T's 2026 NFL Preview: Postseason and Awards

Welcome to the final day of my preseason NFL preview and predictions. Today I have the playoff and award predictions coming your way. We will wrap up the week tomorrow with my college football preview. But today is the last day for the NFL. Seven teams make the playoff from each conference. I'll rank them from 7-1, pick the winners of each until we get to the Super Bowl. There will be a few words about each matchup as well. And I will end it all with my award predictions. Let's get to it.

I'll start with the AFC.

In the AFC East I'm riding with the Bills. They are the best team in that division. The Patriots will be their main competitor, but the Bills are the clear cut favorites to me. The Jets and Dolphins will most likely be a non factor. The AFC North is going to be a true fight. This is one of the better divisions in all of football. They will most likely get two teams in the playoffs this year. The Bengals and Ravens are the top two teams. I'm going to go with the Ravens due to injury concerns I have with the Bengals. The Steelers are going to regress big time, and the Browns are going to be awful. I do think the Ravens will win the North, but the Bengals will also be in the playoffs. The AFC South is ripe for the Texans to take the crown. The Colts are going to take a big step back. The Titans are getting better, but they are still a few years away. And the Jags let their top running back walk out of the door. The Texans should walk with this division. The AFC West is another division that will be a fight to win. The Chiefs, Chargers and Broncos all have a legit shot at the playoffs. The Raiders are going nowhere fast. The Chiefs are on their last legs. This is their last shot. The Broncos are good, but Bo Nix is coming off a tough injury. And then we have the Chargers. I think they are the team to take this division this year. This is year three with Harbaugh, the team is in his image and they should have a good season.

As for playoff rankings, from 7-1 I have the Patriots, Broncos, Bengals, Chargers, Ravens, Texans and Bills. The Bills are the one seed and they get the bye. The 4-5 game features the Bengals facing the Chargers. I'll go with the Bengals here simply due to Burrow being better than Herbert. The 3-6 game gives us the Broncos going to Baltimore to face the Ravens. This is where Lamar Jackson will show he is different and put up big numbers. The Ravens will win this game. The 2-7 game gives us the Patriots playing the Texans. This game will be a fight, but in the end I think CJ Stroud will make a few more plays and the Texans defense will stifle the Patriots offense. Give me the Texans,

So in round two we will have the Bengals playing the Bills and the Texans playing the Ravens. I'm going with the Bills to beat the Bengals. They have home field, Josh Allen needs to get a signature win and who knows who will be hurt in Cincinnati. As for the Texans and Ravens, I'm going with Baltimore. Lamar Jackson is so good and even better when he plays at home. I think he out duels Stroud and makes a big play to seal the game.

So that means I have the Bills and Ravens in the AFC title game. The Bills will be going to the Super Bowl to represent the AFC. Both teams will squash some postseason demons this season, but it will be the Bills making the big break and going to the Super Bowl.

On to the NFC.

The NFC East will be competitive, but it may not be the best football to watch. The Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders and Giants all think they have a shot. I think the Eagles are the only team with a real shot. They still have a great offense and a wonderful defense. The Giants are still too far off and need a better QB. The Commanders look like they're going to be a good 9-8 squad, but not good enough to get in the playoffs. And the Cowboys will continue to underwhelm. I'm going with the Eagles here. The NFC North could have three teams in the playoffs. They will have three teams that finish over .500. The Bears are the cream of the crop. They are coming together nicely and they look very good. The Packers will get beat in games they shouldn't, then win games they have no business even being in. That is what they do. The Lions have a ton going for them, but they also rely too heavily on Jared Goff. The Vikings are clearly rebuilding. I'm going to pick the Bears due to talent, but the Packers and Lions will not go quietly into the night. The NFC South is a tire fire. The Panthers represented this division last season, and they were 8-9. They are still good, but not division winning good. The Buccaneers should easily walk away with this division. They have the most talent in the South by a wide margin. I don't trust Tyler Shough as a playoff QB. And the Falcons haven't even settled on a QB just yet. The Bucs are the clear favorites here. The NFC West is going to be a blast to watch. The Seahawks are the reigning champs, and outside of getting a new running back, they are pretty much coming back in full force. The 49ers will compete and play hard, but I still have doubts about their health and Brock Purdy. The Rams were my number 1 team in my rankings, and I think they are on a mission this season. And then we have the Cardinals, who will be very, very bad this year. I'm going to stick with the Rams, but the 49ers and Seahawks will be right on their tail all season long.

As for my playoff teams, again from 7-1 I have the Lions, 49ers, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Eagles, Bears and Rams. The Rams get the bye being the 1 seed. So my 4-5 matchup features the Seahawks facing the Buccaneers. The Seahawks are going to cruise in this game. It could be a blowout. My 3-6 matchup has the 49ers playing the Eagles. This game could be sloppy and messy and feel like it is grinding to a halt. It will be some ugly football. But I'm going to go with the Eagles due to home field advantage and the fact that some important 49ers players will be hurt and miss this game. The 2-7 game will have the Lions playing the Bears. This is an inter division game in the playoffs. I love it. And while the Lions are familiar with the Bears, I still think the Bears will win this game. It will be close, but in the end, Caleb Williams will do something spectacular to win the game.

This gives me the Rams playing the Seahawks and the Bears facing the Eagles. I'm going to stick with Chicago keeping the momentum going in their game. They have home field advantage, and knowing the Eagles, they will probably be at each other's throats by this time of the season. The Rams and Seahawks may be the best game throughout all of the playoffs. These two teams will fight all the way to the end, but I see the Rams winning on a late field goal.

My NFC title game has the Bears playing the Rams. The Bears are coming, but they are not at the Rams level just yet. The Rams are loaded with vets and really good players. The Bears have good players, but they don't have the experience just yet. I'm going with the Rams to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

That means I have the Bills and Rams playing in the Super Bowl and I'm going to stick with my preseason pick throughout all of this, the Rams. This team is tailor made to win it all this year and I believe they will do just that. And Matthew Stafford will most likely go out with the Super Bowl MVP.

As for my regular season awards, I'm going to do the important ones for me. MVP will go to Joe Burrow. I think he is going to put up insane numbers. As for Offensive Player of the Year, I'll take Ja'Marr Chase. Someone has to catch those passes and put the ball in the endzone. That person is Chase. Defensive Player of the Year will be Myles Garrett. He has a new team and a newfound love for this game. And he will finally be playing important football past November this season. Coach of the Year is going to Jesse Minter. He is going to keep the Ravens relevant. Hell, they may even look more explosive. Offensive Rookie of the Year will be Jeremiyah Love. While the Cardinals are going to be pretty awful, Love will be the reason to watch them. He is going to get to showcase all of his talents. And my final award, Defensive Rookie of the Year will be Ruben Bain Jr. I cannot wait to watch him wreck backfields all season long and watch him make the teams that passed on him in the draft regret that decision. He is going to be great.

That's it for my 2026 NFL preseason countdown and predictions. Do with this what you will and I cannot wait for the season to start. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.