for the NFC championship is widely suspected to be the Los Angeles Rams, who are going all-in with a veteran-laden squad. Certainly, adding Myles Garrett on defense will be a plus, along with reacquiring the previously retired Aaron Donald if he can return to anything close to the dominant form he amply demonstrated prior to his now-abandoned retirement after the 2023-2024 season. The Rams are counting on quarterback Matthew Stafford to have another championship-level season left in him, and wide receiver Puka Nacua to avoid doing anything else stupid off the field for the entirety of the season.
Elsewhere in the NFC, things are in a state of flux. While injuries and football are synonymous (as are vapid politically correct slogans, alas), the San Francisco 49ers seem even more held together with elastic bandages and hope than most teams, as they are already down two defensive line starters before the season even starts. At this rate, they’ll be spending more time chasing the Seahawks’ and Rams’ tails than their owner does chasing a different kind of tail. The rest of the conference features some okay teams, but no one comes to mind that is in the same upper echelon as Seattle and Los Angeles.
The AFC is more of a mystery. Few expect the Patriots to have as successful a run as they did last year, but the team isn’t any worse, so they should be a factor even minus the “oh wow — they can actually play?” factor that marked much of last year’s run to the conference championship. The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens are both touted as potential winners. Still, both need to prove they can get it done in the postseason first, with Baltimore bearing the extra burden of trying to keep Lamar Jackson healthy into the playoffs. Assuming Patrick Mahomes can come back from last year’s season-ending torn ACL and tear in his LCL, and Mr. Taylor Swift has anything left in the tank, the Kansas City Chiefs cannot be discounted. The Denver Broncos might make things interesting if quarterback Bo Nix can come back from his own injuries. And the Cleveland Browns figure to be entertaining, albeit more for their off-field ongoing soap opera than anything gridiron-related.
Other questions going into the season include whether Aaron Rodgers has anything left in his final go-around helming the Pittsburgh Steelers, what “did he really just say that?” moments will Jerry Jones provide while the Dallas Cowboys drive their fans to alternate between celebratory and commiserative drinking, and which teams will, courtesy of being abominable this year, be the favorites to pick up one of the high-flying football-flicking collegiate quarterbacks currently filling the air with purposeful pigskins at next year’s draft in Washington, D.C. But for now, enjoy the games.