Another NFL season has gotten underway, and the defending champions, the Seattle Seahawks, set the ball rolling with a 13-10 win over the New England Patriots in the 2026 regular season’s kickoff game. Week 2 has big clashes lined up, as the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Patriots, the Miami Dolphins face the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Cleveland Browns must overcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to secure their next league win.
Of course, sports betting fans relish the new season as much as the football fans. Below is a look at some tips for predicting the results of games, some of the main predictions for games, the story of the season so far, and at how sports betting fans can get ahead in their betting on the 2026 NFL season.
Making predictions
The NFL’s unpredictability and drama are what make it so thrilling, but there are steps sports bettors can take to try to predict the results of games. The most obvious is to look at team trends: offensive trends, such as how the team scores points and how many yards they gain; defensive trends: sacks, interceptions, and points conceded; home and on-the-road form: does a team struggle on the road but thrive at home; and injuries: are key players missing a game because of injury?
These trends are important indicators of potential results, but not the only ones. Looking at head-to-head form can say a lot about how a game could go.
What are some expected outcomes from Week 2?
The Steelers were consistently brutally competitive under Mike Tomlin, but new coach Mike McCarthy could really shake things up. Depending on how he calls things going forward, the Pittsburgh team’s non-losing streak could end and the Patriots, out for blood after their Week 1 loss to the Seahawks, could emerge victoriously from this clash.
Pundits aren’t confident in a good season for the Buccaneers, who they feel have too much inconsistency on their roster, and especially because of a huge deterioration in defensive form last season. But they’re even less confident in the Browns, who they’ve predicted 5-12 for the season and could be easy pickings for the Buccaneers.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have quarterback Patrick Mahomes and, thanks to the return of Eric Bieniemy, a more explosive offense. Running back Kenneth Walker III, a 1,000-yard-plus rusher, boosts the offense further after departing from the Seahawks. But victory over the Dolphins feels like the only logical conclusion when experts are predicting 2-15 for the Dolphins’ season.
To check out NFL odds for yourself, however, you can visit https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/page/monday-night-football-odds.
The story so far
In the kick-off game, the champions have already set about showing everyone else who’s boss, and some teams have already sent out a message to others and to fans, too. One is that the Seahawks aren’t just going to walk over teams all season. The Steelers steamrolled the Green Bay Packers in a 9-28 preseason Week 1 rout, proving that a new coach could be bad news for opposing teams.
Preseason has also illustrated that coaches will be demanding more from their teams. Take Las Vegas Raiders head coach Clint Kubiak. Despite a 22-0 comeback victory for his side over the Houston Texans, he wasn’t happy with his wide receiver unit and had seen regression in them.
Thoughts may be turning already to MVPs for the season, which, historically, has largely been a tale of offensive players. But 2026 could be different, as defensive players started stamping early authority on games in their preseason outings. Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson, for instance, chalked up six solo tackles and three sacks in his two.
Improving NFL betting
Events in the preseason and early weeks of the regular season will have given sports betting fans food for thought. Tracking teams’ form is going to be crucial, but there are other ways sports bettors can help themselves get ahead this season.
Track their own form
Players don’t have to share their betting with social media, but it’s important to track their own progress and see where they’re winning, losing or breaking even.
Understand the market
There can be value in going against the grain. Have the sportsbooks devalued a team so much that it could be worth a bet? A little research could reveal something others have missed.
Leave the parlay bets to the losers
Concentrate on single-match betting. In the long term, this increases the chances of building a bigger bankroll over time.
The NFL 2026 season is fresh out of the blocks but is already delivering events for sports bettors to think about. Some teams have picked up from where they left off last season and continued playing strongly. Others have shaken themselves out of their defensive slumber and could become tougher contenders than everyone believed initially. The unpredictability of the NFL has once more set the stage for a fascinating season. Let’s see how it plays out.
