2026-27 NHL Season Preview

The time is here, it's now! The 2026-27 National Hockey League Season has arrived! Over the course of the next six months, 1,344 total games will be played. By the time all of that is said and done, there will be sixteen teams left standing. At the end of that time, one team will walk away holding hockey's holy grail: The Stanley Cup! 

There's been a couple of changes that have been made to the NHL this season under the new CBA. First is the number of games played. The preseason went from six games down to four. The regular season went up from 82 games to 84 on the year. Doing that was done to add a couple of more divisional games during the course of the regular season. Also, another change of note is that each team will now have a their own EBUG (Emergency Back-Up Goaltender). Prior to this, home teams provided the EBUG for games. Now every team will have an emergency goalie at all times and will have non player team duties.

There's a lot of new faces in new places, both as far as players go and the men behind the bench. Factoring all that in and based on what the teams did, here's how we see the 2026-27 National hockey League Season going down.

Western Conference:
Central Division
1. Colorado Avalanche 120 Points*
2. Dallas Stars 117 Points*
3. Minnesota Wild 100 Points*
4. Utah Mammoth 94 Points*
5. St Louis Blues 88 Points
6. Nashville Predators 86 Points
7. Winnipeg Jets 85 Points
8. Chicago Blackhawks 78 points

Another year, another division title for the best team in the West, the Avalanche. Colorado brought in some added depth down the middle by adding Vinnie Hinostroza to what is already a deep position. The Avs know that the window might be closing, but they have the core locked up for some time. What might keep the Avs back a little is in net. Scott Wedgwood has been good but has only got one year left on his deal. Enter Mackenzie Blackwood as the other netminder. If the two of them can keep pucks out of the net enough to allow the skaters to do their thing, this is going to be another good year in Colorado. Last season, the Stars were within striking distance of the division title. This year its going to be more of the same, but the window is closing in big D. After this season, Dallas is looking at quite a few of their big guns hit the market in free agency. Half of their starting defense and five of their top forwards are on the final year of deals, so I can see some big expectations in Dallas for being able to get the most out of the group that's here. They can put the puck in the net with Rantanen, Robertsn and Seguin, and the defense should hold up well. But they still aren't as deep as the team ahead of them in the standings. Another team that's in the same boat as Dallas are going to be the Wild. Minnesota is a good team that's got its tippy top players locked up long term, but their supporting guns are on the final year of deals, and they hope to get the most out of them for a deep run. Goaltending is going to be an interesting case in Minnesota. Both Jesper Wallstedt and Calivn Pickard are on the last year of deals, so both could expect to have solid seasons. At the same time, as good as both are, the two teams ahead of them have better depth in goal. Still with everything said, Minnesota has enough talent to gobble up points and get into the post season. After getting into the post season a year ago, the Mammoth are good enough to get back there or at least make another push to get to that level. Utah got deeper down the middle in the offseason, adding Vincent Trocheck and Andres Lee. Core group has been built and will be here in Uta for quite some time now. Theya re going to get better as time goes along.  Big question is can Karel Vejmelka build off the 39 win performance he had last season. If he can do that, then Utah will be making even bigger strides going forward as far as being a contending team is going to be concerned.

An interesting team to look at in this division are going to be the Blues.  St Louis has a good mix of young talent and veterans. What has me concerned is the depth as far as long term contracts are concerned. Goaltending is OK between Hofer and Binnington, but both guys are on the final year of deals. Half the defense is locked up long term, but outside some of the core forward group the same can't be said. They have a chance to be able to put the puck in the net, but the eye test says they are a middle of the road team. Following them up will be the Predators. Nashville is going to be set in goal for some time with Saros patrolling the crease. IF they can stay healthy the blue line looks like it could be decent, and they got half the core on the last year of deals. They lost Evanaglista in a trade, and the top two lines shouldn't have a problem putting the puck in the back of the net. it's the depth behind them that leave something to be desired. Relying on the same core group is fine, but with how top heavy this division is, its going to be tough to be a playoff team. A small part of me feels bad for the Jets, who are trying to find out what to do with Connor Hellybuck. You know bringing in a guy like Jeff Skinner to Winnipeg is making a statement that they're gearing up to move on in net. To be fair, Winnipeg has some pieces that can score, and they have them locked in for a long time. Its again a depth thing that's going to possibly be a thing for the Jets. Last but not least, we have the Blackhawks, who are still trying to rebuild around their new captain in Conor Bedard. But Bedard is going to miss the first four months of the season due to shoulder injury. This is why bringing Patrick Kane back to Chicago is going to be an even bigger move. It brings in drawing power and Kane still has a little gas left in the tank to fill up the opposing nets. But there are still too many other holes to fill in Chicago before they can be back to being a long term threat in this division.

