2026 NFL season predictions for Super Bowl winner, MVP, top surprises and disappointments

At this time last year, nobody was picking the Seattle Seahawks to win a Super Bowl. One of the things that makes the NFL great is unpredictability.

This season, we think we have it figured out. Well, most of us anyway.

The Los Angeles Rams come into the season as a clear Super Bowl favorite. But not all of our Yahoo Sports experts picked L.A. to win it all. The Rams were the most popular Super Bowl pick, but not even the unanimous pick to win the NFC West.

It was unanimous in predicting the AFC North and AFC South. And nearly so for the Bills in the AFC East, which means we're collectively expecting some regression with the defending conference champion Patriots. Joining the Bills as near unanimous favorites are the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East. Yes, we can collectively see your eyes rolling at that one.

The Rams will be the must-watch team of this season, after acquiring Myles Garrett and getting Aaron Donald to return after two seasons in retirement. But other teams could keep it from being a one-team race, as we see in our season predictions.

The picks for awards are spread out. There were four players predicted to win MVP, including multiple picks for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who has never won the award.

NFL Coach of the Year was even more spread out, with six different coaches getting mentions and nobody getting more than two votes.

The Rams trading for Myles Garrett was the offseason's biggest move, however, he's not our collective favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year.

And finally, our hot take section. Enjoy our boasts, gripes and wild guesses for what's in store for the 2026 season.