Head Coach: Robert Saleh
Offensive Coordinator: Brian Daboll
Defensive Coordinator: Gus Bradley
Special Teams Coordinator: John Fassel

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 3-14)

2025 could not have gone worse for the Titans. Instead of providing their rookie QB with a stable situation he could properly develop in, they gave him the exact opposite.

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The Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan just 6 games into the season. Mike McCoy took over as interim head coach to finish out the year, and then Robert Saleh was hired in January.

Which means Cam Ward has now had as many head coaches in 1 year in the NFL as Tom Brady did in 23 seasons.

It’s not what you want for your franchise QB.

Check out Tennessee’s 2025 numbers to get a feel for how ugly it was:

Along the way, the Titans didn’t surround Ward with much support. The protection ranked 30th in pressure % allowed. The run game ranked 30th as well.

Titans receivers didn’t provide much help either.

They couldn’t stretch the field (The Titans ranked 27th in air yards per completion and 25th in completions of 20 yards or more).

They couldn’t do much when they had the ball in their hands (24th in yards after catch per completion).

They also weren’t very reliable (11th in drop %).

It’s tough to gauge exactly how Ward performed given what he had around him.

Defensively, Tennessee had an equally rough season, finishing in the bottom-5 in points and yards per play allowed. They did a decent job of stopping the run, but by and large, they were just as disastrous as the other side of the ball.

As a result, the Titans overhauled damn near the entire roster heading into 2026, as you can see below.

Key Additions

RB Nicholas Singleton (5th Rd, 165th Overall)
RB Michael Carter
WR Carnell Tate (1st Rd, 4th Overall)
WR Wan’Dale Robinson
TE Daniel Bellinger
TE Kylen Granson
C Austin Schlottmann
RG Cordell Volson
OT Austin Deculus
OG Fernando Carmona (5th Rd, 142nd Overall)

DL John Franklin-Myers
DL Jordan Elliott
DL Solomon Thomas
DL Jalyn Holmes
DL Khalen Saunders
EDGE Jermaine Johnson II
EDGE Jacob Martin
EDGE Keldric Faulk (1st Rd, 31st Overall)
LB Anthony Hill (2nd Rd, 60th Overall)
LB Mohamoud Diabate
CB Alontae Taylor
CB Cordale Flott
CB Joshua Williams
S Tony Adams

Key Losses

WR Van Jefferson
WR James Proche
TE Chigoziem Okonkwo
C Lloyd Cushenberry III
RG Kevin Zeitler
OT Oli Udoh
C Corey Levin

DL Sebastian Joseph-Day
DL T’Vondre Sweat
DL James Lynch
EDGE Jihad Ward
EDGE Arden Key
CB Darrell Baker
CB Jalyn Armour-Davis
CB L’Jarius Sneed
S Xavier Woods
S Quandre Diggs

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

What can we expect from Cam Ward in his second season?
Ward was too imprecise throughout his rookie season. He completed less than 60% of his passes for an astonishingly low 5.9 yards per attempt, which ranked 33rd in the NFL.

He also threw just 15 touchdown passes. And while it was encouraging that he finished the year with only 7 interceptions, he did turn the ball over 14 times (Tied for 7th-most in the NFL).

You can blame the lack of help around him for much of his poor performance, but not all of it. In particular, his ball placement was sporadic at times:

The undisciplined nature to his game and his desire to make big plays got him in trouble often:

It was a messy season overall.

The good news for Tennessee is that Ward showed improvement and seemed to settle in as the season progressed.

Through his first 9 games, Ward completed just 57.6% of his passes, threw 5 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and had a 72.1 passer rating.

But through his final 8 games, he completed 62.4% of his passes, had a 10-1 TD-INT ratio, a 90.0 passer rating, and cut his sack rate nearly in half.

And as we all saw last season, the Titans have a ton to work with since Ward is a very physically gifted quarterback:

It’s all in there. But the situation he was in last year was not ideal for drawing it out. We’ll see if that changes this season.

Check out my full Cam Ward 2025 breakdown below:

Do the Titans have enough around Cam Ward to help him flourish?
A year ago, no wide receiver on the Titans’ roster had more than 48 receptions. GM Mike Borgonzi made sure to rectify that this offseason.

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Head Coach: Shane Steichen
Offensive Coordinator: Jim Bob Cooter
Defensive Coordinator: Lou Anarumo
Special Teams Coordinator: Brian Mason

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 8-9)

The Colts started last season 8-2 and appeared to be a lock to make the playoffs. Then they lost their final 7 games.

They went from scoring 32.1 points per game and allowing just 20.6 during that 8-2 start to scoring just 20.7 and allowing 29.4 during their 7-game losing streak.

It was, to say the least, a disastrous finish to a promising season.

Injuries certainly played a huge role, as key players like quarterback Daniel Jones, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, and cornerback Sauce Gardner (who they traded for during the season) missed significant time.

They were so banged up that they turned to 44-year old Philip Rivers (who hadn’t played since the 2020 season) to start 3 of their final 4 games.

It’s hard to analyze how good or bad the Colts truly were last year based on how unlucky they were in the health department. Although, that’s a part of the game. And it will be a a major question for the Colts in terms of projecting 2026.

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Key Additions

WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
OG Jalen Farmer (4th Rd, 113th Overall)

DL Colby Wooden
DL Derrick Nnadi
DL Jerry Tillery
EDGE Arden Key
EDGE George Gumbs Jr. (5th Rd, 156th Overall)
EDGE Micheal Clemons
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither
LB CJ Allen (2nd Rd, 53rd Overall)
LB Bryce Boettcher (4th Rd, 135th Overall)
CB Cam Taylor-Britt
S A.J. Haulcy (3rd Rd, 78th Overall)
S Jonathan Owens
S Juanyeh Thomas

Key Losses

RB Ameer Abdullah
WR Michael Pittman Jr.
RT Braden Smith
C Danny Pinter

DL Neville Gallimore
EDGE Kwity Paye
EDGE Samson Ebukam
EDGE Tyquan Lewis
LB Zaire Franklin
LB Germaine Pratt
CB Kenny Moore
S Nick Cross
S Rodney Thomas II

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Can Daniel Jones stay healthy and perform well 2 years in a row?
I’ve said this before, but Daniel Jones has had some of the best performances by a quarterback in NFL history. That sounds weird to say, but it’s true.

During his rookie season, Jones became the first rookie ever to throw for 350 yards, 5 touchdowns, and no interceptions in a game. He also tied a record for most games in a rookie season with 4+ TD passes.

In his playoff debut in 2022 with the Giants, Jones became the first quarterback ever to throw for 300+ yards, 2+ TDs, and rush for 70+ yards in a playoff game.

He had a ton of success in his first season with the Colts too.

Jones completed 68% of his passes in 2025, which was the 2nd-best in Colts history, right behind Peyton Manning. And it’s not like he was just dinking and dunking his way to that high completion rate. He averaged 8.0 intended air yards per pass attempt, the 12th-highest rate in the NFL.

During the first 10 games of the season, before Jones fractured his fibula (which he played through for 2+ games), the Colts scored on 57.6% of their drives, which led the NFL.

The talent has always been there for Jones. The health and consistency haven’t been.

After a good rookie campaign in 2019, Jones had 2 underwhelming and injury-riddled seasons.

Then he led the Giants to the playoffs in 2022 before having two more injury-plagued and subpar seasons in ‘23 and ‘24.

Last year, he helped turn the Colts into a top offense in the league before injuries plagued him once again.

And quite frankly, his health is really where you can pinpoint the demise of the 2025 Colts. As mentioned above, they went from scoring 32.1 points per game before he got hurt to averaging just 20.7 over their final 7 games.

In particular, their rushing attack took a huge hit. They averaged 145.3 rushing yards through those first 10 games, good for 3rd-most in the NFL. They were dynamic and could uniquely generate big plays on inside runs like no other team could:

After Jones broke his fibula, he couldn’t factor into the run as much for 2 games. Once he was gone for the year, defenses loaded up to stop Jonathan Taylor and dared the Colts to throw. Indy’s production on the ground was cut in half as they averaged just 79.1 yards over those final 7 games.

The biggest questions for 2026, therefore, are can Jones remain healthy and can he perform at a high level 2 years in a row? The Colts season will hinge on it.

Can the defense play like it did during their 8-2 start?
Similar to the offense, the defense’s season can be broken into two parts. They were a top-10 scoring defense that got after the quarterback during their 8-2 start. The Colts were 7th in sacks and 6th in pressure % through those first 10 games.

But they finished the year 21st in points allowed, 15th in sacks, and 16th in pressure %.

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Head Coach: DeMeco Ryans
Offensive Coordinator: Nick Caley
Defensive Coordinator: Matt Burke
Special Teams Coordinator: Frank Ross

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 12-5)

For the third straight season since DeMeco Ryans arrived in Houston, the Texans reached the AFC Divisional Round but then came up short.

Last year seemed especially painful, though, because the Texans had the defense to carry them to the Super Bowl if their offense could only do their part. Unfortunately, they couldn’t.

While the offense struggled throughout much of the season, they discovered a successful formula for winning games. They didn’t turn the ball over.

The Texans finished 2nd in the NFL with just 12 giveaways during the regular season. The won their final 9 games and committed just 5 total turnovers in the process. They looked like an unbeatable team entering the postseason if they could just take the 2000 Ravens approach and protect the ball in the playoffs.

They just couldn’t do it, though. Houston committed 8 turnovers in 2 games including 5 in their season-ending loss to the Patriots. One of those turnovers was a terrible pick-6 when the Texans held the lead in the 2nd quarter and had just seemed to take some control of the game.

Houston’s defense held the #2-ranked offense in the NFL to less than 250 yards that afternoon, sacked Drake Maye 5 times, created 3 turnovers, and forced 2 additional fumbles that they couldn’t recover.

Which is why it felt like the offense gave the game and the season away. Specifically, 3rd-year quarterback C.J. Stroud was the main culprit with his 7 turnovers in 2 playoff games.

Spoiler alert: He’s the biggest question entering the 2026 season.

Key Additions

RB David Montgomery
TE Foster Moreau
TE Marlin Klein (2nd Rd, 59th Overall)
LG Wyatt Teller
C Keylan Rutledge (1st Rd, 26th Overall)
RT Braden Smith
OG Febechi Nwaiwu (4th Rd, 106th Overall)
OG Evan Brown

DL Kayden McDonald (2nd Rd, 36th Overall)
DL Logan Hall
EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
EDGE Dominique Robinson
LB Wade Woodaz (4th Rd, 123rd Overall)
LB Marte Mapu
S Reed Blankenship
S Kamari Ramsey (5th Rd, 141st Overall)

Key Losses

RB Nick Chubb
RB Dare Ogunbowale
WR Christian Kirk
TE Harrison Bryant
RT Tytus Howard
OG Juice Scruggs
LG Laken Tomlinson

DL Tim Settle
DL Denico Autry
EDGE Derek Barnett
S Myles Bryant
S K’Von Wallace

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

C.J. Stroud
The Texans’ 4th-year quarterback is hands down the biggest question with this team. The offense as a whole needs to be better, particularly up front, so it’s not all on him. However, the regression in his play has to be a concern for the Texans.

Stroud seemed like a sure thing coming out of his rookie season. He played like a top-10 quarterback and had a level of maturity to his game that was rare to see in a first-year player:

He took a step back in year 2, primarily because of the protection. That season exposed how uncomfortable Stroud was in the pocket with pressure closing and bodies around him (or perhaps it created that element to his game).

Year 3 started off with more of the same as the Texans lost their first 3 games, scoring just 38 total points in the process. Stroud battled through it (and a concussion that kept him out of 3 games in the middle of the season), and bounced back to have a decent year. The playoffs are where everything fell apart.

There was one way for the Texans Offense to approach the playoffs given how dominant their defense was: Do not turn the ball over. Do not take negative plays. Punting is a viable option.

Stroud did the exact opposite.

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Head Coach: Liam Coen
Offensive Coordinator: Grant Udinski
Defensive Coordinator: Anthony Campanile
Special Teams Coordinator: Heath Farwell

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 13-4)

The Jaguars were one of the most surprising teams in the NFL last season. Liam Coen joined Dan Campbell in proving that introductory press conferences have nothing to do with your ability to coach as Jacksonville won 9 more games than the year before on their way to the AFC South division title.

It’s hard to say where the largest turnarounds were from the year before because there were so many on both sides of the ball.

The offense went from 26th in the NFL in scoring to 6th. The defense went from 27th in points allowed to 8th.

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Most notable was Jacksonville’s ability to stop the run and generate turnovers. The Jaguars had the #1 run defense in the NFL last season after ranking 25th the year before, and they generated the 2nd-most takeaways in the NFL just one year after creating the fewest.

New defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile had a tremendous season in his first stint as a DC in the NFL, which should give other teams hope about their first-time OC’s and DC’s.

Last year, no one knew quite what to expect, but here’s what I wrote in my Jaguars 2025 preview:

It’s difficult to know for sure what defense he plans on playing exactly, but he’s been exposed to some of the best in recent seasons.

He was the linebackers coach for the Dolphins from 2020-23. During that time, he worked under Brian Flores, who likes to do some crazy sh*t, and Vic Fangio, whose scheme many believe is the answer to the modern passing game.

Then last year, he was the Packers linebackers coach under Jeff Hafley, whose use of disguise and simulated pressures turned the Packers into a ball-hawking defense that was one of the best in the league.

Campanile appears equipped to bring a modern-day defense to Jacksonville. That, in of itself, could help turn the Jaguars around on this side of the ball.

I think that’s a relatively accurate description of what ended up happening last season as Campanile seemed to mix in a little bit of everything.

The Jaguars ranked 9th in split safety looks according to of MatchQuarters. That’s the Fangio influence.

They ranked 5th in cover-2 usage, 13th in cover-0 usage, and 5th in 6-man pressures. (The Flores influence).

They ranked 12th in sim pressure percentage (the Hafley influence).

