2026 NFL Season Preview

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0:35Rich Eisen:we have made it the it being the national football league regular season it is time to kick things off come on for real it's time for the 2026 season preview edition of overreaction monday rich eisen and chris brockman good to see you sir hey rich how are you man uh and i have to just say for those who are watching this show on youtube and i'll describe it uh for those who are listening however you get your podcasts for those watching on youtube chris and i are not wearing the same shirt it is not it is it's a different color it's a different shade it's just a little darker just reading wrong yeah it's just uh you know um and again i just had to say that right off the top so people aren't like wondering like is it a season preview or is it just two bald guys in the same shirt you know what what show are we watching that's right okay your tennessee titan season preview hey yes we're just fired up hey i'm so excited it's labor day on the day that we're actually sending this out into the universe if you're listening to it or watching it throughout the rest of the week it is time for the national football league season to finally commence in 2026 overreaction monday is here hit it That was terrible.

1:52Rich Eisen:That was crap. That was garbage. This play sucked. Overreaction. Mondays. Monday. Christopher, what do you have over there? Rich, I got 12 items up for bids. 12. For this season preview. Fantastic. Here we go. What do you have? Rich, as you know, every single year we get turnover in the playoffs. We get new teams and new coaches and new faces and new players. Yes, sir. Not this year. For the first time since 1990, we won't have four new playoff teams. What a bummer for those four teams that didn't make it last year that's hoping to make it this year. That's what I'm saying. Every year we get at least four new ones.

2:35I'm saying we're getting less than that. And 1990 is the last time? 1990 was the new division alignment and all that fun stuff. I see what you're saying, and it's not happening under the new alignment.

2:44Rich Eisen:It has not. We've always had four. We've always had four. I don't know if this is an overreaction or not, but you did research for this? I did. Okay. I looked up when was the last time. I don't mean to disrespect. Yeah, I know what I'm just saying. Yeah. Okay. So let's go. Yeah, please put it there. Last year's playoff team. Last year's playoff team. Okay. Broncos are making it again, I believe. Chargers are making it again, I believe. Bills are making it again, I believe. I think the Jaguars and Texans are making it again, I believe. The Patriots, again, I look at that 14-3. and it's just like, really?

3:19Yeah, they were awesome last year.

3:21Rich Eisen:They were. The defense was awesome last year. And Drake may. Second in scoring. When you have a top five defense and an MVP candidate quarterback, you score a lot of points. Right. And a coach of the year. Right. 14 and three. I'm just placing the Jaguars and I'm placing the Patriots and Steelers aside. Okay. Seahawks are making it again. Rams are making it again. I don't know if the Panthers are making it again, but somebody from the NFC South is going to make it. Somebody that will make it. So I would just put that aside. There's one. And I guess, you know, I've got to then put the Steelers in because somebody from the AFC North is making it.

4:01Rich Eisen:But you're saying new playoff teams. So we can't put the Panthers aside. I'll put the Panthers aside. I'm leaving the Panthers in here for the moment.

4:12Man.

4:13Rich Eisen:Again, this is what I say. Hold on. Eagles are making it again. Rams are making it again. And Seahawks are making it again. I believe the Bears are going to make it again. The 49ers and the Panthers are the ones jumping at the screen at me. Okay. And that's what I say to you. I always say when you look at the teams that we're putting teams in, you're putting the Ravens and the Chiefs and all these other things. Then who comes out? No, I know that. So I'm saying I had the Bengals winning the AFC North. So the Steelers being out, interesting. I'll say this is not an overreaction. how about that oh i'll say it's not an overreaction that for the first time in forever since we are on a disney platform um i will go out and sit man that'll be the first time in the new format dude that's 36 years there's always four new playoff teams always i'll just say it's an over I'm going to zag with you while everyone else is zigging.

