National Football League

National Football League

When Rivera entered the draft war room in 2023, which would be his last at the helm, he had one prospect on his mind. There was no deviating from the Commanders, even when one of the blue-chip prospects fell into their lap. The head coach was going to take Emmanuel Forbes Jr., and nothing would get in his way. New England saw this coming a mile away. Bill Belichick traded down, safe in the knowledge that he could still get his hands on Christian Gonzalez.

As long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold said after his side defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 to win Super Bowl LX. Six years ago, as a member of the New York Jets, Darnold, facing those very same Patriots on Monday Night Football, uttered the words, I'm seeing ghosts. On Sunday night, he hoisted the Lombardi Trophy as a Seahawk to beat them.

In 1985, Dan Marino arrived at Stanford Stadium as the undisputed future of football. He was the MVP in just his second season, a golden-armed titan who looked like he'd be making annual pilgrimages to the Super Bowl for the next fifteen years. Then he ran into Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense and a 49ers defense that turned his afternoon into a living nightmare. Marino never made it back. Not once. Remind you of anyone?

It quickly became a brutal reality check, with the Commanders crashing back to earth after reaching the NFC Championship game the previous season. Nothing much went right. Injuries didn't help, but Washington's problems ran far deeper. Winning five games is not going to cut it moving forward, so there is a significant amount of work ahead for head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters this offseason.

One key player who is set to be a free agent this offseason is K'Lavon Chaisson, who joined the Patriots on a bargain deal worth just $3 million and had a crazy year in New England. The 20th overall pick in the 2020 draft spent four years in Jacksonville before signing with the Raiders for a year and then the Patriots. His one year in New England was a good one, as he tallied 7.5 sacks and 18 QB hits during the regular season.

Seattle is tied with the Los Angeles Rams at +950 to win the NFL's championship in 2027, followed by the Buffalo Bills at +1100, and the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and AFC champion New England Patriots tied at +1300, according to DraftKings odds. If they hold until the beginning of the season, the Seahawks' and Rams' odds would be the longest for a preseason favorite on record (since at least 1977), per ESPN Research and SportsOddsHistory.com. Since 2015, +950 would have been the second-shortest odds on the odds board once and fifth-shortest on the board six times.

Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua was brutally roasted for mocking Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold during the Super Bowl on Sunday. Darnold and the Seahawks took on the New England Patriots in the 2025-26 season finale at Levi's Stadium. Much of the game was dominated by the two teams' defenses, with the first touchdown not coming until Darnold connected with tight end AJ Barner for a 16-yard score in the fourth quarter.