This is not a humble brag to say I made a somewhat accurate prediction last year, by the way (I’ve been wrong plenty of times before, for the record). But coaches coach what they know and what they’ve experienced. My hunch last year was that he would lean on the schemes of the systems he’d been exposed to prior to joining the Jaguars. Surprise surprise, that’s what he did.

Key Additions

RB Ameer Abdullah
RB Chris Rodriguez
TE Nate Boerkircher (2nd Rd, 56th Overall)
TE Tanner Koziol (5th Rd, 164th Overall)
OG Emmanuel Pregnon (3rd Rd, 88th Overall)

DL Ruke Orhorhoro
DL Albert Regis (3rd Rd, 81st Overall)
EDGE Wesley Williams (4th Rd, 119th Overall)
S Jalen Huskey (3rd Rd, 100th Overall)

Key Losses

RB Travis Etienne
WR Dyami Brown
WR Tim Patrick
TE Johnny Mundt

DL Maason Smith
DL Austin Johnson
EDGE Dawuane Smoot
EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah
LB Devin Lloyd
CB Greg Newsome II
S Andrew Wingard

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Can Trevor Lawrence finally put it together multiple seasons in a row?
There is no question that Trevor Lawrence played the quarterback position better last year than he has at any point in his NFL career.

It culminated in the final 6 games of the season where he completed 63% of his passes for 1,600 yards (8.3 yards per attempt), with 15 TD passes, just 1 interception, and a 113.2 passer rating. He also ran for 149 yards and 4 touchdowns during that span.

The Jags won all 6 of those games. They’d win their final 8 on their way to a 13-4 record and the AFC South division title.

But one of the biggest reasons for Lawrence’s success was that Liam Coen did a great job of putting him in position to succeed. He gave him all the answers to the test and created tons of clearly-defined reads. It seemed like Lawrence had somewhere to go with the ball when he hit his back foot just about every time he dropped back.

Jacksonville’s Week 16 win over the Broncos in Denver was the peak of the Coen-Lawrence marriage. You can check out that breakdown here:

While we have probably never seen Lawrence perform at as high of a level as he did last year under Coen, we have seem him play very well at different times throughout his career. He’s never really been able to do it over long stretches (or consecutive seasons), though.

So have things really changed for the Jaguars’ franchise quarterback? We’ll find out in 2026.

Where is Travis Hunter going to play?
One of the reasons the Jaguars traded up to draft Travis Hunter last year is because he’s conceivably equivalent to having two players, a receiver and a cornerback. No one has played both ways consistently in the NFL for a long time, and Jacksonville figured they had someone special in Hunter. Perhaps the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL.

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Head Coach: Kellen Moore
Offensive Coordinator: Doug Nussmeier
Defensive Coordinator: Brandon Staley
Special Teams Coordinator: Phil Galiano

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 6-11)

The Saints started last season 1-8 and seemed like they were on the fast track to a top draft pick. Then they went 5-3 over their final 8 games and positioned themselves to be a legitimate contender for the NFC South division title in 2026.

The easy explanation for the turnaround would be the play of rookie QB Tyler Shough, who took over the starting role for the final 9 games of the season and led the Saints to a 5-4 record during that stretch.

He did play really well (more on that below). But the defense also turned things around in the back half of the year. They went from allowing 27 points and 333 yards per game through their 1-8 start to allowing just 17.5 points and 262 yards per game.

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A big reason for that was the pass rush, led by ageless wonder Cam Jordan and former #2 overall pick Chase Young. Jordan had his best season in 4 years, including 8 sacks over those final 8 games. Young had a career year with 10 sacks, including 7 over the final 8 games.

Getting two edge rushers to average nearly a sack a game for half the season will do wonders for any defense. And both will be back in 2026 for year 2 in defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s system.

Key Additions

RB Travis Etienne
WR Jordyn Tyson (1st Rd, 8th Overall)
WR Bryce Lance (4th Rd, 136th Overall)
TE Noah Fant
TE Oscar Delp (3rd Rd, 73rd Overall)
LG David Edwards
OG Jeremiah Wright (4th Rd, 132nd Overall)

DL Christen Miller (2nd Rd, 42nd Overall)
EDGE Anfernee Jennings
EDGE Tyree Wilson
LB Kaden Elliss
CB Martin Emerson
S Lorenzo Styles (5th Rd, 172nd Overall)

Key Losses

TE/FB Taysom Hill
WR Dante Pettis
TE Foster Moreau
TE Jack Stoll
C Luke Fortner

DL Jonathan Bullard
DL Jonah Williams
LB Demario Davis
CB Alontae Taylor

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Is Tyler Shough the real deal?
As I wrote earlier this summer, you can make a very strong argument that Tyler Shough had a better rookie season than any of the class of 2025 quarterbacks. He was certainly the most seasoned from the pocket:

Shough has just about every trait you’d want in a quarterback. He’s 6’5”, has a strong arm, and can move well for his size:

There are still some issues with his game that need refinement. For instance, while he isn’t wildly inaccurate, his ball placement could use some improvement. He’s also a little over-reactive to pressure at times.

But the bottom line is that Kellen Moore has a lot to work with when it comes to Shough. And when he entered the lineup last season, the Saints offense got better.

Shough was 5-4 as the starter, but he started to really pick up the pace over his final 5 games. During that stretch, he completed nearly 70% of his passes for 8.1 yards per attempt (both of which are really good). He had a 5-2 TD-INT ratio, a 99.1 passer rating, and ran for 135 yards and 3 touchdowns over that span. The Saints went 4-1 to finish the season.

Overall, New Orleans should be excited about what they saw from Shough.

Do the Saints have enough on offense around Shough to take the next step?
I think the answer is yes? But we’ll see.

Last year, the Saints had a bottom-5 run game, and their leading rusher (Alvin Kamara) had just 471 yards, 1 TD, and averaged a mere 3.6 yards per carry in 11 games.

New Orleans addressed their rushing attack by signing Travis Etienne this offseason. Etienne rushed for 1,107 yards last year in Jacksonville and has eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground in 3 of the last 4 seasons. The combination of Etienne with Kamara is a clear upgrade over just leaning on Kamara as the feature back at this point in his career.

At receiver, the Saints added a dynamic weapon in Jordyn Tyson with the 8th overall pick. Many believed he might have been the best receiver in this year’s draft. The risk with him is that he has a concerning injury history.

And you can say the same thing about the receiver he’ll be paired with in New Orleans in Chris Olave. That 1-2 punch has the ceiling of being one of the best in the league. Durability is such a huge part of the equation though.

And that’s why I said I “think” the answer is yes. On paper it’s a definitive yes, but the injury history of the weapons around Shough still make this a huge mystery.

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Are we witnessing a Brandon Staley resurgence?
Staley has had a wild career so far. He was everyone’s darling as the next young “it” defensive coach in 2020 after leading the Rams to the top-ranked defense in points and yards allowed.

That quickly got him hired as the Chargers Head Coach from 2021 to most of 2023. Unfortunately for Staley, despite his “defensive guru” status, his defenses ranked 29th, 21st, and 24th in points.

He was fired after a 2023 Week 15 game where his defense allowed 42 first-half points to Aidan O’Connell and the Raiders on their way to a 63-21 loss.

That turned Staley into a bit of a punch line, and he had to wait things out as an assistant coach on the 49ers’ staff a year later before taking the Saints DC role in 2025.

And last year, things started off about as ugly as they finished with the Chargers. The Saints ranked 24th in points allowed through their first 9 games as they started the season 1-8.

But as mentioned above, they turned things around and allowed just 17.5 points per game over their final 8 games. Pressure seemed to be a big part of the equation with Cam Jordan and Chase Young leading the way.

Schematically, Staley went away from what he had done traditionally. In the past, he leaned on more split-safety looks, but last year, the Saints played the second-highest rate of single-high coverage according to of MatchQuarters. We’ll see if that trend continues in 2026.

The bottom line, though, is that the Saints finished with the 4th-best passing defense, the 6th best defense in terms of yards per play, and the 3rd-ranked defense on third down.

No one is talking much about the Saints defense entering 2026. But it seemed like the biggest reason they had success is that the players got used to playing and executing in Staley’s system over time. The hope in New Orleans is that year 2 could provide even more improvement.

2026 Outlook

Based on the way the Saints seemed to figure things out on both sides of the ball in the second half of last season, and based on the NFC South being wide open, this team has a real shot of taking the division for the first time since 2020.

Head Coach: Kevin Stefanski
Offensive Coordinator: Tommy Rees
Defensive Coordinator: Jeff Ulbrich
Special Teams Coordinator: Craig Aukerman

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 8-9)

Mediocre. That’s what the Falcons have been for years, at best. And that’s what they were a year ago. The lack of growth over the last two season, and a series of questionable front-office decisions, ultimately led to the firing of both head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot.

2025 was so frustrating because Atlanta entered the season with some promise. Michael Penix, Jr.’s performance in his 3 starts to end the 2024 season were highly encouraging. He may have been a rookie, but he played with an impressive amount of maturity, showing consistent timing, processing, and anticipation.

But last season got off to an uneven start for Penix, which isn’t a surprise considering it was his second year and the league had all offseason to adjust.

Still, the Falcons started 3-2 and had a big win over the Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 6. They seemed like they were ready to turn the corner.

Then the wheels fell off.

They lost 5 games in a row. And along the way, Penix suffered another season-ending knee injury. Atlanta put together some decent football at the end of the year to get to 8-9, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. They missed out on the playoffs for the 8th straight season, and Arthur Blank cleaned house.

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Key Additions

QB Tua Tagovailoa
RB Brian Robinson
WR Olamide Zaccheaus
WR Jahan Dotson
WR Zachariah Branch (3rd Rd, 79th Overall)
TE Austin Hooper
RT Jawaan Taylor
C Corey Levin

DL Maason Smith
DL Chris Williams
DL Da’Shawn Hand
EDGE Samson Ebukam
EDGE Azeez Ojulari
EDGE Cameron Thomas
LB Christian Harris
LB Kendal Daniels (4th Rd, 134th Overall)
CB Avieon Terrell (2nd Rd, 48th Overall)
CB Darnay Holmes
S Darren Hall
S Sydney Brown

Key Losses

RB Tyler Allgeier
WR Darnell Mooney
WR David Sills
WR Casey Washington
TE Teagan Quitoriano
RT Elijah Wilkinson

DL David Onyemata
DL Ruke Orhorhoro
DL Kentavius Street
EDGE Leonard Floyd
EDGE Arnold Ebiketie
LB Kaden Elliss
LB Ronnie Harrison
CB Dee Alford

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Penix or Tua?
I hate to say it because injuries in football absolutely suck. But it kind of feel like we’re going to see both Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix, Jr. this season regardless of who wins the quarterback competition coming out of training camp.

Both have pretty significant injury histories. But given the fact that Penix still hasn’t been cleared to practice fully and Tua will be getting more reps early on (although he’s dealing with a slight back issue currently), it seems like Tua is the more likely Week 1 starter.

You can make the argument that Tua is a better fit in new head coach Kevin Stefanski’s timing and rhythm passing game, because that’s exactly the type of quarterback that he is.

In fact, timing and rhythm are essential to Tua’s game. During his 4 years under Mike McDaniel, he was two entirely different quarterbacks if he was able to get the ball out on time versus if he had to hold the ball.

On throws where he was able to release the ball in 2.5 seconds or less, Tua had a 55-17 TD-INT ratio and a 106.3 passer rating according to data from Pro Football Focus.

On throws where it took him more than 2.5 seconds to get rid of the ball, he had a 39-28 TD-INT ratio and an 87.0 passer rating.

For context, that 106.3 passer rating would have placed him right behind MVP Matthew Stafford last season as the 3rd-highest rated passer in the NFL.

That 87.0 rating would have put him at 28th in the NFL, slightly ahead of Spencer Rattler.

Quite the difference.

Penix does play a similar style of quarterback to Tua in terms of his ability to throw with timing and anticipation, and I think he could absolutely thrive in Stefanski’s system.

Just look at a throw like this:

Look at where Drake London was in his route when Penix had already made his decision and started his throwing motion:

The key difference between Penix and Tua is that Penix is more physically gifted as a thrower. He can attack downfield and at the intermediate level with ease, which stretches the defense:

Stefanski should be able to attack at all 3 levels and do more in the passing game with Penix.

While Penix has the talent and ability to be the long-term solution in Atlanta if he can stay healthy, that’s a big “if.” His injury history is scary (5 major knee and shoulder injuries). We don’t know if he’ll be ready for Week 1. If he is, we don’t know if he’ll be able to play a full 17-game schedule.

And at the end of the day, that’s why the Falcons signed Tua. He’s a pretty decent option if Penix can’t be in the lineup every Sunday since they do have such similar styles of play, arm strength aside.

Regardless of who wins the job, though, I think we’ll see a fair amount of each QB this year.

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Can the Falcons’ run game carry them to the playoffs?
It seems like a crime that the Falcons only ranked 11th in the NFL with a 45.5% run frequency rate last year.

Bijan Robinson might be the best running back in football. He needs to be fed the rock as much as possible:

Kevin Stefanski traditionally had been a coach who leaned on the run game in the past. In his first year as an offensive coordinator (2019 with the Vikings), he ran the ball at the 4th-highest clip in the NFL. That trend continued in his first three years as the Browns Head Coach, as Cleveland finished 4th, 6th, and 8th in run-play frequency.

Over the last 3 years, however, those numbers dropped off (17th, 32nd, 25th).

Personnel was the most likely reason for this. In 2019, Stefanski had Dalvin Cook in his prime. Then he had a healthy Nick Chubb from 2020-22. Chubb’s gruesome 2023 injury left Stefanski without a true bell cow in the backfield for the next 3 years. Wisely, he pivoted and put more on the stronger (relative term) areas of his offense.

He won’t have those same issues in Atlanta with Robinson in the backfield.

