Last season was the NFL’s “most unusual” in decades, according to veteran analyst Cris Collinsworth.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty began to crumble while joint Super Bowl favourites Baltimore, Buffalo and Philadelphia all faltered.

The New England Patriots and Chicago Bears went from bottom of their division to Super Bowl contenders, with the Patriots going all the way to the big game.

There, they were dominated by Seattle, whose quarterback Sam Darnold completed his own redemption story by leading the Seahawks to their first NFL championship in 12 years.

So what lies in store this year in the NFL? Here are five things to look out for during a 2026 season that begins this week.

The 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.

This season’s big game will be played at LA’s SoFi Stadium. The last time it was held there in 2022, the Rams went all-in to build a star-studded roster capable of becoming NFL champions in their own stadium.

The gamble paid off as they won Super Bowl 56. Now the Rams have tried to replicate that formula by pulling off what has been described as the greatest off-season in NFL history., external

They had last season’s best offence, with quarterback Matt Stafford named the season MVP, and have practically played fantasy football in a bid to rebuild their defence and this time get the better of Seattle.

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.

Aside from the two times when the NFL MVP was a defensive player, this is the first time that a team will have both the reigning MVP (Stafford) and defensive player of the year (Garrett).

After training with the Rams over the summer, three-time defensive player of the year Aaron Donald, 35, then confirmed he would be coming out of retirement, meaning the Rams’ defence will feature two of the best pass rushers of the modern era.

Before last season, Kansas City reached five Super Bowls in six years, winning three of them.

But for the first time in 11 years, coach Andy Reid failed to lead them into the play-offs, and in the game that sealed their fate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered his first major injury.

There was speculation veteran tight end Travis Kelce would retire so some feared it was the end of an era for the Chiefs.

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.

For the first time in his NFL career Mahomes, 30, has an elite running back at his disposal and Walker will ease the load on the two-time season MVP as he returns from torn knee ligaments.

Mahomes also still has his go-to guy Kelce available and, after marrying Taylor Swift in the off-season, the 36-year-old can focus on helping the Chiefs bounce back in what could be his final season.

Only 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 star quarterbacks, who were both drafted in 2018, are yet to even reach the big game, but for the first time in their NFL careers, their teams have changed their head coach.

This season marks a fresh start for the Buffalo Bills as they have promoted Joe Brady from offensive coordinator after firing Sean McDermott, as well as moving into a new 60,000-seater stadium.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens have appointed ex-Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to succeed John Harbaugh, who is now in charge of the New York Giants.

If Kansas City cannot get back on track, could this finally be the season that Allen or Jackson wins the AFC Conference and gets to play on the NFL’s biggest stage?

Besides Mahomes, Jackson, Allen and Stafford, the only other active player to be an NFL MVP is four-time winner Aaron Rodgers.

The 42-year-old is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and was “99% sure” he would retire after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to last season’s play-offs.

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.

Rodgers enjoyed some memorable moments with the Steelers last season and will aim to create a few more in what he insists will be his 22nd and final year in the NFL.

The Cleveland Browns have had 13 starting quarterbacks over the past five years and the fit-again Deshaun Watson will begin the season as first choice.

The Browns signed Watson in 2022 on a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $230m (£169m) but he has played just 19 games because of injuries and a suspension over multiple sexual assault allegations.

A ruptured Achilles meant the 30-year-old missed the whole of last season, which rookie Shedeur Sanders ended as starting quarterback.

Watson was booed by Cleveland fans during a pre-season game two weeks ago, which he called “personal” and “disrespectful” before explaining that his “emotions got the best of me”.

Despite that, Watson has been given one last chance to avoid going down as the worst trade in NFL history, but some believe Sanders will soon return – perhaps as early as the Browns’ home opener in week three.