The NFL season is rapidly approaching, and along with it come the unpredictable twists and turns of the most dramatic season in American sports.

Not a soul walking the earth saw the New England Patriots’ mad dash to the Super Bowl coming last season.

Kevin Byard’s league-leading seven interceptions weren’t just a driving force behind the Chicago Bears’ run to the NFC Divisional Playoffs, but also one of the bigger surprises across the league.

As the dog days of summer arrive and with training camp so close we can practically see it rising on the horizon, I’ve assembled a panel of nine long-time NFL reporters and solicited their boldest — but realistic — predictions for the upcoming season.

Sit back, enjoy, but please hold the crow until at least January …

The Los Angeles Rams Will Break the Record for Most Sacks by a Team in a Season

On the surface, the Chicago Bears’ record for most sacks by a team feels like one of those marks in sports that will stand the test of time.

After all, since the league began recording sacks as an official stat, not only does the 1984 Bears’ record of 72 in a season stand alone at the top, but only four teams have ever surpassed 70 sacks.

Myles Garrett would kindly like a word.

Garrett arrives into the shadow of the Hollywood sign in Inglewood as the defending Defensive Player of The Year, who accounted for 23 of the Browns’ 53 last season, without the benefit of playing in a loaded defense buttressed by the likes of All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie who will likely make Garrett’s pressures more impactful, or having a running mate like emerging star Kobie Turner on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage.

This isn’t just a projection or prediction that Garrett’s 23 sacks from last season will transfer and the Rams’ 47 from 2025 will rise exponentially, but rather how much he’ll benefit from an improved supporting cast around him and the way Chris Shula can utilize him to create historic levels of havoc in the backfield.

The "Three Tight End Revolution" will not be televised. 

Any attempts to imitate the Rams' 13-personnel success will flop.

Teams like the Jaguars, who reached for tight ends in the draft, will look silly before quietly relegating their 13-personnel tactics to the short-yardage situations whence they came.

Sean McVay himself will think, "Hmmm, mayhap Puka Nacua and Davante Adams belong on the field at the same time," and reduce his 13-personnel usage to end-of-game run-the-clock situations, which admittedly will be fairly common. And the zillions of words written about the brilliance and utility of three-tight end tactics will amount to film-junkie and media-gadfly navel gazing. 

McVay stumbled into the tactic when Puka was unavailable and rode the fad for a while because it was useful for methodically kicking the crap out of weaker opponents. It's not some cheat code. It's a Pet Rock. 

The Denver Broncos Don’t Live Up to The Hype

Last year, I was bullish on the Colts. I was extremely wrong on almost all of the specifics, but that doesn't matter; I'll take that win (which I'm counting up until the point Daniel Jones got hurt).

This year I'll be bearish on the Broncos.

Bo Nix appears to be on the path to start in Week 1, so this isn't an injury take.

Rather, I think the offense won't be as performant, and I think there are a lot of markers of inconsistency in their offensive design. I have concerns about Bo Nix's overall talent level, and the defense has shown it might only be good, not great, after how they performed last year (top eight in most aggregate measures, but not top three).

Last year, Denver won the AFC West with 14 wins. My bold take is that they finish third this year, hitting 9 or fewer wins.

The Giants will still be one of the worst teams in the NFL …

This only counts as "bold" because Lombardo here, among others, is high on the Giants after they brought Jim Harbaugh aboard.

As if a fossilized organization will suddenly become amazing thanks to an only somewhat less fossilized head coach in the fold: one operating under the same trash GM they've had for the last few awful years. Oh, and the last time the Giants had two high draft picks, as they had this past spring, they took Kayvon Thibodeau, who's now a redundancy along their front seven, and Evan Neal, who sucks.

And, if you think Jaxson Dart is ready to take the leap, please know that leap will be directly into the helmet of an oncoming safety. Six wins at the max.

Ladd McConkey is going to be a top-three wide receiver in receiving yards, because he finally has a coach who knows how to use him

New Chargers OC Mike McDaniel is going to wreck opposing secondaries this season with McConkey crossing routes the way he tormented defenses with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle crossers during the heyday of the McDaniel Dolphins offense.

Here's the thing: McConkey, over his first two years in the NFL, has been good on crossers.

In 2024, he ran a grand total of 34 crossers and caught all nine of his targets for 86 yards and two touchdowns. In 2025, McConkey was limited to just 25 crossing routes, catching six of his 11 targets for 71 yards and a touchdown.

McConkey is two years removed from being among the ten most efficient receivers on a per-route basis. That former Bolts OC Greg Roman didn't have much interest in properly utilizing McConkey or trying to gain yards and score points should not be held against the 24-year-old wideout.

Ladd is going to cook in 2026, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

The Houston Texans Will Make Their First Super Bowl

With an improved offensive line and the return of Tank Dell, this offense can be average. And we know how good the defense is.

Don't get too hung up on how bad C.J. Stroud was in the playoffs; that was just two games.

This season will mark the first time since 2025 that the Patriots will have two receivers finish with 60-plus catches in a season.

Back in 2015, Danny Amendola finished with 65 receptions, and Julian Edelman had 61.

This season, A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs will make it happen, breaking New England’s drought.

Geno Smith will break MULTIPLE longstanding New York single-season records in 2026.

Joe Namath's 1967 4,007 passing yards mark will be beaten by Geno Smith.

Ryan Fitzpatrick's 2015 31-touchdown mark will be beaten by Geno Smith.

Chad Pennington's 2002 68.9% completion percentage will be beaten by Geno Smith.

Each of those numbers is the best single-season mark for a quarterback in the New York Jets franchise history. Smith will have at least 32 passing touchdowns, he will complete at least 69% of his passes, and he will throw for over 4,200 passing yards. BOOK IT! 

Josh Allen will throw for over 4,500 yards for only the second time in his career, and the first time since 2020, with DJ Moore doing a slightly discounted Stefon Diggs impression to the tune of 90 receptions for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns.

The short version? Joe Brady.

Yes, we have the run-heavy Bills of the last two seasons, but Aaron Kromer, the fantastic OL coach, is no longer in Buffalo, and he was the one who designed the running game, and ex-coach Sean McDermott leaned heavily on it.

Now, insert Brady without fetters, the architect of the 2019 LSU offense, and while nobody will confuse Buffalo's WR corps with those of Baton Rouge, the rising tide will lift all boats, and Moore showed he can be The Man already in Chicago.