The Falcons’ offensive line has also been one of the best in football over the last few years, and 4 of their 5 starters are returning from last season. Not to mention, Atlanta is a little thin at receiver behind Drake London and Kyle Pitts.

Add that to the quarterback situation, and I think the safe bet is that Stefanski will get back to his 2019-22 roots and operate through the run game as much as possible.

Remember, he’s a 2-time NFL Coach of the Year, so I imagine Stefanski will figure out the best ways to maximize the personnel that he has on this offense.

Can Jeff Ulbrich’s defense pick up where they left off?
Normally when a head coach gets fired, his entire staff gets replaced. That didn’t happen in Atlanta as Stefanski retained defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

He’s been a successful defensive coordinator in just about every season that he’s been one. The lone exceptions are his first year with the Jets in 2021 when he had nothing to work with, and in 2024 when he was clearly spread too thin due to unexpectedly having the interim head coaching job thrown onto his plate after Robert Saleh was fired just 5 games in.

Ulbrich’s calling card has been his ability to generate a pass rush. The Jets ranked 7th in sacks in 2022 and 2023 and then 11th in 2024. Last year in Atlanta, the Falcons set a franchise record with 57 sacks and ranked 2nd in the NFL. That was an area that had had been pretty dismal for the Falcons in recent history.

Ulbrich did it in a combination of ways last season. He attacked with pressure schemes as Atlanta finished 2nd in the NFL in blitz percentage.

He also leaned on a young group of pass rushers. The top 3 players on the team in sacks were rookie edge rusher James Pearce (10.5 sacks), 2nd-year D-tackle Brandon Dorlus (8.5 sacks), and rookie edge rusher Jalon Walker (5.5 sacks).

The big question, of course, is what is Pearce’s status this season? Due to some more alleged off-the-field stuff, his ability to play this season is somewhat in the hands of the legal system and/or Roger Goodell.

The Falcons brought in some reinforcements this offseason but no needle-movers. It will likely be on fellow 2nd-year edge rusher Jalon Walker to take a big leap in 2026 if Pearce can’t be on the field.

2026 Outlook

The Falcons should be competitive in the NFC South this season. I’ll keep throwing it out there that this division is wide open and all 4 teams have a shot at it, because it’s true.

Atlanta needs a bunch of things to go right, though. They need the quarterback situation to be steady. Preferably, Penix will become the guy, but whatever happens, they need some level of stability and consistency. They also need things to break their way on defense, where there is still a ton of uncertainty due to the James Pearce situation.

Head Coach: Todd Bowles
Offensive Coordinator: Zac Robinson
Defensive Coordinator: Todd Bowles
Special Teams Coordinator: Danny Smith

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 8-9)

The Buccaneers started the season 6-2, Baker Mayfield was a big part of the MVP discussion, and Tampa appeared to be serious contenders in the NFC.

Then they fell off a cliff. The Bucs lost 7 of their final 9 games, allowing the division title and a playoff spot to slip out of their hands.

Offensively, the passing game took a step back from the first half of the season to the second as Baker Mayfield (and the O-line and receiving corps) battled through injuries. Tampa went from averaging 224.9 passing yards per game to just 189. They also turned the ball over 11 times over their final 9 games after doing so just 5 times through their first 8.

Defensively, the Bucs went from allowing 20.3 points per game to 25.9. This didn’t look like your typical Todd Bowles defense, as there were several games in the back half of the year where they were just not competitive.

You can’t help but get the feeling that 2026 will be a huge season for determining what this franchise will look like for the next 5 years.

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Key Additions

RB Kenneth Gainwell
WR Ted Hurst (3rd Rd, 84th Overall)
WR David Sills
LT Justin Skule
OG Billy Schrauth (5th Rd, 160th Overall)

DL A’Shawn Robinson
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches
DL Demonte Capehart (5th Rd, 155th Overall)
EDGE Rueben Bain, Jr. (1st Rd, 15th Overall)
EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad
LB Alex Anzalone
LB Christian Rozeboom
LB Josiah Trotter (2nd Rd, 46th Overall)
CB Keionte Scott (4th Rd, 116th Overall)
S Ifeatu Melifonwu

Key Losses

RB Rachaad White
WR Mike Evans
WR Sterling Shepard
LG Michael Jordan
RT Charlie Heck

DL Logan Hall
DL Greg Gaines
EDGE Haason Reddick
LB Lavonte David
LB Deion Jones
CB Jamel Dean
CB Kindle Vildor
S Christian Izien

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Will the fierce Buccaneers defense we saw for years return in 2026?
Todd Bowles is one of the best defensive minds in football and has a heck of a track record of putting together dangerous defenses. It led to a Super Bowl win 6 years ago.

Bowles leans on high-volume pressure and regularly fools opposing quarterbacks. Just take a look at the below breakdown with Sam Darnold admitting a Bowles blitz got the best of him on this pivotal play from the Bucs’ Week 5 win over the Seahawks last season:

Aside from a few moments here and there, Tampa’s defense was uncharacteristically bad last season. They’ve been trending in that direction for a couple of years now.

After ranking 7th in points allowed in 2023, they ranked 16th in 2024 and 20th last season.

The inability to generate pressure was the main culprit in 2025 as Tampa finished just 25th in pressure percentage. That’s not what you want when you’re an aggressive blitzing team like the Buccaneers are (4th in blitz % last season). If you’re going to sacrifice defenders in coverage, you better get home. Last year, they didn’t. And that played a significant role in the Bucs allowing the 9th-most completions of 20 yards or more.

Tampa sought to correct this during the offseason. They added edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had a break-out season in 2025 with 11.0 sacks. That was 4 more than anyone on the Bucs had last year.

The Bucs also added Rueben Bain, Jr. with the 15th overall pick. Bain is a thick human being who wins with power, leverage, and relentless pursuit of the quarterback:

He plays like a boulder rolling down a hill, picking up momentum with each inch of ground that he covers, making him harder and harder to stop:

While the size of his arms were a topic of conversation during draft season, that doesn’t stop him from being really good with his hands:

He’s also a very good defender in the run game, which will fit right in with a defense that has been stout vs. the run in just about every season since Bowles went to Tampa:

The Bucs also re-vamped their linebacking corps after losing Lavonte David to retirement. They added Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom in free agency and drafted Josiah Trotter with the 46th overall pick. The Buccaneers spend a good amount of time in base personnel, so it’s critical that they have a deep group of linebackers, which they certainly do now.

Hopefully they can figure things out with defensive tackle Vita Vea’s contract situation. If they do, this feels like a year where the defense is going to be able to get back to being a more typical Todd Bowles defense.

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Will Baker Mayfield make the Buccaneers pay?
I mean this in the most literal sense. Mayfield and the Bucs weren’t able to come to an agreement on a contract extension before training camp, which was the deadline that Mayfield imposed for getting a deal done.

He delivered a warning that the Bucs just cost themselves some dollars because he’s going to have a big year:

“If you’ve waited this long to take care of your franchise quarterback, that’s too bad, because it’s only going to get worse from here. I’m going to have a really good year.”

That’s a threat the Buccaneers should hope will come true because a big year at the most important position, combined with their improved defense, could mean a huge year for the franchise.

Mayfield has revitalized his career in Tampa and has shown himself to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league at times. In 2024, he completed over 70% of his passes for 4,500 yards, 41 TD passes, and a 106.8 passer rating.

He has high-level traits, from his arm strength to his ability to play the position with nuance. Just check out how he recognized and handled the blitz on this game-winning drive vs. the Jets in Week 3 last season:

As mentioned above, Baker was in the MVP discussion during the first half of last season. Through his first 9 games, he had a 16-2 TD-INT ratio, a 99.2 passer rating, and the Bucs had a 6-3 record.

Over his final 8 games, however, he had just a 10-9 TD-INT ratio, a 78.9 passer rating, and the Bucs went 2-6 during that stretch.

It’s fair to say that injuries played a significant role. He dealt with injuries to his knee and both shoulders but played through them.

Hopefully that won’t be the case this year. If Mayfield can stay healthy and get back to his 2024 and first-half-of-2025 form, the Bucs might be emptying the piggy bank to give him his money.

For what it’s worth, that would be a better outcome than Mayfield having a bad season and Tampa looking elsewhere for a new QB in 2027.

Will the loss of Mike Evans be too significant for the Buccaneers to overcome?
Losing a receiver like Mike Evans is a big deal. Yes, he’s closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but the things he does for a quarterback are tough to replace.

Above all else, he’s a huge target (6’5”) who can still win 1-on-1’s consistently. He can win at the line of scrimmage:

He can win downfield on contested catches:

He thrives on 3rd down and in the red zone, which are those situations where the defense tends to be more aggressive and deceptive with their looks. They might be disguising coverage or bringing intricate blitzes. And it’s nice as a quarterback to be able to say, “Whatever, I’m just going to throw it up to my 6’5” receiver and play above the defense regardless of what they’re doing.”

Even at this point in his career, Evans still garners extra attention from opposing defenses. In the game he got hurt last season against the Lions, their entire defensive game plan was built around doubling Evans on third down and in obvious passing situations:

In general, that creates opportunities elsewhere for other receivers.

The okay news for Tampa is that they got a little bit used to life without Evans last year as he missed 9 games due to injury.

Their traditional #2 receiver, Chris Godwin, was battling back from an injury the year before and also missed 8 total games.

There were 4 games where both Evans and Godwin were out last year, and it didn’t really slow down the Bucs offense a ton. They still averaged 27 points in those games.

I’ll also throw in that promising young receiver Jalen McMillan, who caught 8 touchdown passes the year before as a rookie, missed the first 13 games of the season with a neck injury suffered in preseason.

The emergence of rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka certainly helped keep the passing game afloat with Godwin and Evans not at 100% and McMillan out of the lineup. While his production slowed as the season progressed, I expect him to make a big jump this season. Hopefully Godwin and McMillan will be healthy enough to contribute more as well.

The Bucs sought to replace Evans’ size in this year’s draft by selecting 6’4” receiver Ted Hurst in the 3rd round. Hurst can be a vertical threat for this team (ran a 4.42 40-yard dash) and can hopefully replace some of the production that Evans has provided over the years.

Also, don’t sleep on running back Kenneth Gainwell, who caught 73 passes out of the backfield last year and was basically the Steelers’ 2nd-best receiver.

2026 Outlook

I expect a return to the top of the division for the Buccaneers this season. The NFC South is still very wide open, but Tampa has the most talent of any of the four teams. If Mayfield can stay healthy and that defense can return to form (which it looks like they can on paper), we should see this team back in the playoffs.

Head Coach: Dave Canales
Offensive Coordinator: Brad Idzik
Defensive Coordinator: Ejiro Evero
Special Teams Coordinator: Tracy Smith

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 8-9)

The Panthers have shown steady progress since their 2-15 season in 2023. They went 5-12 in 2024 and won the NFC South with an 8-9 record last year. Dave Canales has done a great job of turning this franchise around and almost led the Panthers to an improbable Wild Card win over the Rams last season.

Carolina’s inconsistency last season made them a tough team to figure out, though. They lost games to teams like the Cardinals and got swept by the Saints. Yet they beat the Packers in Lambeau in Week 9 and the Rams at home in Week 13.

Here’s a look at how they clinched that win over Green Bay:

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The Panthers had an easier path to the playoffs given that they played in the NFC South and were able to make it in with a losing record. Still, it was a milestone achievement and a sign of how far the organization has come in two years. The question this season will be whether or not they can make a more substantial jump and separate themselves from the middle of the pack.

Key Additions

WR John Metchie
WR Chris Brazzell (3rd Rd, 83rd Overall)
C Luke Fortner
LT Rasheed Walker
RT Monroe Freeling (1st Rd, 19th Overall)
OT Stone Forsythe
C Sam Hecht (5th Rd, 144th Overall)

DL Lee Hunter (2nd Rd, 49th Overall)
EDGE Jaelan Phillips
LB Devin Lloyd
CB Will Lee (4th Rd, 129th Overall)
S Zakee Wheatley (5th Rd, 151st Overall)

Key Losses

RB Rico Dowdle
WR Hunter Renfrow
C Cade Mays
RG Austin Corbett
OT Yosh Nijman
OG Jake Curhan

DL A’Shawn Robinson
EDGE D.J. Wonnum
LB Christian Rozeboom
LB Krys Barnes

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Will injuries derail the Panthers’ season before it even starts?
To have success in the NFL, teams need a lot of things to go right. That includes getting lucky in the health department.

The Panthers, so far, are getting hammered in this area.

Starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu ruptured his patellar tendon in the Panthers’ Wild Card playoff loss to the Rams last season. Terrible timing. It’s unclear when exactly he’ll return this season.

Starting right tackle Taylor Moton has a blood clot in his lung. His return to the field is TBD.

Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton is battling back from neck surgery with the timeline of his return unknown as well. His counterpart on the D-line, Bobby Brown, isn’t in as serious of shape but is still dealing with a hamstring injury.

Promising second-year edge rusher Nick Scourton tore his ACL on the first day of training camp and is done for the year.

3rd-round wide receiver Chris Brazzell hurt his knee a few days later and is also now done for the season.

This is the part of the game that absolutely stinks. And it’s impossible to predict who will be the luckiest in this department. Right now, the Panthers aren’t off to a great start.

What is Bryce Young?
Young had a miserable rookie year and then bounced back in year 2 from an early-season benching to salvage his career.

Year 3 saw a steady progression from his first two seasons. Young had career highs in completion percentage (63.6%), yards (3,011), TD passes (23), and passer rating (87.8). He’s gotten better each year.

Young also has a flair for the dramatic. His 12 career fourth-quarter game-winning drives are the most in the NFL since he entered the league. And he played really well in the Panthers’ playoff loss to the Rams, almost leading Carolina to a stunning upset.

In the vacuum of his career, Young has shown marked improvement from when he first entered the league.

In the context of the rest of the NFL, though, the Panthers still need more.

