Next NFL champion will be decided by newest rivalry - Rams vs. Seahawks

The NFL , like most leagues, has a long history of bitter rivals, going way back to Green Bay-Chicago, and progressing through Dallas-Washington, Pittsburgh-Baltimore, New England-Indianapolis, and more recently, Kansas City-Buffalo. And there are plenty more.

But what we have brewing on the West Coast could be just as tasty.

The Super Bowl champion Seahawks are being hunted by the Rams, the team they beat in the NFC championship game. The Rams are building what some are labeling a Super Team. L.A. has added to an already stacked offense by trading for Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and cornerback Trent McDuffie and welcoming back a three-time DPOY, Aaron Donald.

And none of this was lost on the Seahawks. Safety Nick Emmanwori trolled the Rams after Donald's return with a four-word post that read: "All that for us," and included a pair of sarcastic emojis.

The Seahawks are not resting after winning their second Lombardi Trophy. Perhaps feeling a bit pressured to respond to the Rams and take a risk, Seattle signing troubled cornerback Terrion Arnold, released by the Lions after being arrested on eight felony charges.

All of which should make for a doozy of a race in the NFC West. The problem is the schedule. The NFL made sure this rivalry would receive the longest build-up in history by scheduling their first meeting Christmas Day. They see each other for the second time two weeks later - on the last day of the regular season.

One more game likely awaits. With any luck, it's three weeks later for the right to play in the Super Bowl.

Until then, we are here to sort out the NFL season with your Super Bowl hopefuls, playoff contenders and the bottom feeders. Teams are mentioned on order of how we rank them.

Bills, Eagles among Super Bowl contenders

The Los Angeles Rams (1) had the best offseason in the league, by far. Garrett, McDuffie and Donald are a huge boost to a defense that was solid, but not great. Add that to the most potent offense in the league with QB Matthew Stafford, WRs Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and RB Kyren Williams, and no wonder the Seattle Seahawks (2) are paying attention.

Seattle's John Schneider, the reigning Executive of the Year, overcame the unavoidable departures that happen when a team wins the Super Bowl by making Jaxon Smith-Njigba the highest paid receiver in NFL history and Devon Witherspoon the highest paid cornerback in NFL history. Remember, winning consecutive Super Bowls is rare. Happened just twice this century.

The list of teams entering the season in the category of Super Bowl or Bust is led by the Buffalo Bills (3) . The Bills took a gut punch in 2025 with finally seeing the one team that has prevented them from playing in the Super Bowl in recent years, the Chiefs, take a nosedive and then watching the Patriots re-emerge and return to the title game.

The Bills are counting on a few changes at the top, including a new head coach (Joe Brady) and defensive coordinator (Jim Leonhard) to help them get over the top. And they still have QB Josh Allen, who always gives them a chance.

The Philadelphia Eagles (4) are hoping for addition by subtraction on offense. Trading A.J. Brown, a three-time All Pro still in his prime, gives QB Jalen Hurts a new No. 1 receiver, DeVonta Smith, and the team less drama. The defense is led by the group that can get to the quarterback and keep teams out of the end zone. But will it all be enough to overcome the Rams and Seahawks in the NFC?

The AFC has a long list of teams capable of extending the Bills' misery, including the team that did it last year, the Denver Broncos (5) . The Broncos likely would have been in the Super Bowl if not for QB Bo Nix being injured in the Broncos overtime win over Buffalo in the divisional round. The Broncos will ride with their defense and giving Nix another weapon in ex-Dolphin Jaylen Waddle helps, too.

The New England Patriots (6) reboot is real with QB Drake Maye's impressive breakout year. Maye now has Brown as a No. 1 target. The Pats need the defense to dominate the way it did last year against a much tougher schedule. Speaking of defense, no team will be more reliant on that side of the ball than the Houston Texans (7) , who roll out a unit led by Will Anderson Jr. and added Jadeveon Clowney for depth. C.J. Stroud cannot crash and burn again on the playoffs if the Texans want to compete.

The Baltimore Ravens (8) and Detroit Lions (9) are two teams whose Super Bowl window is closing, but still showing some light. The Ravens' hopes center around QB Lamar Jackson staying healthy and the defense getting its mojo back after adding edge defender Trey Hendrickson. Like the Ravens, the Lions schedule is very forgiving and their offense is loaded with QB Jared Goff, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, RB Jahmyr Gibbs and OT Penei Sewell. The pass defense needs to improve.

