THE 2026-27 NFL REGULAR SEASON BEGINS
Six grueling weeks of training camp, which included three exhibition games, has led to this-- the start of the 2026–27 NFL regular season.
Week one kicks off on Wednesday, September 9th, at 8:15 pm EST, featuring a rematch of Super Bowl LX with the defending Champion Seattle Seahawks, hosting the New England Patriots. The Seahawks defeated the Patriots 29 – 13 on February 8th earlier this year in Levi Stadium.
Only 12 teams in NFL history have gone back to the Super Bowl in consecutive years. The Los Angeles Rams #1 and Buffalo Bills #2 are the favorites to meet in Super Bowl LXI at Sofi Stadium, Los Angeles on February 14, 2027. Nick’s Nugget –Roughly 10 of 20 preseason Super
Bowl favorites over the last 20 seasons reached the Super Bowl (~50%), and only 4 won it.
Interestingly, all six Patriots Super Bowl wins came in seasons they were NOT the preseason favorite. The Seahawks were 60 – 1 odds to win the Super Bowl last season. This is why I love the NFL; every season NFL fans have legitimate hope their team will win the Super Bowl. To win the Super Bowl, teams must qualify for the Playoffs that begin after the conclusion of the 17-game regular season. Seven teams qualify in each conference; the 4 Division winners in both the National and American conferences automatically qualify, along with three teams in each conference that have the best win – loss records that DO NOT win their division. The National Football League has a very unique phenomenon.Teams that finish last in their Division turnaround and win their Division the following season.
Worst-to-first turnarounds have happened roughly 26 times since 2000 — it's remarkably routine in today's NFL. In 2025 two teams accomplished this feat — the New England Patriots (last in the AFC East in 2024) , went 14-3 and won the AFC East Division en route to the Super Bowl, and the Chicago Bears (last in the NFC North in 2024) went 11-6 and won the NFC North Division. Nick’s Nugget ---The NFC South is the undisputed king of chaos — six times, including one of the wildest stretches in NFL history, from 2003–2006, all four NFC South teams took turns going worst-to-first (Panthers '03, Falcons '04, Buccaneers '05, Saints '06), with the Buccaneers even doing it again later. No other division has ever swept its entire membership through a feat like that.
Behind them, the NFC East has done it five times (including both Redskins and Eagles editions in the early 2010s), and the NFC North has four — three of them by the Bears alone. In week 1 the Commanders travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles, who finished first in the NFC East Division last season. QB Jayden Daniels returns after suffering an injury late last season. A streak will be broken for 1 of these teams as the Commanders have won 3 consecutive opening season games on the road, and the Eagles have won 5 consecutive opening season home games.
THE START OF THE SEASON BRINGS HOPE – THIS IS THE SEASON WE WIN THE SUPER BOWL LET THE GAMES BEGIN ‼️ Commanders at Eagles Sunday, September 13, 4:25 pm EST
NICK MATTOS