Their passing game finished 26th in the NFL last season. They ranked 21st in completions of 20 yards or more. They were the 25th best 3rd-down offense.

The steady improvement is nice, but at some point, Young and the passing game need to make a bigger jump. He has some high level traits from a mental and processing standpoint, so a big leap is possible at any moment.

Is this the year he can put it all together? Can the rapport he clearly had last season with rookie Tet McMillan blossom further and possibly take this passing game to greater heights in 2026?

That’ll be one big thing to watch with this team.

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What will the O-line look like?
As mentioned above, the Panthers will be without their tackles, Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton, for an unspecified period of time this season. It’s hard to understate how big those losses could be.

Moton has been a very good tackle throughout his career and Ekwonu seems to have found himself to a certain extent after some early-career struggles.

It seems like the Panthers will roll with free agent signing Rasheed Walker at left tackle and this year’s 19th overall pick Monroe Freeling at right tackle. That’s not a bad plan-b to start the season, but there’s still some unknown there, especially with starting a rookie at tackle.

And that’s not the only new face up front. The Panthers added Luke Fortner at center. Two new tackles and a center… That’s significant change.

The Panthers also added Stone Forsythe (who played in over 70% of snaps last season) and drafted Sam Hecht in the 5th round. They did a good job of accounting for the changes on their O-line by dedicating a lot of resources to the area this offseason and building out their depth. But it’s also an acknowledgement that there’s a lot of uncertainty.

As we all know, good offensive football starts with the men up front. The Panthers want to be a running football team (They were 10th in the league with a 45.6% run frequency rate last year). But whatever they will be on offense might be dictated by what they’re capable of doing up front.

Will the pass rush finally be better?
Talent has certainly been an issue, but defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero hasn’t been able to get the pass rush going since arriving in Carolina in 2023.

In his first year, they ranked 30th in pressure percentage and 32nd in sacks. In 2024, they were dead last in pressure percentage and 29th in sacks. Last year, they were 31st in pressure percentage and 28th in sacks.

Like the other side of the ball, the men up front dictate so much. It’s hard to have a good defense without a good pass rush.

Carolina added edge rusher Jaelan Phillips in that effort this offseason, but I still don’t think it’s enough. It certainly doesn’t help that they just lost second-year edge rusher Nick Scourton for the season, as mentioned above.

Maybe Evero will be a little more aggressive with his pressure schemes this year like he was in 2023 and ‘24 to find a way to manufacture a pass rush?

After all, that the secondary is really good. Even without a pass rush, they somehow managed to limit big plays through the air last season (7th fewest completions of 20 yards or more). They have two really good cornerbacks in Michael Jackson and Jaycee Horn (when healthy).

So perhaps Evero will feel comfortable taking a man out of coverage more often to join the pass rush seeing as the back end of the defense can hold its own?

Either way, they’ll need to figure out something. Even with a good secondary, having a bottom-of-the-league pass rush can only get you so far.

2026 Outlook

The benefit of playing in the NFC South is that it’s wide open. No one would be surprised by any of the four teams taking home the division title this year.

The Panthers certainly have their questions, with health being at the top of that list. To me, their success this year will be determined by that offensive line and whether or not Bryce Young can take a major leap.

Head Coach: Todd Monken
Offensive Coordinator: Travis Switzer
Defensive Coordinator: Mike Rutenberg
Special Teams Coordinator: Byron Storer

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 5-12)

Last season, the Browns tried to re-capture a little 2023 magic by signing Joe Flacco and hoping he could lead them back to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that dream ended early. The Browns benched Flacco after just 4 games and traded him to the Bengals in Week 6.

Making any noise last season was never realistic to begin with, though. The Browns entered training camp with 4 quarterbacks after trading for Kenny Pickett and then drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Any one of them could have won the starting job in training camp.

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When you have 4 quarterbacks, you really have none. The likelihood was always that multiple quarterbacks would get significant snaps throughout the season, which is almost always a recipe for a down year. And that’s exactly what happened. Flacco, Gabriel, and Sanders each got more than 25% of the snaps.

The Browns finished in last place in the AFC North at 5-12. Their stellar defensive play ultimately wasn’t enough to overcome their offensive woes.

The one bright spot for the Browns was Myles Garrett setting the NFL single-season sack record with 23.0 sacks. No one else on the team had more than 6.5. Still, Garrett’s pressure and presence was enough to make the entire pass rush a top-5 unit (3rd in the league in sacks, 5th in pressure %).

Here’s a quick look at the impact he can have on protection schemes:

That was from 2023, but it’s pretty representative of what he sees just about every week.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, they traded him away to the Rams in June. The Browns have entered into a full re-build. They fired 2-time coach of the year Kevin Stefanski. They’ve accumulated draft picks and appear to be gearing up for that 2027 QB draft class.

This year likely won’t be much fun in Cleveland. But the good news is that the Browns had a really good offseason and actually appear to have a quality core in place to begin rebuilding this team.

Key Additions

WR KC Concepcion (1st Rd, 24th Overall)
WR Denzel Boston (2nd Rd, 39th Overall)
WR Tylan Wallace
TE Joe Royer (5th Rd, 170th Overall)
TE Jack Stoll
LT Spencer Fano (1st Rd, 9th Overall)
LG Zion Johnson
C Elgton Jenkins
RT Tytus Howard
OT Austin Barber (3rd Rd, 86th Overall)
C Parker Brailsford (5th Rd, 146th Overall)

DL Kalia Davis
EDGE Jared Verse
LB Quincy Williams
LB Justin Jefferson (5th Rd, 149th Overall)
S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (2nd Rd, 58th Overall)
S Myles Bryant
S Daniel Thomas

Key Losses

RB Jerome Ford
TE David Njoku
LT Cam Robinson
LG Joel Bitonio
C Ethan Pocic
RG Wyatt Teller
RT Jack Conklin
OT Cornelius Lucas

DL Shelby Harris
EDGE Myles Garrett
EDGE Cameron Thomas
LB Devin Bush Jr.
LB Mohamoud Diabate
LB Jerome Baker
CB Sam Webb
S Rayshawn Jenkins

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Who will be the starting QB?
The Browns didn’t make many moves at quarterback this offseason, which means they plan to get their QB of the future in next year’s draft.

I don’t think whoever plays this year matters much in the long haul. That being said, despite how poorly Shedeur Sanders played during his rookie season, and despite the fact that the odds of him being the QB of the future are not great, shouldn’t the Browns try to find out by giving him a shot?

If they do hit on Sanders, they’d be about two years ahead on finding their franchise QB instead of waiting to take one in 2027, living through his growing pains during his rookie season, and then hoping he develops into a great quarterback in 2028 and beyond.

On top of that, we’ve seen plenty of QBs make a jump from year 1 to year 2. They figure out where their deficiencies are and begin to match their play to the speed of the NFL game.

I’d rather see the Browns give Sanders a shot to see what he can be than turn the keys over to an injury-riddled Deshaun Watson, who’s played just 19 games since 2020. There is no chance he’s the future in Cleveland after this season anyway, so what’s the point?

While there is still only a small chance that Sanders is the future, the Browns should seek to find that out for sure. At very least, they can determine if he’d be an effective back-up or possibly build up some trade value in him.

Does the Browns’ re-shaped offense actually have the chance to be good?
Cleveland had a lot of holes on the offensive side of the ball, but I love the way they approached re-building the offense.

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Head Coach: Zac Taylor
Offensive Coordinator: Dan Pitcher
Defensive Coordinator: Al Golden
Special Teams Coordinator: Darrin Simmons

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 6-11)

The Bengals’ 2025 season went very similar to how many of their recent seasons have gone. Joe Burrow got hurt. The defense wasn’t competitive. And Cincy found themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time.

Even if Burrow had been in the lineup for all 17 games last year, I’m not sure the Bengals defense would have had enough to get them to the playoffs.

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The year before, when Burrow was arguably the MVP of the league, they still missed the postseason because the defense gave up 25.5 points per game, which ranked 25th in the NFL. Somehow, they managed to be even worse last season, allowing 28.9 points per game and ranking 30th in the league.

On top of that, they were 31st in yards allowed and dead last in yards per play. This was the worst defense the Bengals have had since Burrow entered the league.

The D-line, especially with Trey Hendrickson playing in just 7 games, wasn’t enough to disrupt opposing offenses (22nd in sacks). They couldn’t stop the run (32nd in rushing yards allowed). They couldn’t get off the field (28th on 3rd down).

Somehow, they did manage to crack the top-10 in takeaways, which was just about the only thing they did well on defense. If not for that, it would have been far worse.

The Bengals have already missed the playoffs in 3 consecutive seasons. If they aren’t careful, they run the risk of turning Burrow’s career into the second coming of Dan Marino. That is, a quarterback who’s one of the best in the game, but who never sniffs the Super Bowl again after reaching it and coming up short in his second season.

Key Additions

WR Colbie Young (4th Rd, 140th Overall)
C Connor Lew (4th Rd, 128th Overall)

DL Dexter Lawrence
DL Jonathan Allen
EDGE Boye Mafe
EDGE Cashius Howell (2nd Rd, 41st Overall)
CB Tacario Davis (3rd Rd, 72nd Overall)
CB Ja’Sir Taylor Chargers
S Bryan Cook
S Kyle Dugger

Key Losses

TE Noah Fant

EDGE Joseph Ossai
EDGE Trey Hendrickson
EDGE Cam Sample
LB Logan Wilson
CB Cam Taylor-Britt
S Geno Stone
S Tycen Anderson

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Can Joe Burrow stay healthy?
This is by far the most important question for the Bengals every season. Whatever concerns there are with the defense, it’s not even worth monitoring if Burrow can’t play a full 17 (or close to it).

And unfortunately, that hasn’t been a common occurrence throughout his career.

His 2020 rookie season ended with 6 games remaining due to a serious knee injury. He missed most of training camp and preseason in 2022 due to a ruptured appendix, causing him and the Bengals to get off to a slow 0-2 start. He missed the final 7 games of the 2023 season due to a torn wrist ligament in his throwing hand. Then last year, he missed 9 games due to a Week 2 turf toe injury that required surgery.

The Bengals re-signed Joe Flacco this offseason. He’s about as good of a back-up and insurance policy that you can ask for. Still, if there are any more serious injuries or Burrow misses significant time, you can basically kiss Cincy’s season goodbye.

We can debate all day about how good Burrow is and where he ranks among NFL QBs. But what’s probably not debatable is that he plays at a higher level from the pocket than any quarterback in the NFL (maybe except for Matthew Stafford):

Here’s a look at over 30 plays from Burrow’s 2024 MVP-caliber season, where you can get a great feel for how special he is from the pocket:

If you’re a fan of great quarterbacking, let’s hope we get to see Burrow play a full 17-game season in 2026. That combination of Burrow, Chase, and Higgins is about as fun to watch and as dangerous as any passing game we’ve seen in the NFL in recent years.

Do the Bengals’ offseason moves improve the run defense enough?
The Bengals’ offense is nearly impossible to stop. So opponents generally attempt to merely limit or contain them, not shut them down completely. One way to do that is by keeping them off the field.

This is why it’s so important that the Bengals’ run defense isn’t as horrendous this year as it was in 2025 (32nd in yards allowed, 31st in yards per attempt, 26th in 10-yard runs).

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Head Coach: Jesse Minter
Offensive Coordinator: Declan Doyle
Defensive Coordinator: Anthony Weaver
Special Teams Coordinator: Anthony Levine, Sr.

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 8-9)

The Ravens entered the 2025 season with Super Bowl expectations, but things very quickly went south. They blew a 15-point lead in the 4th quarter of their season opener against the Bills and soon found themselves in a 1-5 hole just a third of the way through the season.

While they battled back to put themselves in position to win the AFC North, their season ended when kicker Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal against the Steelers on what would be the final play of the John Harbaugh era.

Injuries certainly played a role in the Ravens’ surprising 8-9 season. None were bigger than the one to defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who missed all but the first two games of the season.

That played a huge role in the defensive line not being able to generate any pressure all year. Baltimore finished 28th in pressure % and sacks. And the inability to get to the quarterback led to them giving up the most 20-yard completions in the NFL.

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Lamar Jackson also missed 4 games and battled through injuries all season. He wasn’t quite himself after his 2 straight MVP-caliber seasons that helped carry this team in 2023 and ‘24.

A year after throwing for 245.4 yards per game, Jackson averaged just 196. Despite missing just 4 games, his touchdowns passes were cut in half from 41 to 21.

Most jarring was the drop off in his contributions on the ground. Jackson rushed for a career-low 349 yards one year after picking up 915.

The spark was missing from this offense, and the end result was the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time since Jackson became the starter.

Baltimore ultimately decided to move on from John Harbaugh, ending his 18-year run with the team. They hired former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to take over the reins.

Key Additions

RB Adam Randall (5th Rd, 174th Overall)
WR Ja’kobi Lane (3rd Rd, 80th Overall)
WR Chris Moore
WR Elijah Sarratt (4th Rd, 115th Overall)
TE Durham Smythe
TE Matthew Hibner (4th Rd, 133rd Overall)
TE Josh Cuevas (5th Rd, 173rd Overall)
LG John Simpson
C Ethan Pocic
RG Olaivavega Ioane (1st Rd, 14th Overall)
C Danny Pinter

DL Calais Campbell
EDGE Trey Hendrickson
EDGE Zion Young (2nd Rd, 45th Overall)
CB Chandler Rivers (5th Rd, 162nd Overall)
S Jaylinn Hawkins

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Key Losses

FB Patrick Ricard
WR DeAndre Hopkins
WR Tylan Wallace
TE Isaiah Likely
TE Charlie Kolar
C Tyler Linderbaum
RG Daniel Faalele
OT Joe Noteboom

DL Brent Urban
EDGE Kyle Van Noy
EDGE Dre’Mont Jones
EDGE David Ojabo
S Alohi Gilman

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

How different will the Ravens defense look under Minter?
Jesse Minter was highly successful as the Chargers defensive coordinator over the last two years.

