Let’s imagine one way the 2026 NFL season could play out: Lions and Chargers to the Super Bowl?
Let's imagine one way the 2026 NFL season could play out: Lions and Chargers to the Super Bowl?. Skip to main content Skip to navigation Let's imagine one way the 2026 NFL season could play out: Lions and Chargers to the Super Bowl?
What happened
Here are full scores and outcomes to playoff games in our simulation:Wild-card roundChiefs 32, Bengals 23Colts 18, Jaguars 12Chargers 31, Ravens 29Lions 27, Packers 24Rams 27, Buccaneers 24Cowboys 31, Seahawks 19Divisional roundBills 55, Colts 23Chargers 27, Chiefs 24Rams 24, 49ers 21Lions 27, Cowboys 20Conference championshipsChargers 10, Bills 7Lions 20, Rams 17Lions win Super Bowl LXIIn August, Detroit coach Dan Campbell said, "Our window is not closed. We played out one of the Football Power Index's 10,000 season simulations (No. 9,187), from Week 1 through Super Bowl LXI. Chiefs retake the AFC West, Broncos miss the playoffsThe Chiefs won the AFC West nine seasons in a row from 2016 to 2024 and made three consecutive Super Bowls before a wildly disappointing 2025 campaign in which they finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs.
The Chargers-Lions Super Bowl was expected to be close, with the Lions favored by only 1. Skip to content Liam Farrell: Wigan Warriors captain on retirement, fond memories, and next steps after Super League career to remember Liam Farrell joined Sky Sports' The Bench podcast to discuss his decision to retire, what comes next, and if we will see him in a Wigan Warriors shirt again; The regular Super League season concludes with Round 27 from Thursday September 10 live on Sky Sports Monday 7 September 2026 14:35, UK Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Wigan Warriors captain Liam Farrell react to his side's Super League Grand Final victory over Hull KR to complete the quadruple for the season.
Wigan Warriors captain Liam Farrell says he is not sure if he will play for the club again after he announced he will retireat the end of the 2026 Super League season. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Joe Brady (left) has already spent four seasons working with Josh Allen at BuffaloOnly five active players have been named the NFL's MVP and only two are yet to win a Super Bowl – Buffalo's Josh Allen and Baltimore's Lamar Jackson.
The wider picture
Chicago Bears2dMatt Bowen, +4 MoreNFL rookie prop bets, player outlooks2dESPNHow a 1988 Honda Prelude and a pet python named Goldie Gambino shaped a future Commanders DCWashington Commanders2dJohn KeimSolak picks X factors for all 32 NFL teams: Which players could sway the 2026 season? See FPI's projections for the 2026 seasonHype on Bears and Texans falls very flatThese teams have been trendy preseason picks to go on deep playoff runs. But New England stumbled against some heavy hitters, losing to the Lions, Chargers, Bills, Vikings and Broncos in the back half of the season.
The Rams get the last laugh. . . to an extentAll three NFC West stalwarts were considered Super Bowl contenders entering the postseason. Aidan Hutchinson, who would be awarded Defensive Player of the Year before the Super Bowl, wreaked havoc on the Rams' offense. Bills fall short of the Super Bowl again, losing to ChargersNot only did the 12-5 Bills get their AFC East title back in emphatic fashion, winning the division by three games, but they edged the Chiefs for the top seed, taking the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a 31-30 win over Kansas City in Week 12.
5 questions Dodgers face with their ailing two-way starLos Angeles Dodgers3dAlden Gonzalez'This is all anonymous? ' MLB players unfiltered on salary cap, CBA talks and whether there will be a 2027 season5dESPNFantasy baseball news and notes: Reds to limit Burns, Ohtani back at DH4hESPN FantasyplayRonald Acuna Jr. hears the boos in Philly after tying HR, curtain call (1:02)ESPNMultiple AuthorsSep 7, 2026, 07:00 AM ETEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIt's Labor Day, and baseball fans know what that means — we've reached the stretch run of the 2026 MLB season.
Follow on XMultiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsAfter being one of the top teams in the 2025 regular season and falling just short of the NFL's championship game, the Los Angeles Rams opened as one of the favorites to win Super Bowl LXI.
What has been reported
Since 1995, all 23 teams with preseason Super Bowl odds of +500 or shorter have ultimately failed to win the title. "It's usually not in this scenario of going into the season where we have a liability on the Super Bowl favorite," Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel told ESPN. An open fieldThe Rams' dominance of this season's Super Bowl market is accentuated by the fact that last season's Super Bowl participants, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, were preseason long shots for the title, both coming into the 2025 campaign at 60-1.
"Of these midfield teams, the one attracting the most outsized action compared to their odds is the Broncos, who lost in the AFC Championship Game and show 20-1 odds to win this season's Super Bowl, according to DraftKings. BetMGM's other big Super Bowl tickets include $10,000 bets each on the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, both at 16-1, to win $160,000. At DraftKings, the most prominent of those long shots is the New York Giants, who have accrued Super Bowl odds of 70-1 after a hyped offseason that saw them bring in John Harbaugh as head coach.
Now with eight goal contributions in eight games since debuting for the Lions, Griezmann has quickly turned around Orlando's season: they're now above the playoff line in the East. There was an errorWatch every goal from the opening weekend of the Women's Super League 2026-27 season.
What happens next
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Many Rams fans were keen for Aaron Donald to return, believing he will help them win the Super Bowl in their own stadium for the second time in six yearsThe Los Angeles Rams had three gripping games with divisional rivals Seattle last season, with the Seahawks winning the latter to clinch the NFC Conference before winning Super Bowl 60. They made trades for cornerback Trent McDuffie and Myles Garrett, who claimed a record 23 sacks last season, moves which cemented the Rams as Super Bowl favourites.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes have both won three Super Bowls with the Kansas City ChiefsBefore last season, Kansas City reached five Super Bowls in six years, winning three of them. But Kelce committed to at least one more year and the Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker, who had just become the first running back to be the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player since 1998. But the arrival of new head coach Mike McCarthy, with whom Rodgers won Super Bowl 45 with the Green Bay Packers, persuaded him to play one more year.
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The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across espn.com, skysports.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.