Updated
Updated · NBC Sports · Sep 7
PFT Writers Split on 5 Super Bowl LXI Winners in 2026 NFL Predictions
Updated
Updated · NBC Sports · Sep 7

PFT Writers Split on 5 Super Bowl LXI Winners in 2026 NFL Predictions

3 articles · Updated · NBC Sports · Sep 7

Summary

  • Five PFT writers published full 2026 NFL playoff brackets, and none agreed on a single Super Bowl LXI champion: the Bills, Seahawks, Rams and Bengals all got picks.
  • The Rams drew the broadest support, appearing in three of five projected Super Bowls and winning two of them, while the Bills were the only team picked by two writers to win the AFC.
  • AFC No. 1 seeds were scattered across the Texans, Chiefs and Bills, with the NFC’s top line similarly split among the Lions, Seahawks and Rams.
  • PFT framed the exercise as annual preseason prognostication and noted that last year none of its writers correctly picked either eventual Super Bowl team.

Insights

If preseason NFL predictions are notoriously wrong, what hidden roster clues drove these experts to their highly divergent 2026 playoff brackets?
Why did top NFL analysts predict shocking Super Bowl LXI upsets like the Seahawks dethroning the Chiefs for the 2026 season?
How do wild human forecasts for Super Bowl LXI compare to the advanced data simulations predicting a Bengals or Lions championship?