Pacific Division:
1. Vegas Golden Knights 118 Points*
3. Edmonton Oilers 114 Points*
3. Los Angeles Kings 109 Points*
4. Anaheim Ducks 96 Points*
5. Seattle Kraken 89 Points
6. San Jose Sharks 86 Points
7. Calgary Flames 79 Points
8. Vancouver Canucks 60 Points

Whatever they are putting in the water bottles for the Golden Knights it has been working. Vegas will be back on top of the division again this year and why not. Its one more year in net for Carter Hart, and if that doesn';t work, they still have Aiden Hill long term. The defense is going to be together for a long time, as is most of the forward group. They have the same group that went all the way to the finals last year, so what's to say that they can't do it again in the West? They have the talent, now it just comes down to if new coach Ryan Craig can get the most out of this group in order to be able to run it back. When you have the best player in the world, there's always a chance for the Oilers to have a good run. Edmonton still has its core intact, as a whole, for the next two seasons at least. Darnell Nurse is no longer here, and Edmonton tried to address an issue in net getting Devon Levi. But what they have in goal could still be holding Edmonton back. They're good but not great. Same thing can apply to the blueline, its good but not great. They have the offensive firepower to fill the opposing net. They can keep pace with the top of the division but it's not enough to go on a really deep run until they can figure out their goaltending. The biggest change that was made with the Kings from last season was the retirement of Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles has added some depth pieces to surround Adrian Kempe, but with that being said, its not going to be enough to really make noise. And sure, I have them as a third place team, but looking at it on paper that maybe a little too high a placement. They have solid goaltending, but both Kuemper and Forsberg are only here for this season, so its not a long-term answer between the pipes. Could something be a surprise in Los Angeles sure. But don't get your hopes up too high,. We stay that far west and going with the Ducks to also be able to get into the playoffs this year. Anaheim has a sly deep team that's got a year or two window to make a title run. They locked up Carlsson and Gauthier long term, and the depth pieces could be there, but it won't be a long term solution. Anaheim has pieces that MIGHT be able to surprise some.

Next up we go with the Kraken who seem to be making steps in the right directions. Seattle has their best players like Matty Beniers and Joey Daccord locked up long term. They still trying to figure out getting a few more right pieces put in place to help Seattle get over the hump. Seattle has a few pieces that could make some noise in the West, but its not enough to really be a playoff team. Now we have a team that's going to be taking a big step forward in the Sharks. They got Macklin Celebrini locked up to a long term deal, along with Mason Marchment. You have good young talent in net in Yaroslav Askarov. There's plenty of talent in goal with him, but he's only on a one year deal which is going to make this run an interesting one. San Jose defense got a big boost adding in Darnell Nurse and Jacob Truba. There's pieces here, now can they build off it? Another team that's north of the boarder that's trying to figure things out are the Flames. They are hoping to have a successful year in the final year in the Saddledome in Calgary. They are going to be set in goal with Dustin Wolf for quite some time. They also got the blueline set for some time too with Bahl and Nemec locked up long term. The only thing that could be holding Calgary back is scoring depth. They have a good two year window left with Backlound signed, but the depth there long term isn't there just yet in Calgary. Last but not least is the Canucks. It's going to be another interesting year in Vancouver. Sure they got DeBrusk and Petterson around for the long haul, where are a couple of good pieces to be able to build around. They still trying to figure out what to do in net until Demko comes back if he ever does.

Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division
1. Montreal Canadiens 111 Points*
2. Buffalo Sabres 108 Points*
3. Tampa Bay Lightning 104 Points*
4. Florida Panthers 103 Points*
5. Toronto Maple Leafs 100 Points*
6. Ottawa Senators 96 Points
7. Boston Bruins 90 Points
8. Detroit Red Wings 86 Points

For the first time in ten years, the Canadiens will lay claim to a division title. And why not, considering they went all the way to the conference finals a season ago. There were a few minor role players brought into the mix, but its the Montreal core that is going to carry them again. Caufield, Slafkovsky, Demidov, Hutsonm Dobson, Dobes all locked up for a long time in Montreal. The core is there for the Canadiens is going to be a tough one to deal with for a long time in this division. Right behind them are going to be the Sabres, who it feels like started to turn a corner last season. Buffalo has the young core up front to put the puck in the net, lead by Tage Thompson. The biggest hit buffalo took was the loss of Alex Tuch in the offseason. But the Sabres still have a good core up front and are lead on the back end by Dahlin, Samuelsson and Power. What worries me in Buffalo is in goal. Lukkonen and Lyon are both decent goalies, but neither one has really stepped up as the guy in Western New York. if one of them can do it this season, then there is a much higher ceiling for Buffalo. Then there is a perennial threat in this division in the Lightning. They still have one of the top three players on the planet right now in Nikita Kucherov, but he's on the final year of his contract and it could be a long offseason next year if he isn't brought back. Tampa took a step back this offseason, losing both Darrin Radysh and Nick Paul in trades, but did bring in John Carlson and Jeffrey Veil to fill those roles. Tampa has a mix of solid top six forwards and role players. It also helps they still have one of the best goalies in the world in their nets in Andrei Vasilevesky. Then we got a team that's going to make things more interesting this year, that being the Panthers. Difference between last years club and this years is the fact that the big boys are healthy all year. Barkov is back and healthy, so is Matthew Tkachuk. And it going to make things even tougher this year, with Matthew's brother Brady added into the lineup from a trade. Brad Marchand will be missing a little time at the start of the season due to injury. For as much talent as Florida has, what's going to hold them back this year is in net. Bobrovsky isn't there anymore, he's in Toronto. So to replace him in the nets they have Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. Both solid goalies but a step down from the talent they had. Everything being combined, the Panthers will be back in the playoffs.

