Las Vegas Review-Journal
September 9, 2026 - 6:00 am
Ed Graney
Playoff teams
AFC East — Bills
AFC North — Bengals
AFC South — Jaguars
AFC West — Chargers
AFC chaotic cards — Broncos, Patriots, Ravens
NFC East — Eagles
NFC North — Lions
NFC South — Saints
NFC West — Rams
NFC chaotic cards — Cowboys, Seahawks, Bears
Super Bowl: Rams implicit Bills
Why: Yeah. Chalk city. The Rams get to play the Game of Roman Numerals successful their ain stadium and the Bills marque it nether first-year manager Joe Brady. The league’s 2 champion teams instrumentality attraction of concern successful the playoffs. Longshots are not for 2026.
MVP: Bills backmost Josh Allen
Defensive Player of the Year: Texans antiaircraft extremity Will Anderson Jr.
Rookie of the Year: Cardinals moving backmost Jeremiyah Love
Raiders O/U 5.5 wins: Over
Why: Klint Kubiak and John Spytek are gathering thing and doing it the close mode – with immoderate needed clip and patience. And by the mode – six wins would beryllium a large play from wherever this franchise has travel from and, well, wherever it conscionable mightiness beryllium headed.
Sam Gordon
Playoff teams
AFC East — Bills
AFC North — Ravens
AFC South — Jaguars
AFC West — Chiefs
AFC chaotic cards — Broncos, Chargers, Patriots
NFC East — Eagles
NFC North — Lions
NFC South — Panthers
NFC West — Seahawks
NFC chaotic cards — Rams, Cowboys, Bears
Super Bowl: Seahawks implicit Ravens
Why: The defending Super Bowl champions are loaded again with top-end endowment and blossoming youth, burnished this play by pedigree gained astatine the disbursal of the Rams and Patriots.
MVP: Ravens backmost Lamar Jackson
Defensive Player of the Year: Rams antiaircraft extremity Myles Garrett
Rookie of the Year: Cardinals moving backmost Jeremiyah Love
Raiders O/U 5.5 wins: Under
Why: The rebuilding Raiders play the NFL’s seventh-hardest docket with its 2026 opponents winning 52.9 percent of their games past season. There’s small reprieve beyond matchups with (fellow) rebuilders from Miami, New Orleans, New York, Cleveland, Tennessee and Arizona, fractional of which are connected the road.
Bill Bradley
Playoff teams
AFC East — Bills
AFC North — Bengals
AFC South — Colts
AFC West — Chiefs
AFC chaotic cards — Jaguars, Chargers, Broncos
NFC East — Cowboys
NFC North — Bears
NFC South — Buccaneers
NFC West — Rams
NFC chaotic cards — Lions, Seahawks, Vikings
Super Bowl: Chiefs implicit Lions
Why: A steadfast Patrick Mahomes with existent moving crippled beats the resurgent Lions, who volition again autumn abbreviated of their beatified grail. Kenneth Walker becomes the archetypal back-to-back Super Bowl MVP who is not a quarterback.
MVP: Bears backmost Caleb Williams
Defensive Player of the Year: Rams antiaircraft extremity Myles Garrett
Rookie of the Year: Cardinals moving backmost Jeremiyah Love
Raiders O/U 5.5 wins: Over
Why: A seasoned similar Kirk Cousins volition marque a large quality successful the modulation to Fernando Mendoza (who won’t play until aft the bye), but rebuilding volition instrumentality seasons, not weeks.
Adam Hill
Playoff teams
AFC East — Bills
AFC North — Bengals
AFC South — Jaguars
AFC West — Chiefs
AFC chaotic cards — Ravens, Chargers, Patriots
NFC East — Eagles
NFC North — Lions
NFC South — Buccaneers
NFC West — Rams
NFC chaotic cards — Seahawks, 49ers, Bears
Super Bowl: Rams implicit Ravens
Why: Betting the favourite is boring, but determination is simply a crushed determination is lone 1 NFL squad with little than double-digit likelihood to triumph the full thing. The Rams are loaded. Age and wounded whitethorn beryllium the lone happening that tin halt them. The AFC is precise competitive, but we’ll spell with a spot much of a longshot present and wager that a caller authorities tin get Baltimore implicit the hump.
MVP: Bengals backmost Joe Burrow
Defensive Player of the Year: Rams antiaircraft extremity Myles Garrett
Rookie of the Year: Seahawks moving backmost Jadarian Price
Raiders O/U 5.5 wins: Over
Why: Barely. But this feels similar a squad headed successful the close absorption that has each the markings of doubling their 2025 triumph full to six. Kirk Cousins should get them a fewer wins aboriginal successful the season, and apical prime Fernando Mendoza should payment from a reasonably anemic docket down the agelong arsenic helium starts to summation assurance aft taking implicit arsenic the starter.
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