5:15Rich Eisen:Fun. It is. Put a pin in that one for a season preview. Never know. We're waiting for you to start. Never know. Okay. All right, let's talk about the number one pick. Can't get enough of Mendoza mania, Raider Nation, all that fun stuff. I know he's not starting week one. They announced it. It's Kirk Cousins. But Fernando Mendoza is going to play. He's going to lead the Raiders in passing, and he's going to be an Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist. Oh, I think he'll be an Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist if he plays. leading Vegas in passing yards if he plays. I just don't know if he's going to play.

5:48Rich Eisen:You know? I mean, the Raiders, I think, should win week one against Miami. And then, oh, boy, their next five games is something else. Are tough. Again, at Chargers, at New Orleans, home for Kansas City, at New England, home for Buffalo, home for the Rams. Jeez Louise. So he's going to get in there? Yeah, I don't think there's an overreaction either. Okay. I just think he's fantastic You know how I feel about him Neck up, I think he's going to be good Yeah, I do too Neck down, I think he's tall And he is 1000 % athletic And just as gutsy as it gets, man We have Mendoza mania here We do Not just because it's available on a t-shirt At richeyesandshop.com We are 1000 % Mendoza fans Yeah, I'm in For good reason So I do believe Cousins at some point is going to struggle just because that's the way this team's going to play.

6:49Rich Eisen:And it's going to be difficult to play up to their opponents. They could be two and one if they win at New Orleans, but I don't know if the Saints are going to be anybody's homecoming either. It's just that next stretch, Kansas City at New England, home for Buffalo, home for the Rams before they visit the Jets in week eight. That may be a spot that everybody says could be a soft part of the schedule. Then they're at, by the way, their next three weeks after that, at San Francisco, home for Seattle, at Denver. I know. So the leading the Raiders in passing yards might be the catch here. Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist, you know, Tyler Shuck, came in midway through last season and was won, and almost won the award.

7:33Rich Eisen:Yeah. it's the passing yards thing that might be the issue because cousins might get half a season um i'll i just don't i don't want to speak anything negative into the ether about this beacon of positivity i'll just say this is a i'm with you on this one not i'm not this is not an overreaction okay what else chris this one is fun now earlier we've been doing top fives all year top tens about the position groupings that we were doing, right? Your quarterback list. Yes, sir. At the end of the 2026 season, the top five quarterbacks will look completely different. Meaning what? Meaning how do you see it right now?

8:14The top five quarterbacks in the NFL are what? It's Alan Lamar, Burroughs, Stafford, and. No, no, no.

8:22Rich Eisen:I named Alan Lamar. Well, I was. Patrick Mahomes, right? You're talking about the power rankings that I conducted after Jeremy Fowler's ESPN.com series. Right. I had Allen one, Mahomes two. And then I think I had Burrow three, Stafford and Lamar. Great. And then I had Dak at six. But that top five, that's the top five we all kind of just generally agree upon are the five best. I'm saying at the end of this season, we're going to say, uh-uh. We have a new top five. We have new names in the mix. The usual suspects are not. Herbert. Herbert, Hertz, Dak, Drake May. It's not going to be the usual five suspects.

9:10Rich Eisen:Caleb Williams. So that means all has to happen is one of the five stays that it is? I'm saying it's going to look completely different. Multiple new guys enter into the play. All five or not. Maybe all five. Maybe only Josh Allen. I'll push back on this one. No, Josh Allen's going to have an outstanding season. Mahomes is going to come back and show everybody he's still Patrick freaking Mahomes. I don't know about that. Burrow, I think I've told you, I'm all in on him, man. I just love the way he's talking. I love the way he's talking, and I don't think it's born out of like now or never means I'm not going to want to be here in Cincinnati anymore.

9:44Rich Eisen:It's now or never because the guy's constantly hurt. He's feeling healthy, and he sees Chase healthy. thank goodness that was just a scare a couple weeks ago right um in in a in his practice um he sees higgins healthy he sees the defense having uh mafe added from seattle and and dexter jackson added from the giants he sees that um and he's feeling good so i i'm not giving up on him and i think lamar is going to have a hell of a season with the new offensive coordinator and Declan Doyle coming from the Ben Johnson world. I can't wait to see what that looks like. And Stafford's going to be frigging Stafford.

