Next week, the National Football League 108th season kicks off on Wednesday night with the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks hosting their Roman Numeral LX opponent, the New England Patriots.
Before the action begins, we’ve got a lot of information to deliver you in advance of the season start. On Monday, we will post our team win total selections, usually seven to nine choices, and on Tuesday we will publish our Super Bowl pick. Next week, following the Wednesday opener the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco will play one of the nine International Games this season when they meet in Australia. Eleven games will be played on Sunday and Monday Night Football features an AFC West matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Sunday schedule is dotted with some very intriguing matchups with immediate playoff and home field implications seemingly on the line. That is true for the game in Houston between the Texans and visiting Buffalo Bills. Both these teams are serious contenders to represent the AFC in this year’s Super Bowl and the opening day winner will have a major edge in securing home field advantage for the playoffs.
Do we assume enough there?
Last year, we didn’t open the 2026 campaign with either of the eventual Super Bowl participants in clear view. Both teams had long odds, the Seahawks were picked to finish third in their NFC West division, and the Patriots were coming off a last place finish with a new head coach. It didn’t look any better for the eventual conference champions after the opening day results which showed both of them losing at home.
Why is that significant?
Only two teams in history had gone on to win the Super Bowl after losing at home on opening day. The Seahawks were downed by the talented 49ers at Lumen Field. Not that big of a surprise. But the Patriots? They were beaten on their home field by the Las Vegas Raiders … by season end the Raiders had the worst record in football and the first pick in the draft while the Patriots played for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
With that said, can we really anticipate the Bills and Texans are two powers that will be standing when the playoffs open next January?
Yes.
Why?
The Texans have one of the best defenses in football and a quarterback, C.J. Stroud, who had a brilliant rookie season and has not regained that form the past couple seasons. There may be a reason for this other than his ability … he has struggled behind a suspect offensive line. That still remains a work in progress for the Texans, but to have Stroud perform as a franchise leading quarterback is not a stretch.
As for the Bills, someday their fate is going to come due. They have one of the best signal callers in the league with Josh Allen and are under the direction of new head coach Joe Brady. The Bills were consistent playoff participants with Allen and former head coach Sean McDermott and yet the front office made a decision that a new head coach was necessary to clear the final hurdle of advancing and winning a Super Bowl.
Brady is well respected and might be the final peg in a Buffalo triumph where they have failed in their four previous attempts to secure a Lombardi Trophy in the Super Bowl.
It is therefore in our estimation a very important game in Houston on Sunday. And the start for two teams that we will release as “over” plays on Monday in our team total projections.