Finally, we get to the team that entered last year having played in five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three. Needless to say, the Kansas City Chiefs (10) need Patrick Mahomes to be healthy and the defense to improve to resemble what it was during that dominant decade. Injuries also will determine if the San Francisco 49ers (11) have a chance of staying close in a division that includes the Rams and Seahawks. QB Brock Purdy has become pretty relevant, but he was just one key piece to deal with injuries last season. Not to be overlooked are the off-season distractions of the owner's arrest and the head coach's auto accident.

Can Chargers (and Mike McDaniel), Jaguars sneak into playoffs?

Los Angeles Chargers (12) offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is working with Justin Herbert, the QB he should have had in Miami. Herbert is a two-time Pro Bowler who has yet to win a playoff game. Jim Harbaugh hopes McDaniel can help change that. The Cincinnati Bengals (13) have a QB in Joe Burrow who led them to the Super Bowl in 2021, but haven't done much since, missing the playoffs the last three years. The offense is good enough for a Super Bowl contender. The defense probably not.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (14) still believe in QB Trevor Lawrence. Jacksonville upgraded the receiving room and defense, which gives the Jags a chance. Travis Hunter is part of both as a backup receiver and starting left corner. The Dallas Cowboys (15) are going all in, but as talented as the offense is with Dak Prescott throwing to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the defense will not win a championship.

A soft schedule and QB Jordan Love gives the Green Bay Packers (16) the edge in a tightly packed NFC North. The Packers are hopeful All-Pro DE Micah Parsons returns from his knee injury a month into the season. The Packers will have to supplant the Chicago Bears (17) at the top of the division. The Bears traded one of QB Caleb Williams' favorite targets (D.J. Moore) and did not do much to upgrade the offensive line. Look for a regression from last year's 11 wins. The Minnesota Vikings (18) will have something to say about the division. But that depends a lot on QB Kyler Murray, who is getting a fresh start after six losing seasons, in seven years, in Arizona.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (19) have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. Good thing when you are counting on 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers to lead the offense.

The only reason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20) have a chance at the playoffs is because somebody has to win the NFC South. The division will keep alive the tradition of sending a below .500 team to the postseason.

The future better be bright (and we're talking Dolphins)

Are the Indianapolis Colts (21) the team that started last season 8-2 or finished 0-7? And although that partly depends on the health of QB Daniel Jones, the answer probably is somewhere in the middle. The Washington Commanders (22) went from 12 wins in 2024 to 5 last year. QB Jayden Daniels suffering an elbow injury did not help. Although Daniels appears to be the future, he needs help and losing LT Laremy Tunsil for a good portion, if not all, of the season to a torn triceps is a big blow. The Carolina Panthers (23) made the playoffs at 8-9 last year. Again, the NFC South. So, there always is a chance.

The New York Giants (24) are counting on new coach John Harbaugh to save them. The problem is he has a QB in Jaxson Dart, who was pulled for in-game concussions at least five times last year. Lamar Jackson is not walking through that door for Harbaugh. Speaking of injury prone QBs, the Atlanta Falcons (25) brought in Tua Tagovailoa as insurance for Michael Penix, who is coming off a serious ACL injury. RB Bijan Robinson can only do so much.

The New Orleans Saints (25) have very little going for them other than they are in the NFC South. Have we said the NFC South is bad? For the Las Vegas Raiders (27) , this entire season is about what is best for QB Fernando Mendoza, the first overall pick in 2026. That is why Kirk Cousins was brought in to mentor and hold down the position until Mendoza is ready. The Tennessee Titans (28) are going to have to find out if their former first overall pick in 2025, QB Cam Ward, is the answer. The former Miami Hurricane struggled mightily in his rookie year.

For the New York Jets (29) , who brought in QB Geno Smith to improve a dreadful passing game, the only hope is in a slew of future draft picks, including three in the 2027 first round. All you need to know about the Cleveland Browns (30) is they named Deshaun Watson the starting QB and traded reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett.

The outlook for the Miami Dolphins (31) was pretty dismal, and then we saw them play three preseason games. Now, it's even worse. The Arizona Cardinals (32) will turn to QB Carson Beck, the third-round pick from Miami, at some point during the season to replace career backup and journeyman Jacoby Brissett, the former Dwyer standout.

Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.