Most of us surely want to just fast-forward through the rest of the 2026 NFL Offseason and get to Week 1 of the regular season. With training camps across the NFL slowly beginning, the final major milestone of the offseason is here, as preseason games are right around the corner as well and are kind of intertwined during camp.
The 2025 season brought a ton of insane surprises, so it's safe to say that the 2026 season could bring more of the same, especially given how much parity exists in the NFL today. Throughout the offseason, we have rolled out a plethora of different power rankings and predictions articles, and we're going to stick in the same realm here.
Let's look at five teams we believe are already guaranteed to lose in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL Season.
Identifying five teams guaranteed to lose in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL Season
New England Patriots (@ Seattle Seahawks)
The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks get us started in Week 1, as those two teams are playing in the first game of the season. The Pats and Seahawks was the 2025 season's Super Bowl game, with the Seahawks running away with it, and while Week 1 games can sometimes bring shocking finishes, we did see Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye struggle against top competition in the playoffs, and one could argue that the Seahawks homefield advantage is the most overwhelming in the NFL.
The Seahawks also have more sheer roster talent, and the pregame hype of the reigning champions taking the field is simply going to be too much for the reigning AFC champions to overcome. It could be close, but Seattle already has this one in the bag.
New Orleans Saints (@ Detroit Lions)
Two teams I am extremely high on for 2026 are the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions. I do believe the Saints can win the NFC South this year, as then-rookie QB Tyler Shough played a lot better than I think people thought he would, and the Saints did add new weapons on offense, while already sporting a sneaky-good defense.
The Lions are among the most talented teams in the NFL but have been dealing with some bad injury luck and an overall underperformance on the defensive side of the ball. That's been going on for two years now, so it's reasonable to think that the Lions will see things regress to the mean in their favor.
And while the Saints are going to be frisky this year, going into Detroit and expecting to win just isn't realistic.
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