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Head Coach: Mike McCarthy
Offensive Coordinator: Brian Angelichio
Defensive Coordinator: Patrick Graham
Special Teams Coordinator: Danny Crossman

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 10-7)

The Steelers brought in Aaron Rodgers, D.K. Metcalf, and Jalen Ramsey last season in what appeared to be one final effort to go all in with Mike Tomlin as head coach.

It didn’t quite pay off.

The Steelers did win the AFC North but couldn’t end their streak of consecutive playoff losses. And after pushing that streak to 7 with a Wild Card loss to the Texans, Tomlin finally hung them up.

The issue with the Steelers last year is that they were exactly “meh” on both sides of the ball. Mediocre. Nothing special. A bit unpredictable and capable of winning some games you thought they couldn’t, but not so great that they could really compete with the best of the best.

And that’s really been the knock on the Tomlin era for the last decade or so.

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What was uncharacteristic about last season was how poorly the defense performed at times. There were stretches, particularly early in the season, where they couldn’t stop the run at all. They struggled all season to defend the pass, finishing 29th in the league in passing yards allowed.

There were far too many blown coverages throughout the season, even in Week 18 against the Ravens, and even in the most pivotal moments of that game:

Unsurprisingly, that led to the Steelers allowing a lot of big plays through the air (they ranked 21st in 20-yard completions allowed).

Their saving grace was their ability to get to the quarterback (6th in sacks) and generate turnovers (4th in the NFL). But at the end of the day, the defense fell far short of expectations given their talent and given the standard established by decades of great Steelers defenses.

The offense wasn’t much better. They showed moments of playing well in both phases, but this was a short passing game without enough playmakers and with a quarterback who wasn’t looking to push the ball downfield.

They tried leaning on their run game come hell or high water, running it against stacked boxes at the 3rd highest rate in the NFL according to NFL Next Gen Stats. But they didn’t have the players to do it, ultimately finishing in the bottom-10 in total rushing yards. It was one of the least efficient ground games in the NFL as well, ranking 30th in % of runs gaining 4 yards or more.

The end result was a team good enough to win a weak division, but not good enough to compete with the serious contenders.

Key Additions

QB Drew Allar (3rd Rd, 76th Overall)
RB Rico Dowdle
FB Riley Nowakowski (5th Rd, 169th Overall)
WR Michael Pittman Jr.
WR Germie Bernard (2nd Rd, 47th Overall)
WR Kaden Wetjen (4th Rd, 121st Overall)
TE Robert Tonyan
RT Max Iheanachor (1st Rd, 21st Overall)
G Gennings Dunker (3rd Rd, 96th Overall)
C Brock Hoffman

DL Sebastian Joseph-Day
CB Jamel Dean
CB Daylen Everette (3rd Rd, 85th Overall)
S Jaquan Brisker
S Darnell Savage

Key Losses

RB Kenneth Gainwell
WR Calvin Austin III
WR Adam Thielen
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
WR Scotty Miller
TE Jonnu Smith
LG Isaac Seumalo
OT Andrus Peat

CB Darius Slay
CB James Pierre
S Kyle Dugger
S Chuck Clark

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

What will the offense look like under Mike McCarthy?
Many Steelers fans seemed less than enthused that Mike Tomlin finally stepped down only to be replaced by a coach of a similar era instead of one of the young stud offensive or defensive coordinators.

But bringing in an offense-first coach after 19 years of Tomlin is actually a major and needed change for the Steelers. The culture is going to be different. Their level of risk-aversion is going to be different. You’re likely to see Pittsburgh be more offensive minded in their decision making. And they’ll spread things out more than they did last year.

In 2025, the Steelers used “11” personnel (3 wide receivers) just 38.7% of the time, good for the 2nd-lowest rate in the NFL according to Sumer Sports. That will change under McCarthy, who has always used a far healthier amount of 3-wide-receiver sets.

And the Steelers will actually have the players to line up in 3-wide more frequently this season. A year ago, they really had no one reliable beyond D.K. Metcalf. But after signing Michael Pittman, Jr. this offseason, they have a bona fide #2.

Any of Pittman’s last five seasons with the Colts would have made him the Steelers’ number one or number two receiver a year ago. He’s a huge upgrade over what they had in 2025.

He’s a big receiver too - 6’4” and can play above the defense. He’ll be a great option for Rodgers to target on the outside in 1-on-1 situations, which Rodgers loves to do.

The Steelers also selected Germie Bernard out of Alabama in the second round this year. Many believe he was one of the biggest steals in the draft at the receiver position. So just between Bernard and Pittman they have a much improved wide receiver room.

But the bottom line is that just about everywhere McCarthy has gone throughout his career, the quarterback and passing game have thrived.

You can start back in 2006 with the Packers at the end of Brett Favre’s career. McCarthy brought him back to some level of sensible football in his first year in 2006. Then in 2007, the Packers went 13-3, made it to the NFC Championship Game, and Favre had arguably the best year of his career since he won 3 MVPs from 1995-97.

Then Aaron Rodgers took over in 2008, and it’s fair to say that McCarthy is directly responsible for developing him into a 4-time league MVP, Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, and one of the best in the history of the NFL ever to do it.

Fast forward to McCarthy’s time in Dallas, where he helped turn Dak Prescott into a top quarterback in the league. Before McCarthy went to the Cowboys, Dak was not really an advanced player. He was very much a see-it-to-throw-it quarterback, meaning he didn’t throw with a lot of anticipation. He needed the windows to be clearly defined. He needed receivers to be open before throwing them the ball.

But as soon as McCarthy got there, Dak improved in his anticipation and processing, and his performance took off as a result. He had two years where he was legitimately in the MVP discussion.

Now that McCarthy’s in Pittsburgh, there’s no reason to believe that he won’t be able to get the most out of a 42-year-old Rodgers.

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Will the offensive line be better in pass protection?
On the surface, this seems like a weird question. The Steelers ranked 2nd in pressure percentage allowed and 9th in sacks last season.

A big reason for that, however, was that Rodgers got rid of the ball so quickly. He got the ball out in under 2.5 seconds on 54.9% of his dropbacks last season, which was the highest rate in the NFL among qualified passers according to PFF.

While the quick passes may have decreased pressure and sacks, they limited Pittsburgh’s ability to push the ball downfield. The Steelers finished dead last in intended air yards per attempt and air yards per completion. They also ranked 25th in completions of 20 yards or more.

On film, you could also see that the Steelers really struggled whenever Rodgers did try to hold onto the ball and take some chances downfield.

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Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell
Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips
Defensive Coordinator: Brian Flores
Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 9-8)

The Vikings made a calculated decision to move on from Sam Darnold after the 2024 season in favor of J.J. McCarthy. It backfired, to say the least.

Darnold went on to win the Super Bowl with the Seahawks. Minnesota’s offense, on the other hand, took a huge step back. The result was a 9-8 season one year after finishing 14-3, and a hole at the most important position.

The biggest issue with J.J. McCarthy’s young NFL career has been health. He missed his entire rookie season due to a torn meniscus suffered during a preseason game.

I think some people underestimate how big of a deal that injury was. Even if McCarthy wasn’t going to play much during his rookie season, he would have at least been on the practice field, honing his mechanics, improving his timing, applying what he saw in the film room, and starting to get used to life as an NFL quarterback.

Instead he was rehabbing. And last offseason, I’m sure he was spending a disproportionate amount of time getting back to 100% instead of becoming a better quarterback. That’s a huge deal for any player but even more so for a rookie.

It showed when McCarthy was on the field last season. He was inaccurate. Slow to process. Poor in his decision-making. And he looked overwhelmed at times.

Not to mention, he was in and out of the lineup due to injuries.

The point here isn’t to make excuses for McCarthy. Instead, it’s to put things in perspective. He is still developing, but that process has been hindered by the fact that he’s had multiple years of dealing with injuries to start his career. He is a work in progress. His career isn’t over.

But the Vikings can’t wait around any longer. Which is why they took a flier on Kyler Murray this offseason.

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On the other side of the ball, Brian Flores did his thing once again last season. He continued using a variety of those complex 6 and 7-up fronts and pressure schemes (1st in the NFL in blitz frequency). He also utilized a unique combination of cover-2 (most in the NFL) and cover-0 (6th in the NFL according to of MatchQuarters).

The Vikings finished with the 7th-best defense in points allowed and 3rd-best in total yards, keeping them in most games.

Key Additions

QB Kyler Murray
FB Max Bredeson (5th Rd, 159th Overall)
WR Jauan Jennings
OT Ryan Van Demark
OT Caleb Tiernan (3rd Rd, 97th Overall)

DL Caleb Banks (1st Rd, 18th Overall)
DL Domonique Orange (3rd Rd, 82nd Overall)
DL Isaiahh Loudermilk
DL Eric Johnson
LB Jake Golday (2nd Rd, 51st Overall)
CB James Pierre
CB Charles Demmings (5th Rd, 163rd Overall)
S Jakobe Thomas (3rd Rd, 98th Overall)

Key Losses

FB C.J. Ham
WR Jalen Nailor
LT Justin Skule
C Ryan Kelly
DL Jonathan Allen
DL Javon Hargrave
EDGE Jonathan Greenard
CB Fabian Moreau
S Harrison Smith (as of right now)

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Kyler Murray vs. J.J. McCarthy - Who will be the guy?
It would be shocking to see any other outcome than the Vikings starting Kyler Murray this season.

Minnesota was able to bring him in for just $1.3 million (the veteran minimum) since the Cardinals are on the hook for another $35+ million. So on the one hand, they can have a true QB competition if they want. Due to the lack of financial risk, if Murray doesn’t play a down this season or if he doesn’t work out, it’s no big deal.

And if J.J. McCarthy is able to win the job, it will likely be the result of him having shown substantial improvement, which would obviously be a huge plus for the franchise.

But let’s be honest, it seems like this is Murray’s job to lose.

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Head Coach: Dan Campbell
Offensive Coordinator: Drew Petzing
Defensive Coordinator: Kelvin Sheppard
Special Teams Coordinator: Dave Fipp

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 9-8)

After 2 years of being one of the best teams football, including the 2024 season when they went 15-2 and held the #1 seed in the NFC, the Lions took a step back in 2025. They had 6 fewer wins last season and technically finished in last place in the competitive NFC North due to a tie-breaker with the Vikings.

There wasn’t just one thing that led to the Lions’ disappointing season. But if I had to pinpoint it, I’d say the biggest factors were the changes to the offensive line, having two new coordinators, and injuries.

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The Lions have some really good skill players, but it’s their offensive line that set them apart in 2023 and ‘24. Last year however, everything changed on the interior.

Center Frank Ragnow retired. Right guard Kevin Zeitler moved on in free agency. Both were instrumental to the running game.

The Lions filled the holes with Graham Glasnow moving from left guard to center, Christian Mahogany moving from the bench to left guard, and then-rookie Tate Ratledge taking over at right guard. That’s 3 positions manned by 3 new players inside.

The results were somewhat predictable. Detroit went from 13th in pressure % allowed and 10th in sacks allowed to 25th and 18th respectively.

Jared Goff has become an excellent quarterback in Detroit, but he still needs lots of time and space in the pocket, especially in front of him. I wouldn’t say his play dropped off last year. He still had a tremendous season. But he did have a couple more games than the year before where he just didn’t look right. Pressure was a part of that.

The running game is where you saw a more profound effect. It’s not that it became ineffective or anything as a result of the new O-line. It just became less dynamic compared to the year before:

Less consistent, more negative runs, fewer explosive runs.

Having two new coordinators calling plays on both sides of the ball didn’t help matters either. And this wasn’t just new coordinators replacing any old play-callers.

They were replacing Ben Johnson on offense, who is one of the best minds in the game, and Aaron Glenn on defense. While Glenn may have struggled with the Jets last season as head coach (like just about every coach in Jets history), he played a pivotal role in the rise of the Lions via his defensive play-calling.

On top of all that, Detroit faced a ton of injuries on defense last year. It was arguably as bad as the year before if not worse.

In retrospect, it’s no surprise that they won 6 fewer games than the year before.

Key Additions

RB Isiah Pacheco
WR Greg Dortch
WR Cedrick Wilson, Jr.
TE Tyler Conklin
C Cade Mays
RT Blake Miller (1st Rd, 17th Overall)
OT Larry Borom
OG Ben Bartch
C Juice Scrugg

DL Jay Tufele
EDGE D.J. Wonnum
EDGE Derrick Moore (2nd Rd, 44th Overall)
EDGE Payton Turner
LB Jimmy Rolder (4th Rd, 118the Overall)
LB Damone Clark
CB Roger McCreary
CB Keith Abney (5th Rd, 157th Overall)
S Chuck Clark
S Christian Izien

Key Losses

RB David Montgomery
WR Kalif Raymond
TE Anthony Firkser
TE Shane Zylstra
LT Taylor Decker
C Graham Glasgow
LG Kayode Awosika
LT Dan Skipper
OL Trystan Colon

DL D.J. Reader
DL Roy Lopez
EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad
EDGE Marcus Davenport
LB Alex Anzalone
CB Amik Robertson
CB Terrion Arnold

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Will the O-line be better this season?
Similar to last season, the Lions will have 3 new players in 3 new positions on their offensive line. But that’s more of a welcome thing this year after a down 2025.

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Head Coach: Matt LaFleur
Offensive Coordinator: Adam Stenavich
Defensive Coordinator: Jonathan Gannon
Special Teams Coordinator: Cam Achord

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 9-7-1)

With about 14 minutes left in the 3rd quarter of their Week 15 game against the Broncos, the Packers were sitting pretty. Not only did they have a 2-possession lead over the eventual #1 seed in the AFC, but they were 9-3-1 and seemingly in control of the NFC North.

If you were watching live, you couldn’t help but feel that this team was going to make a run to the Super Bowl.

But just 13 minutes later, their season effectively ended. Micah Parsons tore his ACL, and that sent the Packers into a swoon that derailed what could have been a special year.