A team that seems to be in flux going into this season is going to be the Maple Leafs. Toronto got its improvement in goal getting Bobrovsky. They added to their defense with Darrin Raddysh and signed to a long term deal. They also got a new weapon up front in the form of top overall pick Gavin McKenna. The top scorers are in place, but the depth up front leaves one to wonder if they have the horses to get to the playoffs. Then we have an interesting case in the Senators. Ottawa traded their captain to south Florida. They still have a couple young guns in place to build around in Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson as well as Jake Sanderson on the back line. Ullmark is once again going to be counted on in net, and if he can keep it up in Ottawa, the Sens might be ok. Problem is the top of this division is just so heavy that the Sens don't have the depth to really be able to keep up here. Then we have the Bruins, who still rely on a healthy serving of Pasta. Pastrrnak and Lindoholm are going to be powering the offense and Boston is hoping that Morgan Geekie can repeat his performances from a season ago and even build on it. Boston has the same kind of problem that Ottawa does. They have talented pieces in place, but compared to the rest of the division, they aren't as deep to really be able to contend for a playoff spot. Finally, we have the Red Wings, who are going to be bringing up the rear here. Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond are going to be counted on to produce, but with what's been going on with Dylan Larkin is going to possibly cause headache in Detroit. They have quite a few guys in this lineup who are also on the final year of contracts, so its going to make for an interesting season. Because if things don't look like they are going to work out inn Detroit, expect quite a bit of player movement going into the deadline.

Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes 115 Points*
2. Philadelphia Flyers 100 Points*
3. Washington Capitals 98 Points*
4. New Jersey Devils 96 points
5. New York Islanders 95 Points
6. Pittsburgh Penguins 90 Points
7. New York Rangers 86 Points
8. Columbus Blue Jackers 79 Points\

Staying on top of this division are going to be the defending champions the Hurricanes. Carolina core from last years title team is back in tact and are going to be here for quite some time. One big piece that's not here is Freddy Andersen. He left over the summer, but with Brandon Busi playing the way he did, Carolina still feels confident in net. Losing Andersen is the biggest piece that has changed in Carolina. Everybody else is back in place. For that there's little to no reason to feel that the Carolina can't walk away with the division title again. One team that's going to be quite a surprise this season is a re-tooled Flyers club. It starts in net with the play of Dan Vladar who can, and will, build off what he was able to do a season ago and is going to be here for quite some time. He, Tyson Foerster and Trevor Zegras were all locked up to solid extensions, meaning they have solid pieces they can build around in Philly. There's plenty of talent in the city of brotherly love and its going to lead to a solid run this year.  Behind them, looking for one last run at a playoff spot with who's in the lineup, are going to be the Capitals. Washington just missed out on the playoffs a season ago, but they manage to sneak in this year. And why not give it one final shot for Alex Ovechkin to make a run at a title. They brought in Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch and added them to long term deals. They are trying a rebuild, or retooling, in Washington for when Alex finally calls it a career, and adding those two guys into the mix is a big move. Then we have an interesting case in the Devils. New Jersey added a big depth scoring piece with getting Luke Evangelista via trade. Bringing him in adds another weapon to go along with Bratt Huges and Hischier. There's the talent on this New Jersey team that can possibly surprise people and come close to making a big playoff push or at least come close to it.

A team that is on the fence of whether or not they have turned a corner are the Islanders. New York now has a fresh start with new coach Peter DeBore, and are coming off a strong rookie of the year season for Matthew Schafer. The rest of the blue line is locked up for a long time and if everybody stays healthy they could be good., What leaves me worried is can the offense pout the puck in the back of the net? A few key offensive pieces are on the final year of the deal this year and there's a few pieces who you really wonder if and when they are even going to show up and deliver for this team. Behind them are going to be the Penguins. Pittsburgh once again is going to have a problem in net. Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov are both on the final year of deals and neither one screams savior in the Pittsburgh nets. Also on the final year of deals are Crosby and Malkin. Doesn't look like they really have guys in place yet to fully replace that core to take over when they are done. It's finally catching up to the Penguins this season. Things won't be as cheery for the Rangers this season either. They just brought Pavel Dorofyev in on a trade and inked him to a long term deal. They have a couple pieces in place long term, including Lafrenier, Gavrikov, Fox and Shesterkin, but at the same time it feels like they are trying to rebuild too. As good as the Rangers seem to be, they still feel like they're a little way away from challenging again. Finally, bringing up the rear in this division are going to be the Blue Jackets. The biggest thing of note Columbus did was bringing in Valeri Nichushkin and they have him and Sean Monahan on long term deals, but the depth around them is lacking. And its obvious compared to the rest of this division. Defense could be solid for another year or two but there's not much there.

Best & Worst NFL Week Two

Week two has come and gone in the NFL. This week had a little bit of everything. We went from a high flying offense in Chicago in the opener to that same offense disappearing. There're still a few teams that can't for whatever reason, figure out how to hang onto the football. And there's still other teams who the more things change the more they stay the same, looking at you New York Jets. And at the same time, injuries might be starting to pile up around the league as well. So week two saw an interesting mix of good bad and everything in between. Here's some of the best, and worst, from week two.

Best: Brian Flores, Defensive Coordinator Minnesota Vikings
When we saw the Bears put up 59 yards in their week one, we thought this was turning a corner in Chicago. Then, in week two, they ran into Brian Flores in Minnesota. The Vikings held Chicago to just three points in a 9-3 Minnesota win. Sure, Minnesota offense wasn't great with Carson Wentz under center. But what Flores was able to do was sort of a master class at shut down defense. Chicgao's offense was held to 297 yards (compared to 552 against Carolina in week one). And they couldn't really find any solid mojo against wat the Vikings were doing. It made the day worse when Cicago saw Caleb Williams get carted off the field with an injury. By then the game had already kind of been decided. Still, it was a day for Flores to showcase what he could do as a coach, and it worked.

