The wait is finally over. Tonight, the Seattle Seahawks will open the 2026 season against the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch that should have everybody on the edge of their seats.

Everybody loves to make predictions for Week 1. It’s a great way to pass the time during the long offseason. We’ve done everything from predicting every single game in the regular season to every award winner to fantasy league winners, so I thought I’d have a little bit more fun and make some bold predictions for the opening weekend.

Saints and Lions Combine For 800+ Yards of Offense

Despite having the third-largest spread of any game in Week 1, I think the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions are going to give us one of the best games of the week. These are two teams that missed the playoffs last season, but have explosive offenses and exciting young talent on their roster, so I believe we’ll see a whole lot of offense in this game.

Tyler Shough proved he’s the real deal at the end of last season, and the Saints made sure they’re going to extract the most out of their second-year quarterback by adding Travis Etienne, Jordyn Tyson, David Edwards, Oscar Delp, Noah Fant, Barion Brown, and other offensive pieces for him.

As for Detroit, they didn’t make any big additions, but they retained their core that consists of Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta. They’ve been one of the best offenses in football for the past few years.

I don’t think either of these defenses is particularly bad, but they’re not among the elite in the NFL. If you took the two top offenses in terms of yards per game (Rams and Cowboys) last season and added them together, they averaged 788 yards per game, so these two teams, which ranked 5th and 23rd in YPG last season, combining for 800+ yards, would be pretty impressive, and I think it could happen.

The Raiders Score the Most Points of Any AFC West Team

This may sound crazy at first, but I think it actually could come true. Let me explain.

The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs seem like the obvious candidates to score the most points in the division, but they play each other on Monday Night Football, and both of them have really solid defenses. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it’s a 21-20 type of a ball game in Kansas City to open MNF.

The Los Angeles Chargers would seem like the next-best option, and they have a very good chance considering they’re playing the Arizona Cardinals, who are one of the worst teams in the league. But you know who I think is even worse than Arizona? Miami, and that’s who the Las Vegas Raiders play.

Kirk Cousins is under center with Brock Bowers at tight end and (hopefully) Ashton Jeanty at running back. Their receiving core is a bit thin, but with Klint Kubiak calling plays, I believe Vegas’ offense has a chance to go nuclear against the Dolphins’ horrific defense.

It will be the Chargers or Raiders who score the most points in the division, but I’m counting on Kubiak’s team having a strong debut and taking that title.

Titans Score 30+ Points, Cam Ward Throws for 3+ TDs

After a disappointing 2025 season, the Tennessee Titans brought in Robert Saleh as head coach and Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator to hopefully fix some of their issues. Cam Ward had an underwhelming rookie season, and many were hoping for him to show some life in the preseason, but he and the Titans’ offense as a whole struggled. But I think they were holding back.

The Titans finished last in the preseason in pre-snap motion, using it on just 18.8 percent of their plays. That doesn’t sound like a Brian Daboll offense to me. I think he was trying to put as little on tape as possible, so when they roll out Week 1, they can shock their opponent. And you know who that opponent is? The New York Jets.

The Jets made some solid additions defensively, but this unit is still not going to be very good, and with Wan’Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate joining the squad, Brian Daboll and Cam Ward should be able to find some success and have a big opening weekend.

The Entire NFC South Starts 0-1

The NFC South was the worst division in the NFL last season, and while I think a lot of their teams got better this offseason, it might be a rough Week 1.

The Saints open their season against the Lions, who I believe have a real shot at making the Super Bowl this year if they can stay healthy. I think New Orleans could win this game, but going to Detroit against that offense is a tough task.

The Falcons have to travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in Week 1, and while I don’t think the Steelers are that great of a team, I definitely don’t believe in Tua Tagovailoa to lead this team to a road win against that Pittsburgh defense.

The Buccaneers might have the toughest matchup of them all, traveling to Cincinnati to face the high-powered Bengals offense. I like the Bucs this year, but I’m extremely bullish on the Bengals if Joe Burrow stays healthy.

Finally, the Panthers are the only NFC South team hosting in Week 1, but they have to face the Bears in their season opener. Carolina made the playoffs last year and almost beat the Rams, but the Bears are a much better team in my eyes.

It’s going to be a long week for the NFC South.

The Cowboys Beat the Giants By 14+

Finally, my last bold prediction is that the Dallas Cowboys won’t just beat the New York Giants, but they’ll dominate them.

A lot of people are high on the Giants this year because they brought in John Harbaugh and have a fun, young quarterback in Jaxson Dart, but this team still has a lot of holes. They need offensive line help, secondary help, and don’t have much depth. Meanwhile, I’m extremely high on the Cowboys this year. They have one of the best offenses in football and a defense that should be much improved.

The Cowboys are going to walk into MetLife on Sunday night and make a statement against the Giants. I see this game being somewhere in the 30-14 range.