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Green Bay would go on to loose that game as well as their next 4. During that 5-game losing streak to end the season, they mustered just 4 total sacks.

Their defense went from being a dynamic force to something well below that:

They blew 2nd-half leads in 3 of those games during that streak, including their season-ending Wild Card loss to the Bears.

Both of their late-season losses to the Bears involved collapses in the final minutes.

That’ll happen when you no longer have your closer.

Green Bay’s run defense fell apart after that Broncos game as well. They were a top-10 unit prior to the Parsons injury, allowing 101.4 rushing yards per game. After they lost Parsons, they allowed 171.8 yards per game, including a Week 17 loss to the Ravens where they gave up a staggering 307 yards on the ground.

Injuries on the other side of the ball played a role as well. Quarterback Jordan Love missed the final 2-and-a-half games. The Packers were all out of sorts to end the season, so much so that many were calling for Matt LaFleur’s head after their playoff collapse vs. the Bears.

But to keep things in perspective, this is still a really good team entering 2026, with a really good head coach and quarterback, and a really good shot of making a run all the way to February.

Key Additions

QB Tyrod Taylor
WR Skyy Moore
C Jager Burton (5th Rd, 153 Overall)

DL Javon Hargrave
DL Chris McClellan (3rd Rd, 77th Overall)
EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton (4th Rd, 120th Overall)
LB Zaire Franklin
CB Benjamin St-Juste
CB Brandon Cisse (2nd Rd, 52nd Overall)

Key Losses

QB Malik Willis
RB Emanuel Wilson
WR Romeo Doubs
WR Dontayvion Wicks
TE John FitzPatrick
LT Rasheed Walker
C Elgton Jenkins

DL Colby Wooden
EDGE Rashan Gary
EDGE Kingsley Enagbare
LB Quay Walker
CB Nate Hobbs

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

What can we expect from the defense?
This is the biggest question with this team on so many fronts. The Micah Parsons situation is at the top of the list. It sounds like he won’t be back until mid-season. And when he does return, given the nature of the injury, there’s no telling if he’ll be his normal explosive self.

As the end of last year showed, that could be a problem.

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Head Coach: Ben Johnson
Offensive Coordinator: Press Taylor
Defensive Coordinator: Dennis Allen
Special Teams Coordinator: Richard Hightower

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 11-6)

In Ben Johnson’s first season as Bears head coach, Chicago shocked the football world and ended up winning arguably the toughest division in the NFL.

Entering his second year in the league, it was important for Caleb Williams to have support around him in order to develop. He needed it from his receivers, from his running backs, and from his protection. Most importantly, he needed it from the offensive scheme and play caller.

He got it in just about every area.

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The Bears’ running game was one of the worst in the NFL during his rookie season (25th in yards, 27th in yards per attempt). Last year, it ranked 3rd in both.

As for weapons, the Bears already had some decent pass catchers, but they drafted tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick, and he went on to lead the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

Ben Johnson’s scheme also put Williams in position to succeed. He implemented an offense that spent more time under center than Williams had previously (5th in the NFL last season). He utilized a heavy dose of “12” personnel (2 tight ends), using it at the 6th highest frequency in the league according to SumerSports. He leaned on a versatile run game and took advantage with play-action off of it. The Bears finished the season with the 2nd-highest frequency of play-action passes according to Pro Football Focus.

A good run game and play-action are a quarterback’s best friends.

Johnson’s use of personnel and formation also got defenses to play a high frequency of single-high coverage (3rd in the NFL according to of MatchQuarters), which is generally a little more predictable and easier to throw against. Williams and the passing game took advantage, finishing 8th in EPA vs. single-high.

On the defensive side of the ball, the numbers weren’t great, but Chicago got by mostly via the turnover, leading the league in takeaways.

The end result was an NFC North division title and a playoff run that fell just short of an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.

Key Additions

WR Kalif Raymond
WR Zavion Thomas (3rd Rd, 89th Overall)
WR Scotty Miller
TE Sam Roush (3rd Rd, 69th Overall)
C Garrett Bradbury
C Logan Jones (2nd Rd, 57th Overall)

DL Neville Gallimore
DL James Lynch
DL Kentavius Street
LB Devin Bush Jr.
LB Keyshaun Elliott (5th Rd, 166th Overall)
CB Malik Muhammad (4th Rd, 124th Overall)
S Dillon Thieneman (1st Rd, 25th Overall)
S Coby Bryant
S Cam Lewis

Key Losses

WR D.J. Moore
WR Olamide Zaccheaus
TE Durham Smythe
C Drew Dalman

DL Andrew Billings
DL Chris Williams
EDGE Dominique Robinson
EDGE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
LB Tremaine Edmunds
CB Nahshon Wright
CB Nick McCloud
S Jaquan Brisker
S Kevin Byard
S C.J. Gardner-Johnson

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Was last season a mirage?
The Bears were no doubt an improved football team in 2025. But is the success that they had replicable this season?

Chicago had 11 wins during the regular season and stole a playoff game against the Packers with a thrilling last-minute comeback.

7 of their 12 total wins, in fact, were 4th-quarter come-from-behind victories in the final 2 minutes of the game (they almost had an 8th in the Divisional Round).

Don’t get me wrong, the ability to win at the end of games is a skill more than a fluke. And Caleb Williams was absolutely phenomenal in the final minutes of most games last season. But the Bears can’t count on playing the same way this year and getting the exact same outcome.

There is always a little bit of luck involved in making miraculous comebacks. One bounce here, one tipped pass at the line of scrimmage there, and the outcome can change. Put the ball a few inches off target on a pivotal 4th down, and you’re going home with the loss:

Similarly, the way the Bears played on the defensive side of the ball doesn’t seem entirely sustainable or replicable. Chicago led the NFL in takeaways last season, but their defense struggled if they couldn’t generate turnovers. They were bottom-10 in points allowed and bottom-5 in yards allowed.

Turnovers are a finicky thing. Again, like last-second comeback wins, they are more skill than fluke. But it’s hard to repeat that style of play with the same results from year to year. And I’m not sure they made enough improvements on defense to be effective without them.

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Head Coach: Jeff Hafley
Offensive Coordinator: Bobby Slowik
Defensive Coordinator: Sean Duggan
Special Teams Coordinator: Chris Tabor

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 7-10)

Mike McDaniel’s tenure in Miami may have fizzled out with a 7-10 season, but his time as Dolphins Head Coach was the best run this franchise has had since Dave Wannstedt led the team from 2000-04.

Ultimately, the defense never got to where it needed to be. And the offense, while dynamic at times, was too reliant on the scheme at the most important position.

In the first two years of the McDaniels-Tua Tagovailoa era, the passing game was seemingly unstoppable at times due to its impeccable timing:

The league caught up over the last two seasons though. Sure, injuries played a factor, but the biggest issue was Tua’s inability to win late in the down since he’s not a good scrambler and doesn’t have the strongest arm.

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The more defenses found ways to take away his first read and make him hold the ball, the more you saw plays like this:

And this:

And this:

It makes sense that the Dolphins decided to go in a completely different direction this offseason, releasing Tua and signing a more physically gifted quarterback in Malik Willis (more on that below).

Similarly, the Dolphins went in the opposite direction as a team, hiring a defensive head coach in Jeff Hafley after four years with an offensive guru in McDaniel.

Miami had a lot of personnel turnover this offseason in an effort to rebuild their roster. More than half of their salary cap will go towards players not on the team this year. They cut some good talent, drafted 12 players, and will be in what you can politely categorize as a “transition” year.

Key Additions

QB Malik Willis
WR Jalen Tolbert
WR Tutu Atwell
WR Caleb Douglas (3rd Rd, 75th Overall)
WR Chris Bell (3rd Rd, 94th Overall)
WR Kevin Coleman (5th Rd, 177th Overall)
TE Will Kacmarek (3rd Rd, 87th Overall)
TE Seydou Traore (5th Rd, 180th Overall)
LG Kadyn Proctor (1st Rd, 12th Overall)
OT Jamaree Salyer
OT Charlie Heck

EDGE Joshua Uche
EDGE David Ojabo
EDGE Trey Moore (4th Rd, 130th Overall)
LB Jacob Rodriguez (2nd Rd, 43rd Overall)
LB Kyle Louis (4th Rd, 138th Overall)
LB Ronnie Harrison
CB Chris Johnson (1st Rd, 27th Overall)
CB Darrell Baker
CB Alex Austin
S Lonnie Johnson Jr.
S Michael Taaffe (5th Rd, 158th Overall)

Key Losses

QB Tua Tagovailoa
FB Alec Ingold
WR Jaylen Waddle
WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr.
WR Tyreek Hill
TE Julian Hill
TE Darren Waller
RG Cole Strange
RT Larry Borom
G/T Daniel Brunskill

DL Benito Jones
EDGE Bradley Chubb
EDGE Jaelan Phillips
EDGE Matthew Judon
LB K.J. Britt
CB Jack Jones
CB Rasul Douglas

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Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Did the Dolphins make the right move at quarterback by signing Malik Willis?
I don’t think many people expected the Dolphins to sign arguably the top free agent quarterback during an offseason where they released Tua Tagovailoa and are on the hook for $54 million of guaranteed money.

But they did, taking a chance on a QB with just 6 career starts under his belt in 4 NFL seasons.

To be fair, Malik Willis is a very talented player. He can throw the hell out of the ball:

He can escape pressure and keep plays alive with his legs:

He’ll make the designed run game better:

Most importantly, he’s improved over his last two seasons in Green Bay. He’s been far more accurate, completing 80% of his passes during his Packers tenure. On throws traveling 20 yards or more from the line of scrimmage, he completed 13 of 15 attempts over the last two seasons. He’s also played with far better timing in his limited action.

The concerns with Willis are that he was in a perfect situation as a back up in Green Bay. He had tremendous talent around him. He had a great play-caller and designer in Matt LaFleur. When he played, it was in small sample sizes where LaFleur could take advantage of defenses not knowing exactly how to play him. Over a 17-game season, that won’t be the case.

Willis will need to play the position with more nuance to thrive in a full season, and it’s in this area where there are the most questions about his abilities.

For instance, vision is a trait where I’ve always had concerns with Willis, even coming out of college. He didn’t always see the field well. Sometimes, he didn’t see defenders ahead of the throw, and that would lead to turnovers or risky passes. Other times, he would miss opportunities because he didn’t always see open receivers on time.

That’s continued to an extent in the NFL. I haven’t really seen Willis work many passing concepts in the middle of the field.

In fact, of the 155 passes he’s thrown in his NFL career, he has attempted a staggeringly-low 9 passes between the numbers 10 yards or more from the line of scrimmage. That’s just 5.8% of all his throws.

The ability to attack between the numbers at the intermediate level is generally a decent barometer for how good a quarterback’s vision and processing are. That’s because you have to be able to see more of the field and account for more defenders near the throw. The quarterbacks who don’t see or process that well tend to stay to the outside.

And as I’ve written about with Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, the inability to work the middle generally limits a passing game.

I think there’s legitimate reason for Dolphins fans to be excited about Willis. He has no physical limitations like Tua did. But there is still so much unknown.

What will the offense look like?
The Dolphins moved on from Tyreek Hill and traded away Jaylen Waddle this offseason. So the biggest question is, who will Malik Willis be throwing to?

Right now, their top 3 receivers are Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, and Malik Washington. They also drafted 3 receivers this year between picks 75 and 177. Perhaps someone emerges. But as things stand now, it looks pretty bleak.

The best thing the Dolphins have going for them is that they still have a good running game featuring De’Von Achane to build around. Achane ran for 1,350 yards and a league-leading 5.7 yards per attempt last season. He also added 488 yards on 67 receptions. He’ll be the key weapon (the only weapon?) for the Dolphins to feature in 2026.

And I imagine they’ll want to run the ball pretty frequently seeing as they drafted a bruising, massive, 6’6” 350-pound left tackle in Kadyn Proctor with the 12th overall pick and plan to play him at guard.

I’m also curious to see how new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik approaches things. It’s his second year in Miami but his first as their offensive coordinator. While OC for the Texans in 2023, he did a good job developing C.J. Stroud during his rookie season.

He’ll have similar work cut out for him this year with what I guess you could call a 5th-year rookie in Willis.

Slowik comes from the Shanahan tree and likes to operate under center. The question, though, is does that make the most sense here? One of the best aspects of Willis’s game is his legs. The most dangerous element of this offense will be the read-option run game with Willis and Achane stressing the defense. If Miami operates too much under center, a big part of that goes away.

Willis has predominantly operated out of shotgun during his career. Although, he did start to play a bit more from under center with LaFleur (another Shanahan disciple) in Green Bay.

Regardless, if it were me, I’d operate out of gun and ride the Willis-Achane combo as far as they could take me.

Can Jeff Hafley turn the defense around immediately?
As I mentioned above, the Dolphins went in a different direction by hiring former Packers Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley as head coach after being an offense-first team for 4 years.

Hafley was very effective in his two season in Green Bay. In his first year, he made an immediate impact. The Packers finished 6th in points allowed and 5th in yards (that’s not something that happened very often in Green Bay over the previous two decades).

Last season, the Packers defense once again ranked 6th in points and 5th in yards entering their Week 15 game against the Broncos. Then Micah Parsons got hurt and the wheels fell off.

Either way, Packers fans were not happy to see Hafley go.

The difference between that situation and the situation Hafley will face in Miami, however, is the talent. He won’t be dealing with a full deck in that department this season and that will make things tough.

One similarity, though, is that the Packers didn’t have a great situation at cornerback, and neither do the Dolphins this year.

In Green Bay, Hafley couldn’t just leave his defense in man coverage and let his players win with talent. Instead, he had to find ways to get the most out of his secondary. He leaned on zone coverage nearly 80% of the time in both seasons, which put the Packers near the top of the league. He was clearly effective in doing so.