10:23Rich Eisen:Everyone can't be awesome. Everyone is awesome right now. And I'm pushing back on you and saying this one's an overreaction. The top five is going to look mostly the same. And you're not going to come here. Let's put a pin in this one and revisit it after week eight. Okay. Put a pin in that one. After week eight, let's see how does it look different. Do we really see the first half of the season looking like, okay, one of these other guys has cracked the top five. And when you say look completely different, it's got to be at least three of the five. It's got to be a majority of the five. And I will say that is not happening.

10:58Okay.

10:59Rich Eisen:That is definitely not happening. All right, deal. How dare you? I like it. Okay. One of the guys I think is going to be in the mix for that top five, and it's going to break through finally this season. I wish TJ was here. Dak Prescott, Rich Eisen. If Dallas wins Super Bowl 61, we're going to be talking about Dak Prescott as the best Cowboys quarterback of all time.

11:28No way.

11:30Rich Eisen:Come on, man. How dare you? Our Tuesday guest to kick off once again our week to start an NFL season, just like last year when we made our Rich Eisen show debut on the Disney Plus platform and the ESPN radio platform, Troy Aikman. That's three. He had three of them. Roger Staubach. He's got a bust in the Hall of Fame. Come on now. And Dak's going to get his. Dak's going to put up numbers that these other quarterbacks could only dream of. Troy, all due respect, never had, what, more than 3 ,200 yards passing in the season? I get it. Never threw for 30 touchdowns. Best Dallas quarterback of all time.

12:06It's that guy right there, Dak Prescott.

12:08Rich Eisen:Well, Dak has got to do more than just win one Super Bowl for that, pal. Roger won multiple and Aikman won multiple and both of them are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I understand that in the history of the Dallas Cowboys, it's kind of crazy. They've never had a quarterback be a regular season, most valuable player. That's nuts to me. That's neither Staubach nor Aikman nor anybody else. I think Dak's going to want a regular season. Well, I mean, if they win the Super Bowl, that means they're probably going to win their division. I mean, more likely than not, they'll win their division. And if they win their division and they make the Super Bowl, more likely than not, they're going to have two home games in the playoffs, which means that they had such a remarkable regular season that Dak could win the MVP.

13:00Rich Eisen:But of all time, you could say he's had one of the best seasons that Dallas quarterbacks ever had. If he wins the MVP trophy in the regular season, which no one has ever done, and he wins the Super Bowl, He would be the first Dallas Cowboy quarterback to pull that one off. But come on now. Come on now. Let's be respectful of Aikman's three and Starbucks run as well. No, that's an overreaction. Dak is going to put up numbers these guys could only dream of. Numbers, what does that mean? Numbers, then he's going to win the big one. Okay. And then that's going to be the dam that breaks open for Dallas.

13:32Rich Eisen:Hang the numbers, hangs the banner, breaks the dam open. And then suddenly is the greatest Dallas Cowboy quarterback ever? Yes. That's nuts. he's gonna have to do it again he's gonna have to do it again i think he will you really do i love are you just saying that because you just like this idea and you don't like that i'm rejecting it right now that part of it too thank you sir rich eisen here for gusto on my shows we talk a lot about what happens in the spotlight the games the highlights and the moments that get replayed and debated but in any successful operation what happens behind the scenes matters just as much small businesses are no different payroll hiring onboarding benefits and all the details that keep things moving may not be the most visible part of the job, but they still have to be handled right.

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15:37Rich Eisen:What else? Here we go. Moving on. Here we go. You started so well, and now we're, what, four in, and it's two and two now. All right, let's see what you think about this one. It's a tiebreaker. Which way we're going? We got a new head coach in Baltimore. You like what Jesse Minter's bringing to the table. I do. You like the offense he's bringing for Lamar Jackson. He's rapping Eminem. This could finally be the year the Ravens break through, To end, Jesse Minter is going to have Ravens fans wishing they had hired him sooner.

16:08Got a little stagnant there at the end of their John Harbaugh.