Worst: Aaron Rogers, Quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh suffered its first loss of the season, falling 20-3 to New England. Aaron Rogers got luck in the fat that they faced a bad Atlanta team week one. In week two he saw a angry Patriots team and it did not end well. He coughed up the ball after getting sacked and it was returned for a touchdown to put the nail in the coffin for the afternoon. His final passing numbers on the day looked pedestrian at best. 23 of 39 for 187 yards, was picked off once, sacked four times and lost the football that lead to the final score. Having a day like this is going to be a problem for the Steelers. They can't turn into a pass happy team with Rogers being what he is at his age, it just isn't going to work.

Best: Tyler Shough, Quarterback New Orleans Saints
Opening week, the Saints came up just short in a rally attempt against Detroit. Week two, same thing happened, except this time, they were able to finish the job. After being down 14-3 late in the first half, New Orlans managed to rally to a 24-17 win In Baltimore. A lot of that had to do with the play of Tyler Shough. Yes the defense played a factor, picking off Lamra Jackson late in the game, which lead to the final scoring play for the Saints. But it was also the arm, and legs of Shough that really propelled getting it done. He threw for 252 yards and a touchdown, as well as 23 yards rushing. The final yard of that was on the game winning score in the 4th. It was an all around performance in leading New Orlenas and showing that they could be a decent team to contend with here in the NFC South.

Worst: Aaron Glenn, Head Coach New York Jets. After be
Coming from a Jets fan I almost feel bad for Aaron Glenn, but what I saw on Sunday it seems like Same Old Jets. The Jets lost 20-17 in Overtime to Green Bay, and this was after having a ten point lead in the 4th quarter. Part of what makes you scratch your head with Glenn and his play calling was going for runs on both third and fourth down in the 4th quarter and the game tied at 17. It showed either little faith in the pass game, or overconfidence in the run game. The run game on Sunday was non existent as compared to what they did in week one. If things don't start turning around for the Jets for the season, things might not last for Glenn being a head coach.

Best: Ja'Marr Chase, Wide Receiver Cincinnati Bengals
In the Bengals opener, Chase was quiet by his standards. In Week two's 20-6 win over Houston, Chase seemed to wake up again. It wasn't a high flying record setting day for receivers on the day, that was Devante Adams. But Chase still had a good day in his own right. Seven catches for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns to power the Bengals to the win in Houston. Sure Higgins had twenty more receiving yards, but Chase day was a big one for this reason. it was a massive improvement over his week one performance. It didn't set the world on fire yet, but it was a good sign that he can still be a big threat in this league.

Worst: DeMeco Ryans, Head Coach Houston Texans
There are a few coaches who are in the hot seat because they are bad coaches. Then there's DeMeco Ryans. His Houston Texans fall to 0-2 on the year thanks to that loss to the Bengals we just talked about. His offense, for the life of them, cannot get anything going. And he's on his second offensive coordinator in as many years. It's not just the OC's fault. The Texans are a bad team. No offensive line play, a nonexistent running game, CJ Stroud still keeps collapsing in big moments. It just seems like it keeps happening over and over again, blaming the same problems in Houston. As much of a defensive great Ryans was in Houston, it just isnt translating well to him being a head coach.

Milestone Blast in Queens

For the first seven years of his Major League career, Pete Alonso was the power hitting staple in the lineup for the New York Mets. He's the franchise all-time home run leader. Before the start of this season, Pete left the Mets and signed on to play with the Baltimore Orioles. When this season started, Pete needed 36 home runs to reach the 300 mark for his career. Last night, he reached that mark.

And he did it in the most almost ironic way possible. Game tying shot, in Queens no less.

With the O's down 3-2 in the 9th, Alonso smacked a pitch from Kodai Senga into the left field season for a no doubter 44 foot shot to tie the game at three. The crowd gave him such an ovation, Pete actually gave a curtain call. Baltimore went on to come away with a 7-5 win in 11 innings.

Alosno became the 171st member of the 300-home run club in Major League history with his game tying home run. It was a career highlight for one of the prolific home run hitters of his time and generation. And he's still got a lot more left in the tank. We could be talking soon about him joining the 400 club or more by the time all is said and done for Pete. It was a huge moment for one of the best hitters in the game of baseball. Alonso became the third player to hit his 300th home run against a team for whom he played in 1,000 or more games. Willie Horton hit No. 300 with the Seattle Mariners against the Detroit Tigers in 1979, and Torii Hunter did so for the Tigers against the Minnesota Twins in 2013.

Now, as for the fans reaction. The game was meaningless for the Mets last night, as they had been eliminated from playoff contention losing the night before. So the game meant absolutely nothing. Alonso was a beloved figure in New York. He was one of the most popular players in Mets history. He's the all time leader in home runs. Fans didn't want to see him leave over the winter, but he did. So the fact that Pete hit such a milestone home run was a huge moment and the fans showed their appreciation in kind. The reaction from people outside of the Mets fandom have been getting on Mets fans case for how they've reacted to Pete the last couple of days. I doubt that other fans wouldn't have done the same thing that Mets fans did the last few days.