This is interesting because Hafley was considered more of a man-coverage defensive mind before joining the Packers. Which shows he clearly has the ability to adjust to his personnel.

He’ll likely need to take a similar approach in Miami to what he did in Green Bay.

In general, Hafley’s scheme seemed to enhance Green Bay’s performance everywhere. He used lots of stunts and sim pressures (more so in his first year before Parsons arrived) to manufacture a pass rush:

We’re likely to see a lot of that this season as he tries to get this Dolphins defense turned around quickly.

2026 Outlook

The Dolphins might be in store for a rough season. They got rid of key talent and replaced it with a lot of inexperience. They selected 12 players in this year’s draft and might need to lean on more than half of those picks to play significant snaps. That’s what happens when half of your salary cap goes towards paying players who aren’t on your team.

The biggest thing that the Dolphins can hope for, though, is clarity at the QB position moving forward. Hopefully they find out this year if Malik Willis is the player to build around. If not, the answer will lie in the 2027 QB draft class.

Head Coach: Aaron Glenn
Offensive Coordinator: Frank Reich
Defensive Coordinator: Brian Duker
Special Teams Coordinator: Chris Banjo

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 3-14)

What can you say about the 2025 Jets? They were a disaster. One of the worst teams in football. The laughingstock of the NFL once again.

Just look at these numbers:

Excuse me one second:

New York couldn’t stop anyone. They couldn’t get interceptions or force turnovers. They couldn’t get to the quarterback.

Offensively, their QB situation was a mess. They were dead last in passing yards per game, net passing yards per attempt, and completions of 20 yards or more. They were 2nd to last in QB rating (Hey, remember when Jets fans and media used to complain about having Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback?!).

As has become Jets tradition, the next year’s draft became the main focus of discussion in October. By midseason, there were talks of making head coach Aaron Glenn one-and-done.

GM Darren Mougey started trading away players like Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, who were once thought to be the young core of a franchise turnaround.

The Jets were outscored 188-54 across their final 5 games, which looked as close to a tank as anything we’ve seen in recent memory.

It was about as ugly of a season as you can get.

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Key Additions

QB Geno Smith
QB Cade Klubnik (4th Rd, 110th Overall)
WR Omar Cooper, Jr. (1st Rd, 30th Overall)
WR Tim Patrick
TE Kenyon Sadiq (1st Rd, 16th Overall)
LG Dylan Parham

DL David Onyemata
DL T’Vondre Sweat
DL Darrell Jackson Jr. (4th Rd, 103rd Overall)
EDGE David Bailey (1st Rd, 2nd Overall)
EDGE Joseph Ossai
EDGE Kingsley Enagbare
LB Demario Davis
CB Nahshon Wright
CB D’Angelo Ponds (2nd Rd, 50th Overall)
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
S Dane Belton

Key Losses

QB Justin Fields
QB Tyrod Taylor
WR John Metchie
WR Tyler Johnson
LG John Simpson

DL Quinnen Williams
DL Jay Tufele
DL Khalen Saunders
EDGE Jermaine Johnson II
EDGE Micheal Clemons
LB Quincy Williams
CB Sauce Gardner
S Tony Adams
S Isaiah Oliver

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

How different will the Jets defense look this year?
The Jets defense was bad last season. I mean really bad. I mean I had as many interceptions sitting on my couch as the entire defense did. A big fat 0. They basically turned every opposing QB into an MVP-caliber player.

This year should be much different, however.

First, Aaron Glenn has said that he will be taking over defensive play-calling duties. That’s what he did in Detroit as the defensive coordinator, and that played a huge role in him landing a head coaching job in the first place. His butt is on the line this year and he isn’t taking any chances. Nor should he be.

And this season, he might actually have the dogs to execute the defense the way he wants to.

It starts with the pass rush.

The Jets took edge rusher David Bailey with the 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft. Bailey is a pass rusher, plain and simple. He is a natural at getting after quarterbacks, and he does so with a combination of quickness and explosive speed off the edge, as well as an assortment of effective moves:

The combo of Bailey and Will McDonald (18.5 sacks over the last two seasons) attacking off the edge with speed has the potential to help steer this defensive ship in the right direction immediately.

Not to mention, they have good pieces at all three levels now. The Jets signed 14-year veteran linebacker Demario Davis. He’s still as good and as smart as any linebacker in the league.

The Jets also traded for 8-year veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Those two are going to lead this defense, and it’s hard to imagine with their experience that we’ll see as many coverage lapses and mental mistakes as we did a year ago. Not to mention, Fitzpatrick is a versatile safety who can help Glenn execute his defense in a variety of ways specific to each opponent.

The Jets also added cornerbacks Nahshon Wright (via free agency) and D’Angelo Ponds (via the draft). On paper, this secondary is much improved.

I feel that first interception coming on real soon!

Can the offense become respectable?
Your response to this might be, who cares? All that matters is 2027 and beyond. This is just a transition year all the way around and the Jets will have a new quarterback next year anyway.

While most of that might be true, the Jets would benefit by having a competent offense in 2026. The reason is not just to prevent another year of embarrassment. The reason is that you need the players around the quarterback position to be getting 17 games’ worth of quality reps.

Rookies Omar Cooper, Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq need to learn how to play their positions the right way at the NFL level. They need the routes that they run well to be rewarded with targets. They need their poorly-run routes to be met with throws out of their reach or non-targets altogether. They need good habits reinforced and bad habits removed.

Quite frankly, the same is true for players like Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, who still need more development and refinement.

The Jets collectively need 17 more games under their belt to prime the offense for whoever does become the quarterback of the future in 2027 and beyond.

That’s why they traded for a veteran like Geno Smith. That’s why they hired Frank Reich to be the offensive coordinator. They needed professionals on the team who can bring stability and make the offense a functioning operation.

And there’s no reason why, with the talent they’ve added, that offensive line, and players like Hall and Wilson returning, they can’t be respectable.

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Will the Jets be in position to get their QB of the future in next year’s draft?
The Jets are a much-improved team on both sides of the ball. But I don’t think anyone is under the illusion that they’re going to be a contender this year. And even if they are, the re-birth of this franchise starts when they get their quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft.

The question is, will they be in position to get their guy?

It’s almost impossible to predict this type of thing. The NFL is the greatest reality TV show out there, and the unexpected happens weekly.

That said, the Jets front office has done everything they can to put themselves in position to get a quarterback of the future next year. They’ve been gearing up for that 2027 QB draft class since last season, with GM Darren Mougey wheeling and dealing to ultimately get the Jets 3 first-round picks (theirs, the Colts’, and the Cowboys’).

The problem is (strangely) that the Jets had a really good offseason. They added a ton of talent. I don’t think it’s out of the question at all for them to win 6-8 games. And if they do that, they won’t be picking high enough to be able to take one of the top quarterbacks with their own pick.

Perhaps the Colts and Cowboys will have disastrous seasons that get the Jets a higher pick. Will any of those be at the very top of the draft, though? The odds aren’t great.

And at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many picks they have. If teams like the Cardinals or Browns, who also need QBs of the future, own the top-2 picks, they likely won’t be trading out no matter what they’re offered.

It would be a shame for the Jets to end up with the 3rd or 4th best QB in the 2027 class after all the great trades and positioning they’ve done. Short of tanking or the Colts and/or Cowboys landing at the very top of the draft, their best bet is to have a team that isn’t in need of a quarterback picking near the top. They’d be more than willing to trade out and accumulate picks if they have their QB of the future. Maybe we’ll see something like that with the Raiders, for instance.

In that case, the Jets are better positioned than anyone to trade up.

All that being said, maybe the upcoming class is good enough that getting the 3rd or 4th best QB in it wouldn’t be a bad thing? Again, there are a lot of unknowns as things stand right now.

Unfortunately for the Jets, this isn’t Madden. It’s impossible to orchestrate an entire regular season with the specific goal in mind of getting the #1 overall pick. Players and coaches this year don’t give a damn about next year’s draft positioning. They want to win every week. So you won’t see them tanking just to get their quarterback of the future.

Will Aaron Glenn make it through 2026?
This question is the #1 reason why a tank isn’t happening. Aaron Glenn isn’t surviving another embarrassing season. It does him no good to drive this thing into the ground so the head coach hired after him gets to have his quarterback of the future.

Starting with his decision to call the plays, Glenn is going to do everything that he can to prove that he is the best man for the job moving forward. The best players are going to play. Development will take a back seat.

As I mentioned above, 6-8 wins is realistic for the Jets given their infusion of talent on both sides of the ball. But while that would be an improvement, it’s still a gray area where the Jets would probably feel justified either keeping Glenn or firing him.

I have a hunch that the final decision will ultimately be a feel thing. A smell test. Does he look like he has this team headed in the right direction? If he doesn’t, he won’t be around for 2027.

2026 Outlook

The expectations are low for the Jets, but as I mentioned above, they have too much new talent on the team to be as bad as they were a year ago.

The hope for Aaron Glenn is that his year 2 with the Jets goes like it did when he was the Lions Defensive Coordinator under Dan Campbell. In their first year, Detroit went 3-13-1 and looked like a mess.

Then in year 2, they added some of the players who were better fits for what they wanted to do, including #2 overall pick and edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (similar to what the Jets just did with their #2 overall pick). They started 1-6 but then won 8 of their final 10 games, narrowly missing the playoffs.

Then they became one of the best teams in the NFL.

The hope for the Jets is that they’re on a similar path.

Head Coach: Joe Brady
Offensive Coordinator: Pete Carmichael, Jr.
Defensive Coordinator: Jim Leonhard
Special Teams Coordinator: Jeff Rodgers

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 12-5)

The Bills’ 5-year reign of dominance over the rest of the AFC East came to an end in 2025, as did the tenure of head coach Sean McDermott.

As you can see from the numbers below, the Bills were one of the best overall teams in the NFL. But something seemed just a bit off all season:

As the Patriots were bursting onto the scene and taking care of business, the Bills failed to keep up. In a year where they had little margin for error, they made far too many. They had puzzling losses to teams like the Falcons and Dolphins that all but knocked them out of contention for the division title.

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Along the way, their run defense let them down time and time again. They finished 28th in rushing yards allowed per game, 30th in yards per attempt, and 29th in runs of 10 or more yards allowed.

Their inability to stop the run either led to those puzzling losses (they gave up 210 and 197 rushing yards to the Falcons and Dolphins respectively) or allowed inferior teams to keep games close.

The offense had a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde element to it. They were 15th in giveaways one year after having the fewest in the league. Josh Allen was a little more careless with the ball, and that played some part in Buffalo’s inability to keep pace with the Patriots.

But possibly the most difficult pill to swallow about the 2025 season was that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were finally not in the way. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens also failed to make the playoffs. The Bills entered the postseason as the most experienced team in the AFC.

They ultimately couldn’t take advantage. Their 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos was a game with missed opportunities on both sides of the ball. The offense committed 5 turnovers. The defense let Denver off the hook.

Sean McDermott was not allowed to stick around as a result.

Key Additions

WR D.J. Moore
WR Skyler Bell (4th Rd, 125th Overall)
TE Shane Zylstra
OG Austin Corbett
C Lloyd Cushenberry III
OT Jude Bowry (4th Rd, 102nd Overall)

DL Zane Durant (5th Rd, 181st Overall)
EDGE Bradley Chubb
EDGE Mike Danna
EDGE T.J. Parker (2nd Rd, 35th Overall)
LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (4th Rd, 126th Overall)
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
CB Dee Alford
CB Davison Igbinosun (2nd Rd, 62nd Overall)
S C.J. Gardner-Johnson Texans
S Geno Stone
S Jalon Kilgore (5th Rd, 167th Overall)

Key Losses

FB Reggie Gilliam
WR Gabe Davis
WR Brandin Cooks
LG David Edwards
OT Ryan Van Demark

DL DaQuan Jones
DL Larry Ogunjobi
DL Jordan Phillips
EDGE Joey Bosa
EDGE A.J. Epenesa
LB Matt Milano
LB Shaq Thompson
CB Tre’Davious White
CB Taron Johnson
S Jordan Poyer
S Cam Lewis
S Taylor Rapp

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Will the team around Josh Allen finally rise to his level?
Most still focus on Allen’s super-human physical abilities when discussing him, but his game really has become more and more advanced with each season.

I wrote about a couple of great examples showing this from Buffalo’s playoff win over the Jaguars last season:

Allen can’t do it all alone, though. And unfortunately, he hasn’t had the help around him that he’s needed to win a Super Bowl.

His receiving corps has been underwhelming. The league agrees with this because the Bills have seen the highest frequency of man coverage over the last 3 seasons according to of MatchQuarters.

You don’t traditionally see that against a quarterback who can burn you with his legs because defensive coordinators don’t want their defenders turning their backs to him. Opposing teams have had such little respect for the ability of Bills receivers to win their 1-on-1 matchups, however, that they’ve bucked this tradition and chosen to smother those receivers in man.

That’s forced Allen to be extra precise with his passes to get big completions or turned games into sandlot showdowns between one man and the rest of the defense.

Allen has been so good that he’s been able to have success playing this way. Every year, however, it seems to catch up to Buffalo by season’s end.

James Cook and the run game were definitely the most complementary element of Buffalo’s offense last season. They finished the year with the number-1 rushing attack in the NFL (159.6 yards per game) and the 2nd-most runs of 10 yards or more.

Allen is obviously a huge part of making that Bills run game the best in the league, though. He led all quarterbacks with 579 rushing yards, 46 first downs, and 14 touchdowns last season.

The Bills traded for wide receiver D.J. Moore this offseason. That’s definitely a good start in giving Allen a receiver that defenses actually have to be concerned about.

Hopefully tight end Dalton Kincaid can stay on the field this year and continue to be more of a threat as well. He actually had a decent season last year (with career highs in yards per reception and touchdowns) despite only playing in 27% of the offensive snaps during the regular season.

The bottom line, though, is that someone besides Allen has to step up and make a play in the most critical moments.

