Zachary PerelesSep 9, 2026
The CBS Sports NFL staff's aggregated votes project the Cowboys, Lions, Buccaneers, Rams, Bills, Bengals, Texans and Broncos as division winners, with the Seahawks, Eagles and Bears as NFC wild cards and the Ravens, Chiefs and Chargers as AFC wild cards. The staff majority picks the Rams to win the NFC and the Super Bowl, with the Broncos leading AFC champion votes.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Zachary Pereles said
Here is how the CBS Sports NFL staff -- writers, editors, analysts and researchers -- envision this season playing out.
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- 2026 NFL season predictions: CBS Sports experts make Super Bowl, playoff, division champion picks
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
Box score, by kind
HitCloseMissWaiting| Group | Hits | Close | Misses | Waiting | Calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Super Bowl Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Division Winners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Conference Champions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| All | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
How each call scored
17 checkable claims — 8 division winners, 6 playoff picks, 2 conference champions and 1 super bowl pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 14 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Their call against the record
Their call against what actually happened last time. Not yet settled.
Playoff Picks6 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Los Angeles Chargers to make the playoffs
“AFC wild cards ... Chiefs, Chargers, Bills (7 each)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs
“AFC wild cards ... Chiefs, Chargers, Bills (7 each)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Super Bowl Picks1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Division Winners8 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Los Angeles Rams to win the division
“NFC West Rams (10 votes) Seahawks (5) ... The Rams are Super Bowl favorites and, in turn, NFC West favorites.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Houston Texans to win the division
“AFC South Texans (12 votes) Jaguars (3) The Texans' 12 AFC South champion votes are the most for any division in this exercise.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division
“NFC South Buccaneers (8 votes) Saints (6) Falcons (1)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Denver Broncos to win the division
“The Broncos ended the Chiefs' nine-year streak atop the division last season and are now poised to make it back-to-back AFC West crowns, according to our voters.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Dallas Cowboys to win the division
“Cowboys (8 votes) Eagles (6) Giants (1) ... our voters see a new face emerging atop the division.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Detroit Lions to win the division
“NFC North Lions (8 votes) Packers, Bears (3 each) Vikings (1)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Conference Champions2 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Los Angeles Rams to reach the Super Bowl
“NFC champion Rams (8) Seahawks (3) Cowboys (2)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions
Others on the same people
Zack Kelberman · Roster Spot Calls · Sean Fresch Jr. · Miss 0
Kelberman expects Sean Fresch Jr. to clear waivers and return to the Broncos' practice squad, sees Riley Moss back from concussion for the Week 11 game at Las Vegas, and projects newly acquired Daiyan Henley to begin as the third inside linebacker behind Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad before likely moving into a starting role.Zack Kelberman · Roster Spot Calls · Sean Fresch Jr. · Miss 0
Kelberman writes that Riley Moss may sit out the preseason finale against Minnesota but should be available for the Week 1 opener at Kansas City; they also suggest undrafted corners Sean Fresch Jr. and Brent Austin are being evaluated for practice squad spots.Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Nate Gosney · Trade and Signing Calls · Daiyan Henley · Miss 0
After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season.Chad Jensen · Roster Spot Calls · Jordan Turner · Miss 0
Jensen predicts Daiyan Henley's arrival will cut into Justin Strnad's snaps while Alex Singleton keeps playing virtually every down, and that Denver will return to a three-linebacker rotation after the Week 10 bye. They also expect one of Jordan Turner or Karene Reid — most likely Turner — to be waived to clear a roster spot.Gilberto Manzano · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · New York Giants · Miss 0
Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · New England Patriots · Hit 100
Eisen said the Patriots are still likely to win the AFC East and won't be one-and-done, that the Chargers will end Dallas' season next week, that TreVeyon Henderson should out-snap Rhamondre Stevenson, that the NFC East race is over in Philadelphia's favor, and that the winner of the NFC West will be the NFC's No. 1 seed.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · New England Patriots · Hit 100
Eisen previewed week 15 games, predicting Joe Burrow would play well in their first home start back against Baltimore, and speculated on a possible Colts-Steelers wild card matchup. They also asserted the Chiefs will not win their division for a tenth straight year, keeping the Patriots' record of 11 straight division titles safe.