Now as a Mets fan, I do think the reaction might have been different had the Mets been a playoff team instead of now twelve games under .500 with a week and a half to go in the regular season., If they were still fighting for either a playoff spot or the division title, I don't think Pete gets as many ovations as he has over the last couple of days, because the game would have been important. But it was a meaningless game for the Mets in late September and it was a huge moment for a guy who was loved when he played here. So the reaction was deserved from the fanbase.

Best & Worst NFL Week One

The opening week in the NFL season is in the books, and what a wild and strange opening week it was. We saw the defending champs make a statement in their opening night win. We saw the Lions and Saints hook up in a wild overtime game. Then there was the dominating performance by the Bears as a team, and Kenneth Walker running wild on Monday Night! If all of this was just on opening week, we could be in for one hell of a year!

Here are some of the best, and worst, from week one in the NFL!

Best: Ben Johnson, Head Coach Chicago Bears
Having an offense be a part of the highest scoring week one game in NFL history says a lot for the new man in town. And this coming after Bears coach Ben Johnson went on record that he wanted to have the highest scoring offense the NFL has ever seen. It got off to a good start in a 59-37 drubbing of Carolina in the Bears opener. That performance tied the 2019 Ravens for the most points scored in week one in this quarter century. Oh, and it was the most points that the Bears have scored in ANY game since 1980 (they beat the Packers in week 14 that year 61-7). All of the points scored by the Bears here were done by the offense, scoring six times on the ground and twice more through the air. D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai both had over 100 yards rushing, while the passing game went for another 269 yards. Johnson showed what having an offensive minded head coach could do in Chicago.

Worst: Christian Parker Defensive Coordinator Dallas Cowboys
Parker just joined the Cowboys as the man to try and turn that Dallas defense around and take them to another level. What we saw against the Giants in the opener wasn't that. New York came away with a 28-20 win, a game in which the Dallas offense did it's job. It was Parker's defense that came up short. To be fair, the opening game isn't as bad as allowing the 30.1 a game that the Giants defense did. An inability to handle simple plays against the Giants could be reason to cause a little bit of alarm early in Big D. A big example of this is the fact that the defense left Isaiah Likely wide open not once but twice for his touchdowns. There as no pressure on Jaxon Dart, who completed all of six passes Sunday night. Dallas made no effort to get any pressure. if this was week one, it could make things a lot more interesting in Dallas this season.

Best: Kennerth Walker, Running Back Kansas City Chiefs
After having spent his first four years in Seattle, and coming off a Super Bowl last year, Walker was getting a chance in a new place in Kansas City. Between that and Patrick Mahomes coming off knee surgery at the end of last year, there was a few question marks going into the Monday Night opener. Those questions were answered fast in KC's 31-10 win over Denver. Mahomes had a solid day, but the real story of the night was Walkers first game performance in his new city. Walker ran wild, having 23 carries for 173 yards and a touchdown. He also added another three catches for 18 yards and another score. Walker was showing that the change of environment hasn't changed his game, and he was at the top of it in the opener.

Worst: DeShaun Watson, Quarterback Cleveland Browns
It's no secret that Watson has been a major letdown in Cleveland. Going into the opener, it was a surprise that the Browns decided to name Watson the starter of Shedeur Sanders, but at the same time this I think is the Browns still trying to justify his contract. Well Watson did, how do I put this nicely, Watson things in the opener. Cleveland got blown out 34-10 by Jacksonville, while Watson was average at best. Sure, the 205 yards and a touchdown could look somewhat sexy. At the same time, he threw an ugly pick on the Browns opening drive, he got sacked five times and had a QBR of 34.5. Another bad day in Cleveland in what could be a very long season for the Browns.

Best: Ashton Jeanty, Running Back Los Vegas Raiders
Powering the Raiders offense in week one was a familiar face. Vegas got off on the right foot with a 27-13 win over the Dolphins, and they had their biggest weapon handling the load. It was Ashton Jeanty taking the ball and running with it, literally. Jeanty had more yards by himself then the Dolphins had as a team. Jeanty had 23 carries for 102 yards. While he never crossed the goal line, his punishing running was able to open up the pass game for Kirk Cousins. Oh yeah, and Jeanty added another 45 yards to his day on six catches. Two of those catches went for his touchdowns. It's proving that he's become a good security blanket for not only Cousins, but for Fernando Mendoza whenever he finally gest regular season snaps.

Worst: Rams Week One Game Plan
There's a lot to take in for the Rams from their overseas 27-7 loss to the 49ers. A lot of people, me included, had the Rams as an early favorite to be a Super Bowl team. They start the season flying over to Melbourn to play the Niners to start the year. Jet lag didn't help the Rams play. Losing by 20 was the biggest week one loss by a preseason Super Bowl favorite in half a century. Oh and Matthew Staffod play wasn't great. He threw for 155 and a pick and only completed 15 of his 25 passes. It was the lowest scoring game for Stafford as a Ram and the first time the Rams had lost by double digits since 2024. Also, it didn't help that it was announced before the game, that Myles Garrett was going to miss the first the month of the season having knee surgery.

Baking In Tampa

There was a cloud of uncertainty in Tampa Bay as far as the quarterback position is concerned. Now that cloud has lifted. Baker Mayfield had entered training camp on the final year of his contract, and he was looking for an extension. Both sides had agreed that once camp started talks would stop. They haven't, because a couple days before the Buccaneers kicked the season off, Baker got his extension. Baker was signed Tuesday afternoon to a new extension for three years at $165 million. This will keep Baker here in Tampa through the 2029 season.