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Will the situational lapses go away?
Scheme was never really the issue on the defensive side of the ball with Sean McDermott. The Bills always used a good assortment of disguise and trickery, and there were several years where the defense ranked at or near the top of the league.

The issue under McDermott was always the poor defensive performances in the playoffs and the situational lapses.

Last year they allowed 33 points to the Broncos in the Divisional round, ending their season.

The year before, it was the AFC Championship game against the Chiefs. They allowed 32 points to an offense that really struggled all year.

The year before that, they allowed 27 points to a Chiefs offense that again wasn’t rolling on all cylinders.

The year before that, they allowed 27 points at home in the snow to the Bengals.

The year before that, they allowed 42 to the Chiefs.

The year before that, they allowed 38 to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

All with a defensive head coach.

Their inability to manage end-of-game critical situations was even more damning.

We can go all the way back to 2019 and Josh Allen’s first career playoff game. The Bills were in Houston playing the Texans. Not only did they blow a 16-0 lead in the second half, but when they were in overtime, the Texans faced a 3rd-and-18 in their own territory. Buffalo should have been able to easily get a stop, force a punt, and then hopefully drive down the field to kick the game-winning field goal.

But Deshaun Watson dumped the ball off to his running back, and he was able to easily scamper for the first down:

That’s inexcusable on 3rd-and-18. The Texans would eventually go on to kick the game-winning field goal, ending the Bills’ season.

Fast forward to 2021 vs. the Chiefs in the Divisional round. “13 seconds.” This is the one that every Bills fan remembers in what was an absolutely unbelievable back-and-forth game between Allen and Mahomes.

Allen finally put the Bills ahead, 36-33 with 13 seconds remaining:

They should have won the game right then and there. But then the Bills made a bunch of critical mistakes in their decision-making, beginning with the decision to kick the ball into the end zone for a touchback and not take any time off the clock.

And then they allowed the Chiefs to cover 44 yards on two plays, only taking 10 seconds off the clock in the process.

The defense they played was ultra-passive. They allowed receivers to get free releases off the line. They allowed Mahomes to plant his back foot and get the ball out immediately:

They seemingly didn’t take the clock into account. They didn’t have a strategy deployed to force the Chiefs to waste any time. And we all know what happened. K.C. kicked a relatively easy game-tying field goal. They won the coin toss in overtime and scored a touchdown.

Game over. Season over.

Then you had last season against the Broncos. This one won’t go down as quite as obvious of a blunder, but the Bills led 27-23 with about two and a half minutes to go. The Broncos had the ball and faced a 3rd-and-11.

The Bills started in single high. They were trying to disguise and ended up playing a non-traditional Tampa-2 coverage.

Cole Bishop, who was the deep safety to start the play, ended up dropping down to become the hook defender. He should have been in the throwing lane where Bo Nix ended up delivering the ball. But he inexplicably decided to jump a receiver at the line of scrimmage who was breaking to the flat:

Now that’s one of those situations where you do not react to receivers in the “no-cover zone.” This is an area of the field near the line of scrimmage (depending on the down and distance) where defenders are not supposed to match up to routes until receivers have gotten far enough downfield. You stay in position, hold your ground, and mind the first down line.

Bishop didn’t do that here. He broke for the flat when there was no need for him to do so. Nix threw the ball right behind him for a big completion, and the Broncos would go on to score a touchdown and take the lead.

But that’s just another example of poor situational football. You can blame the player all you want, but we’ve seen too many instances where the individual players on the Bills continue to have these blunders. All that can indicate is that situational football is not something that was emphasized and/or drilled enough by the coaching staff.

And ultimately, that’s why McDermott had to go. It kept happening year after year.

So while the defense will be running a new scheme this year, and new head coach Joe Brady might alter his approach on offense now that he’s calling the shots, both of those are less significant questions to me than “can the Bills handle critical situations better?”

And we won’t know if Brady and Leonhard are the guys to help them do that until February of next year.

What will Jim Leonhard’s defense look like?
That said, I am still very interested (and excited) to see how the scheme that Leonhard implements helps this defense.

Overall, the Bills are going to look much different on this side of the ball than in years past.

First, they had a fair amount of personnel turnover this offseason. Of the 14 defenders who played more than 40% of snaps last regular season, 8 are no longer on the roster as of right now.

Schematically, Leonhard will likely have a far more aggressive approach than McDermott did. We’re going to see an attack 3-4 centered around disruption and penetration, complete with a variety of blitzes and sim pressures.

I tend to think the defenses that can make the biggest impact in year 1 are the aggressive ones that put offenses on their heels mentally. To me, that provides hope for the Bills that this isn’t a multi-year reboot on that side of the ball. They can become dominant immediately.

And an aggressive approach on defense might be a way for the Bills to win games without Allen needing to be Superman every week.

2026 Outlook

The Bills should still be one of the favorites in the AFC. Perhaps they should be THE favorite entering the season.

Josh Allen has been the best player in the NFL over the last few years. And no team has been more dependent on their quarterback than Buffalo has.

It’s long past time for everyone around him to pick up the slack. Maybe a new head coach and defensive approach can finally help the Bills find a way to do that.

Head Coach: Mike Vrabel
Offensive Coordinator: Josh McDaniels
Defensive Coordinator: Zak Kuhr
Special Teams Coordinator: Jeremy Springer

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 14-3)

Last year, Mike Vrabel led the Patriots to one of the best single-season turnarounds in NFL history, going from a 4-13 team picking in the top-5 of the draft to a 14-3 team and AFC Champions.

As you can see from the numbers above, the Patriots had very few weaknesses on either side of the ball.

Their offense thrived due to the emergence of 2nd-year quarterback Drake Maye. He completed 72% of his passes, but we’re not talking about a quarterback who dinked and dunked his way to that 72%. He attacked downfield regularly, leading the NFL in intended air yards per attempt.

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That was a huge part of their passing game as the Patriots finish the year with the 2nd-most completions of 20 yards or more.

New England also had an effective, downhill running game that relied predominantly on gap-scheme runs and moving the line of scrimmage. It also helped to have a quarterback who could make plays with his legs. Every time Maye scrambled, it seemed like he picked up a big chunk of yards.

The end result was a run game that finished 6th in the NFL.

On the other side of the ball, Vrabel blended physicality, toughness, and a variety of schemes to help turn the Patriots into the #4 scoring defense in the NFL.

The end result was a surprise run to Super Bowl LX that fell just short.

Key Additions

FB Reggie Gilliam
WR A.J. Brown
WR Romeo Doubs
TE Eli Raridon (3rd Rd, 95th Overall)
TE Julian Hill
LG Alijah Vera-Tucker
OT Caleb Lomu (1st Rd, 28)

EDGE Dre’Mont Jones
EDGE Gabe Jacas (2nd Rd, 55th Overall)
LB K.J. Britt
CB Kindle Vildor
CB Karon Prunty (5th Rd, 171st Overall)
S Kevin Byard

Key Losses

WR Stefon Diggs
TE Austin Hooper
C Garrett Bradbury
OT Vederian Lowe

DL Khyiris Tonga
EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson
EDGE Anfernee Jennings
LB Jack Gibbens
LB Jahlani Tavai
CB Alex Austin
S Jaylinn Hawkins

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

Which Patriots offense is the real Patriots offense?
As mentioned above, the Patriots offense was dynamic during the regular season. Once they got to the playoffs, however, things changed dramatically.

Some might attribute that to a variety of factors, including injuries and weather. It’s hard not to point out, however, that the level of competition played the most critical role in the offense’s substantial drop off.

Right now, you’re probably saying “thanks Captain Obvious, competition is always better in the playoffs.” And you’re not wrong there.

The point, though, is that maybe the level of competition that they faced, good or bad, played the biggest role in their performance.

For instance, they did not face one Top-10 scoring defense until they got to the playoffs. Then, they faced 4 top-10 defenses in a row. And their dip in play was extreme.

They went from scoring 29 points per game during the regular season to just 15 in the playoffs. They went from averaging 250 passing yards per game to just 174. They were seemingly only able to run the ball when Maye scrambled, as their running backs averaging just 3.3 yards per carry during the postseason. Their protection was middle of the back in the regular season but a huge liability in the playoffs, allowing a whopping 21 sacks in 4 games.

The change in Maye’s performance was significant as well. He went from completing 72% of his passes for 8.9 yards per attempt and a 113.5 passer rating during the regular season…

To completing just 58% of his passes for 6.9 yards per attempt and an 82.2 rating during the playoffs...

Maye turned the ball over just 11 times in 17 regular season games. He gave it away 8 times in 4 playoff games:

Every good offense beats up on bad competition. So that shouldn’t be held against the Patriots. But the elite offenses also perform well against the best defenses.

So it’s fair to ask as we head into 2026, which offense is the real Patriots offense? The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, as it often does.

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Is A.J. Brown primed for a huge season?
A.J. Brown is a great fit with the Patriots for a variety of reasons. Aside from the fact that he developed under Mike Vrabel in Tennessee and apparently loves playing for him, he is exactly the type of receiver the Patriots need.

Brown had a bit of a down year last season, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s because he lost a step or anything. I think it had more to do with the circumstances of the Eagles passing game.

Despite some of the uncharacteristic drops and moments we saw last season, he is still every bit of a bona fide #1 receiver, and that’s the type of player that the Patriots really didn’t have last season.

They didn’t have a guy like Brown who you could line up outside the numbers, and anytime Maye saw him in a 1-on-1, he could get him the ball.

He doesn’t necessarily create a ton of separation, but you know when he’s in a 1-on-1 matchup, he’s going to get a good release off the line, run a good route, and track the ball, and make contested catches:

He really has been one of the best receivers in 1-on-1 situations. And you know Maye is going to attack downfield with him for some big plays all season. He’ll lead the league in intended air yards per attempt again, or come close to it.

On top of all that, Josh McDaniels knows how to deploy his receivers and get the most out of them. Even though Brown is more of your prototypical outside the numbers receiver, he can align anywhere and effectively run in-breaking routes in the middle of the field.

Not to mention, you pair him with the Patriots’ other new pass-catching addition, Romeo Doubs, and the Patriots are going to have even more ways to attack defenses than they did a year ago.

I am very interested to see how McDaniels utilizes his new weapons.

What will the offensive line look like?
Pressure played a huge role in the drop off of the Patriots offense in the playoffs. Rookie left tackle Will Campbell was a huge topic of discussion, from his arm length to the knee injury that he played through, to the thought of moving him from tackle to guard.

The only thing that appears certain to me is that Campbell’s play dropped off in the playoffs because his knee was compromised. Maybe he’ll move inside long term, but Vrabel has sounded pretty adamant this offseason that he isn’t moving.

That said, the Patriots used their first-round draft pick on a tackle, Caleb Lomu. While the idea is that he might be a swing tackle who can be a long-term solution at right tackle, could we see him become the left tackle at some point this season, though?

The Patriots are moving left guard Jared Wilson inside to center and relying on Alijah Vera-Tucker to replace him. The problem is, AVT simply can’t be counted on.

He missed 10 games in 2022, 12 games in 2023, and all of the 2025 season. He’s unfortunately had too many serious injuries, which made the Patriots decision to give him a 3-year deal this offseason a risky one.

If he can’t go at left guard at any point or for long stretches during the season, will the Patriots consider moving Campbell inside and putting Lomu at left tackle? Will Lomu go to left guard instead?

Your guess is as good as mine. One thing is clear after their offensive performance in the playoffs, though: the Patriots have to get the O-line right to get back to where they want to this season.

How will the Patriots generate a pass rush?
The Pats didn’t have many weaknesses on defense last season. But their pass rush could probably be considered a bit of a hole. They finished the year 24th in pressure percentage and 22nd in sacks.

On top of that, they lost edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson this offseason. Chaisson finished 2nd on the team in sacks during the regular season and tied for the lead with 3.0 during the playoffs.

The Patriots’ main pass-rushing additions this offseason were Dre’Mont Jones and rookie Gabe Jacas, who they drafted with the 55th overall pick.

While those two might be able to fill some or all of the pass-rushing holes, I still don’t know if they are an improved unit from a year ago. I wonder if Vrabel is going to just choose to lean more on aggressive pressure schemes to generate a pass rush, similar to what he did in the playoffs.

During the regular season, the Patriots did mix in some blitz pressure (~26%). In the playoffs, however, they went insane with it. They nearly doubled their blitz frequency to 48% of all dropbacks. And they had great success doing so, getting pressure on 53% of those blitzes:

Opposing quarterbacks completed just 39% of passes for 4.18 yards per attempt, and a 49.1 passer rating. Ridiculous.

Will Vrabel decide to take a similar approach this year by saving his ammunition for the playoffs? Or will he go all in from day 1?

How will the Patriots fare against an actual NFL schedule (just kidding)?
This question is bound to piss off Patriots fans, but it’s worth asking. A lot went right for New England last year, which is what any team needs to get the Super Bowl in general. Their schedule was certainly one big part of that.

The Patriots played just 3 games against teams that finished with a winning record, going 1-2 in those games. And look, you can’t blame the Patriots for their schedule. They took care of business against bad teams in ways that other teams, like the Bills, just didn’t. So the schedule doesn’t mean that the Patriots were aCtuALly a bad team. It just means their win total might have been a bit inflated, which is helpful to know when projecting 2026.

They are not going to see that same schedule this year. New England will play the Seahawks, Lions, Packers, Bears, Bills (twice), Steelers, Jaguars, Broncos, Chargers, and Chiefs. There aren’t many easy games on the schedule, at least as things stand right now.

2026 Outlook

Based on the moves they made this offseason, the Patriots are a better team on paper than they were a year ago when they reached the Super Bowl. Theoretically, the players that are returning will be improved and more comfortable based on this being their second year in Vrabel and McDaniels’ systems.

But there’s no question that the Patriots will have a tougher road this season. The AFC looks to be a juggernaut. Their schedule is more difficult. And their days of sneaking up on anyone are over.