16:11Rich Eisen:Well, the one that everybody's saying, they had Mike McDonald there. You know? And they're seeing him go somewhere else. You know? So, I'm trying to pick up what you mean by this. Like, I think he's going to have a terrific season. And again, I keep talking about how well the Bengals are going to look and play. How good they're going to look and how well they're going to play. So, you know. I guess what I'm saying is they probably hung on to John Harbaugh a little too long. Well, I mean, that's already the narrative. That's already the narrative that people are saying. And so the fact that Minter can come in and start winning football games and a division.

16:52Rich Eisen:Right away. Immediately. And take them to at least the second round of the playoffs. Maybe one seed. No, I, I, that would be a tall order, man. A one seed. Again, I am excited for the Ravens. I'm excited for their season. I'm excited to see what Lamar is going to do in this new. They were just the one seed. Not that long. I think Derek Henry's going to keep proving about that. 30 is just a number. Zay flowers. I picked up in one of our, one of our, one of my fantasy leagues, because I think, you know, he had a thousand yard season last year. Let's see what he can do now that he's been paid. Minter is absolutely going to tighten up the defense, which was a massive problem for the Ravens more than the offense was last year.

17:29Rich Eisen:So I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm giving all the good reasons why you are right. Um, you know, so at the end of the day, I don't think this is an overreaction. I mean, it's entirely, I love the guy. I love the guy. I love what he brings to the defensive side of the, uh, of the equation. I think he's going to a leader of men that has seen close up with the, what the hardball system is. He was in Baltimore. or he already understands what the Ravens franchise is requesting, looking for. Bashadi's a great owner. You know, DaCosta's a GM that most people outside of Las Vegas appreciate. You know, so I don't think this is an overreaction.

18:10He's going to break it through for them. Okay, what else? It's been a while.

18:13Rich Eisen:What else we got? How about this one, Rich Eisen? There have been 14 teams who have never won the Super Bowl. Did you know that? Okay. 14. A team that has never won it. One of those 14. they will at least make it this year here in Los Angeles. I'm already thinking, you know, where do I go on the AFC to, you know, make the Super Bowl, right? Are you penciling it? You already have Rams for NFC? I'm not there yet either. I mean, again, you know, on Tuesdays, Rich Eisen show is when I make the announcement every single year. so a team that's never won the Super Bowl will at least make it this year um so the Bills would suffice on that regard the Chargers would suffice in that regard the Jacksonville Jaguars would correct in that regard correct um the Cincinnati Bengals would would suffice in that regard um obviously the Patriots are out on that front um obviously the Chiefs are out on that front the Broncos are out on that front the Colts are out on that front the Texans have never won a Super Bowl, they've never made a Super Bowl so I thought that's where you're going a team that's never made the Super Bowl it kind of narrows the list out a little bit smaller list so I'll buy this one too I think the Bills can absolutely make it you think that comes from the AFC yeah of course that's more likely than not to mix our segments.

19:45Rich Eisen:I mean, the Rams. The Lions have never won a Super Bowl. I got it. But the Cowboys have won a Super Bowl. Yeah. The Eagles have won a Super Bowl. The Niners, Seahawks, and Rams have won a Super Bowl. Okay. The Buccaneers have won a Super Bowl. Bears. Right. The Saints have won a Super Bowl. I see what you're doing. Come on now. I got you. You know what I mean? I got you. So today, I have to do it. Yes, the pool of teams that have never won a Super Bowl for me to agree that this is not an overreaction. Okay. You know, and that's half of the league, almost. 14 teams. So, yeah, the AFC would be the candidate for it rather than the NFC.

20:27Rich Eisen:That's for sure. The Packers have won a Super Bowl. You know, the Vikings haven't. But I think the AFC definitely is the conference conference from which this is not an overreaction. Okay, great. And certainly since the Bills are a team that I believe is a favorite of it, but the Ravens have never won a Super Bowl, so we take them out of the mix too. Yeah, they're out. They've won twice, sir. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. With Apple Card, you earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases like groceries, merch, or tickets to the game. Plus, it can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted.

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