Baker got something he was looking for from the Bucs. he had said in the media prior to this that he never really intended to reset the market for quarterbacks, but he wanted to be fairly compensated for what he's been able to do with the Bucs during his time here in Tampa. And why not? Since Baker's gotten here in 2023, he led the Bucs to back-to-back NFC South titles, and he's put up some of the best offensive numbers of his career.

This has come off the heels of having defensive tackle Vita Fea signed to a new extension during camp. Both Vita and Baker's signings were a big talking point for the Bucs going into camp, and both have been signed to new extensions before the start of the season. Now it's about getting down to business and coming back from a disastrous second half of last year.

Baker coming off an injury plagued season last year, which lead to a dip in his numbers from the first two years in Tampa. He appears to have been healthy all of camp. This is the year for Baker to prove to not only himself but to the Buccaneers organization that they made the right investment in getting him his new extension.

2026 'NFL Season Preview

The time has arrived. The waiting is over. The National Football League has returned for the 2026 season! There's a lot to dive into and look at for what's about to go down during the NFL season. Seattle is looking to defend its world title, while New England is looking to get back to the big game and make atone for last season. There's going to be a lot of highlighted games this season as well. We will have nine games played on international soil, four games played on Thanksgiving weekend in prime time, and four games played around Christmas, one on Christmas eve and three on Christmas day.

We've also seen plenty of player movement going around the league this season too. Kirk Cousins (Vegas), Kyler Murray (Minnesota), Tua (Atlanta), Travis Etienne (New Orleans), Mike Evans (San Francisco), Stefon Diggs (Washington), Deboo Samuel (San Francisco), Bradley Chubb (Buffalo), Geno Smith (Jets), Minkah Fitzpatrick (Jets), Jaylen Waddle (Denvcer), Miles Garrett (Rams), AJ Brown (New England) have all been moved either via free agency or trades this offseason.

So with all that being said, trades, free agents, the draft what have you, the season is finally ready to rock and roll. Here's how we see the 2026 NFL season playing out!

NFC:
NFC East:
1. Dallas Cowboys (12-5)*
2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-8)
3. Washington Commanders (9-8)
4. New York Giants (6-11)

We're starting things off with what looks to be a very rebuilt Cowboys team. The Defense in Dallas looks like they might be a handful to deal with this season, with Qwuinnen Williams getting his new contract and hoping to have a big year for that defense. Dallas seems to have the weapons for Dak to work with on the offensive side of the football to really be able to make some noise this season. A team that could be taking a step back this season would be the Eagles, who are coming off the division title last season. Philly still has plenty of offensive weapons for Jalen Hurts to really work with. Having a new offensive coordinator to work with could make things interesting for the Eagles What could be holding back the Commanders from being the team to really challenge for that division is how well their new offensive coordinator David Blough can mesh with Jaylen Daniels. He's got a receiving core that's a little bit older and one guy in Diggs who is still trying to prove something that he can still produce in this league. With everybody healthy, it looks like Washington could have that bounce back year. But it might not be enough to get them over the hump as being a playoff team is concerned. Finally we have a team in flux in the form of the Giants. New York is still trying to solve a problem at quarterback, but with Jaxon Dart showing some signs last year, they MAY have found something to work with. Now having a guy like John Harbaugh to learn under as his head coach, Big Blue could be starting to make a trend upward. Also getting Cam Skattebo back and health will be a big plus for the Giants, if he can be as close to productive as he was before he got hurt last season.

NFC North:
1. Detroit Lions (13-4)*
2. Chicago Bears (10-7) (WC)*
3. Green Bay Packers (10-7)
4. Minnesota Vikings (9-8)

For the third time in the last four seasons, the North title is going to go through the Lions, who are coming off a low season last year. They had the injury bug hit them last year, but this year will see Detroit have one of the easiest schedules in the league. They got a new offensive coordinator in Drew Petzing who should have a healthy offense to try and get humming quick. After last year's division title, the Bears are going to be good but take a slight step backwards this season. They lead the league in takeaways last year but might not get that high a number again this season. Still, with the play of Caleb Williams, they should still be able to keep pace with what they did a season ago. Even with losing DJ Moore in a trade, the Bears offense can still have weapons for Williams to work with. It's been winning seasons as of late for the Packers, and this year is going to be no different. it may get off to a slower start, but it will still finish above .500. Micah Parsons is going to be out the first month of the year, but once he comes back, this Green Bay defense is going to be tough to deal with. What worries me could be the paly of the offensive line and really giving Jordan Love time and room to make plays. They will turn it on enough to make noise towards a playoff push, but it comes up short. Finally, the Vikings round out a division where all teams finish with winning records. You got the best receiver in the entire division in Justin Jeffersoni, but the big wild card for Minnesota is what they are going to get under center. Can Kyler Murray rejuvenate his career? And what will the future hold for JJ McCarthy? Defense looks about aver, middle of the pack kind of team on paper.

