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?