The 32 things we learned from Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season:
Ian Cummings and Jacob Infante predict every game of the 2026 NFL season using PFN's free Playoff Predictor -- then simulate the bracket all the way to a Super Bowl pick. They start with the Super Bowl rematch in Week 1, Patriots at Seahawks, and work through the schedule week by week, spotlighting the games with the biggest playoff implications: Bills-Texans, Broncos-Chiefs, Jaguars-Broncos, Chargers-Bills, Cowboys-Commanders in a wide-open NFC East, and the NFC South scramble in Carolina and Tampa. Along the way: why the Texans defense might win games on its own, why Denver is the sleeper pick of the AFC, whether Chicago is a playoff team or a Super Bowl team, and which one-seed doesn't survive January. Build your own season and simulate the playoffs with PFN's FREE Playoff Predictor -- pfsn.app/nflpredictor Think we're wrong? Tell us in the comments - and tell us which team we shortchanged. #NFL #NFLPredictions #PlayoffPredictor #NFL2026 #SuperBowl
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams breaks free for a rushing touchdown in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C.
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs carries the ball as New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Davon Godchaux defends in overtime Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur walks on the field before a game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt plays during the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday in Pittsburgh, Pa.
PFN's Jacob Infante breaks down potential fantasy football busts in your league in Week 1. Is Chase Brown the Week 1 fantasy start that costs you the matchup? Should Rashee Rice be in your lineup at all? Brown carries one of the healthier projections on the board, but he opens against a Tampa Bay front that finished top five in run defense scoring in PFN's defense impact rankings, and his own September last season was the slowest stretch of his year. That is a projection built on volume meeting a defense built to take volume away. Rice has the tougher draw of the two -- Denver ranked top three in pass defense scoring last season and brings a secondary that does not give up easy separation, and the target tree in Kansas City runs through Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce before it gets anywhere else. Projections are averages. Week 1 is not an average. Both of these are start-sit calls people will make on autopilot because the names are familiar and the preseason rankings are sitting right there, which is exactly how Week 1 lineups go sideways before anyone has a single real data point to work from. You can disagree with the calls once you've heard the why. Leave the wrong guy in your flex in Week 1, and you spend September digging out of it. Put any two players head-to-head with PFN's FREE Start/Sit Optimizer -- pfsn.app/nflstartsit Watch Next ---------------- Hit subscribe → / @pfn365 ---------------- PFN's FREE FOOTBALL TOOLS ---------------- NFL Playoff Predictor → pfsn.app/nflpredictor NFL Mock Draft Simulator → pfsn.app/mockdraft NFL Ultimate Redraft Simulator → pfsn.app/redraft College Football Playoff Predictor → pfsn.app/cfbpredictor PFN's FREE Start/Sit Optimizer - pfsn.app/nflstartsit