NFC South:
1. Carolina Panthers (9-8)*
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)
3. New Orleans Saints (7-10)
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-11)

For the second year in a row, the Panthers will reign atop the NFC South. This year, it won't be because of anybody collapsing. In the weakest division in all of the NFC, the Panthers have the roster that might be the best of the bunch when they healthy. Bryce Young gained more confidence as last year went along, and he knows he can play and hang in this league. Having Chubba Hubbard a little banged up could slow things down a little for Carolina, but having Coker and McMillan catching passes from Young can help make up for it. The defense could have ability to be somewhat solid, but like aspects of the offense, they are a little banged up going into the season. Once they get healthy, they take the division. Right behind them are going to be the Buccaneers, who pose the closest thing to a threat to taking this division. Losing Mike Evans to free agency and Lavonte David to retirement put a hamper on things in Tampa Bay. There's also the sting of that on top of last year's collapse down the stretch that cost them the division. Baker Mayfield is playing on the final year of his contract and he's healthy. So you know he's going to come out motivated They still have some solid pieces on offense for them to work with. The Defense could be pretty good, especially if rookie Ruban Baine can live up to expectations. Not too sure what kind of team you're going to get out of the Falcons this season. Tuua Tunbgovailoa is taking over under center instead of Michael Penix. Tua's getting one final shot at this go around while Penix tries his hardest to prove he's finally ready to take over for this team for good. Atlanta still has Robinson, Pitts, and London to make the offense go. But it's the defense in the end that's going to let Atlanta down just a little. Same kind of argument can be made for the Saints, who don't have many prospects to really work on for being good this season. Sure, New Orleans has the third easiest schedule in the league this season, but what could carry the Saints to being a surprise team at all this year is the paly of Tyler Shough. Between him and Spencer Rattler as the backup, there's some speculation how good the QB play is going to be this year. You could have a good run game with Etienne and Kamara (when he gets healthy). But the pass game is weak behind Chris Olave. And on the other side of the football, outside of Cam Jordan, nobody on that defense scares anybody.

NFC West:
1. Los Angeles Rams (13-4)*
2. Seattle Seahawks (12-5) (WC)*
3. San Francisco 49ers (10-7) (WC)*
4. Arizona Cardinals (3-14)

This is, on paper, going to be another dominating year in the West for the Rams. Even though Matthew Stafford doesn't have much left in the tank, he's still got plenty of loaded weapons to get the ball to. Too many weapons on one side of the ball, while the other side adds the best pass rusher in the game today. There's star power all over the place on this Rams team, and anything less than a Lombardi Trophy would be a massive disappointment for this team. Following right behind them would be the defending world champion Seahawks. Seattle made changes to their coaching staff this season, but Mike MacDEonald still has the plan set in stone for what they want to do this season. They did take a bit of a hit with MVP Kenneth Walker III going to KC. But there's still enough talent here on both sides of the ball that's back from last year to where they can almost go punch for Punch with LA. Another team that's going to try and keep pace with them is a slightly reloaded 49ers club. It was injuries that hampered San Francisco last year, and even coming out of camp with new weapon Mike Evans dealing with them, this team could still be good. If they are healthy, or as healthy as they possibly can be, this team might be a dangerous team to deal with. Unfortunately, there's one team in this division that's not going to be able to keep pace is the Cardinals. Sure, there's a few pieces in the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr and Trey McBride, It's going to be hard to contend in the West if they don't have a future at quarterback. Brissett and Minshew aren't even close to being the answer now or long term. Anything above 4 or so wins this season in Arizona would be a miracle.

AFC:
AFC East:
1. Buffalo Bills (10-7)*
2. New England Patriots (9-8) (WC)*
3. New York Jets (5-12)
4. Miami Dolphins (3-14)

It was an off year for the Bills last year, playing second fiddle in the division. This year, Buffalo goes right back to the top of the mountain in the East. There's a new stadium for new coach Joe Brady to help break in. Adding DJ Morore for Josh Allen to throw to makes his targets even more deadly. Bolstering the defense by adding in Bradley Chubb. Buffalo has a good enough team on both sides of the ball to usher in this new stadium in Western New York and are primed to have a deep playoff run again this season. Right behind them are the division and conference winners from last season in the Patriots. New England had a rebuild faster than people thought last year, winning the whole conference. Most of the talent is still in place in New England, but the schedule is going to be a lot tougher. It's not going to catch anybody off guard what the Pats are going to be able to do this year. If Drake Maye can keep up the performances he had last year, then New England will be a lot tougher for Buffalo to keep at bay. Behind those two teams are ones who are going to trying to keep rebuilding. One of them being the Jets. New York has some talent with Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson to work with. But the Quarterback situation is still a mess. Bringing Geno Smith back means they have no hope under center for one more year when MAYBE they can finally find their guy at QB. There's good farmwork for talent on both sides of the football in New York, they just don't have those key pieces yet to finally be able to bring it all together. Only one team this year is going to be worse, that being the Dolphins. On paper at least, Miami may have the worst put together roster in all of football. Outside of De'Von Achene, there's not one weapon of note on the offensive side of the football to work with. The defense leaves even more to be desired. Miami this year is going to be bad enoguh to finally get the Jets out of the basement.

AFC North:
1. Baltimore Ravens (11-6)*
2. Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) (WC)*
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-10)
4. Cleveland Browns (5-12)

After a down season a year ago, this will be another return to a division title for the Ravens. They are going to have to do it this year with Jesse Minter running the show instead of John Harbaugh. In fact, there's a lot of change over from the coaching staff a season ago. As long as Lamar Jackson can stay healthy under center, the offense could still be able to hum along just fine. May have to see what will happens with the interior changes made to the O-Line. But it helps that the early portion of the schedule could be a favor. The only reason I don't have the Bengals winning things here is because, given the last couple of years, I worry about the health of Joe Burrow. If Joe can stay healthy, Cincinnati will be able to overtake the others for the division. All the pieces are here for Cincinnati to be really good, it just really depends on the play at Quarterback. On the other side of the ball, the Bengals have a solid core, which could make them tough to play against. Then you have the Steelers who are going to be getting the last ride of the career of Aaron Rogers hall of fame career. That and Pittsburgh is having its first season without Mike Tomlin at the helm of this team. The Pittsburgh defense isn't getting any younger and outside of TJ Watt, there's not much star power here. The offensive side has some stuff to work with in both the ground and pass game. They just have to make sure that they can get every ounce of juice out of Rogers to come even close to being a contending team. Bringing up the rear in this division are going to be the Browns who still have no idea what they are doing. Deshaun Watson is starting under center, but that's only because of his gigantic contract. It doesn't really matter who's under center, because there's four new starters on that O-Line and they are going to leave the QB high and dry it feels like more often than not. And on the other side of the ball, Myles Garrett is gone and they don't have much else there. Five wins will be lucky for Cleveand this year.

AFC South:
1. Houston Texans (12-5)*
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)
3. Tennessee Titans (6-11)
4. Indianapolis Colts (5-12)

For the third time in four seasons, the South title belongs to the Texans.  Past seasons have seen them playing wild card weekend, but this finally becomes the year that Houston gets a bye in the first round of the playoffs. CJ Stroud is healthy and more settled in at this level. He's got good weapons to work with, including new back David Montgomery to had the ball to, and Nico Collins finding his stride catching passes from him. With a solid defense and starting the season off with four games at home in their first seven weeks, they going to be tough to deal with. Houston should be able to run away with this division. The only other team that can finish with a winning record in this division will be the Jaguars. There are higher expectations for Travis Hunter to take his game to another level this season. They have new players in the form of Bhayshul Tuten running the ball and Ventrell Miller at linebacker. They are unproven commodities and are going to lead to Jacksonville taking a step backward this year. Sure Trevor Lawrence is going to be doing all he can to get them towards a playoff spot, but the team has taken a step back for the year. Behind them are going to be a not quite ready yet but improving Titans team. Robert Saleh is getting another shot as head coach in Tennessee, and he's got a young gun in Cam Ward to work with. Ward is looking to be able to build off what he did a season ago and can only keep going up from where he is. He's got weapons to work with, sure, but they aren't proven to work in the system yet. It going to be a little more growing pain for the Titans. The only team that's going to be worse than Tennessee, is going to be the Colts this season. Indianapolis is hoping Daniel Jones can build off winning comeback player of the year, and having Jonathan Taylor still running the ball are going to be a bright spot. Alec Pierce is going to be a question mark dealing with injury, and Keenan Allen isn't going to be as much of a factor dealing with his off the field issues. This is going to be a very down year in Indy this year.

AFC West:
1. Denver Broncos (11-6)*
2. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) (WC)*
3. Kansas City Chiefs (10-7)
4. Las Vegas Raiders (5-12)

For the second year in a row, the AFC West title belongs to the Broncos. Bo Nix has a new weapon to work with in tight end in Evan Engram. With him joining Waddle, and Sutton in the passing game, and JK Dobbins running the football, Denver's offense is going to be able to put some points on the board. And that leaves a lot for Sean Payton to run with. The defense is still very solid and can hold the opposition at bay on quite a few afternoons. The closest team that's going to challenge them is going to be the Chargers. There's plenty of offensive weapons for Justin Herbert to make plays with. Starting with Hampton taking the handoffs, and Ladd McConkey leading a pretty good pass catching corp. LA has to tools on the offensive side of the ball, that if everybody healthy they could be something. Defense may take a step backwards for this season, but it will still be good enough to get into the post season. A team that's going to take a bigger step back this year is going to be the Chiefs. Kansas City could be without Patrick Mahomes, dealing with his knee injury he sustained at the end of last season. This is also a chance in a sense to see if Justin Fields has anything left in the tank after the disastrous showing last year. Kenneth Walker adds a new element taking over the rushing duties in KC this season. And they still have a pretty good receiving group with Kelce Worthy and Rice. Defense could be good enough to keep KC hanging around for a chunk of the year, but not having Mahomes is going to keep them out of it this year. Finally, bringing up the rear in this division is going to be the Raiders. Even though they have the op overall pick Fernando Mendoza, he won't be starting the year under center. Kirk Cousins has that title. Before the year is over, Mendoza is going to be that guy. They have a decent running game in Ashton Jeanty and tight end in Brock Bowers. Outside of that Vegas doesn't have the offensive firepower to really hang with the rest of this division.

2026 Florida College Football

That time of year has arrived! College football season is here, and the state of Florida is well represented. There are 18 totally college football programs in the state, ten of which are D1 schools. Of all those D1 programs here in the state, there's five that we will try and cover the most here on the show: USF, UCF, Florida, Florida State and Miami.

 A grand total of sixty games will be played combined between the five schools. Yes there are crossovers this year, where some of the schools do play each other this season. Quite a few of those games involve teams that are ranked, as of this writing, in the top 25 in the nation in the coaches polls. There's no doubt in anybody's mind tis going to lead to a lot of exciting football this season.

We will dive into it a little more in the coming days, with schedules and what not for the schools we look at the most. But with that being said, taking everything into account, here's how we see the Florida big programs finishing this season.

USF: 7-5
UCF: 6-6
Florida State: 7-5
Florida: 6-6
Miami: 10-2

So what say you? Is this how the big five Florida schools finish the 2026 season?