Travis Kelce’s latest touchdown celebration gave Kansas City fans a flashpoint for a season where every Chiefs drive will be under the microscope. The tight end hauled in a three-yard score in preseason, then danced, while his first catch of the 2026 preseason came earlier on an eight-yard pass from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier during the opening drive against Seattle.
Preseason stats rarely tell the whole story. Still, in Kansas City, every snap is magnified. The Chiefs have played in five Super Bowls over the past six years, winning three, with Kelce and Patrick Mahomes at the heart of it all. A three-yard touchdown doesn’t erase doubts about the offense, but it’s a reminder: Kelce remains a red-zone threat as the new campaign kicks off.
Uncertainty hangs over the NFL after what veteran analyst Cris Collinsworth called the league’s “most unusual” season in decades. Kansas City’s dynasty wobbled. Baltimore, Buffalo, and Philadelphia, each billed as Super Bowl favorites, stumbled. Meanwhile, New England and Chicago surged from the bottom of their divisions to become contenders, with the Patriots reaching the championship game before Seattle overwhelmed them.
Seattle’s win capped a redemption arc for quarterback Sam Darnold and delivered the Seahawks their first NFL title in 12 years. Suddenly, the Seahawks are the hunted, not the hunters. The Rams have spent the offseason building a roster designed to dethrone them.
Rams’ pass rush changes the Super Bowl calculation
No team has made a louder statement than Los Angeles. The Rams boasted the NFL’s best offense last season, with quarterback Matt Stafford earning MVP honors. Instead of standing pat, they doubled down on defense, swinging trades for cornerback Trent McDuffie and pass rusher Myles Garrett.
Garrett’s 23 sacks last season set a new NFL record. That kind of production doesn’t just disrupt games, it warps entire offensive game plans. Los Angeles is betting that pairing its high-octane offense with a relentless pass rush will force opponents into mistakes before they can exploit the secondary.
This isn’t just a tactical shift. It’s historic. Only twice before has a team featured both the reigning league MVP and the defensive player of the year. Now, for the first time since those rare seasons, the Rams have Stafford and Garrett. They’re Super Bowl favorites after these moves, echoing the all-in approach that delivered a title when SoFi Stadium hosted the Super Bowl in 2022.
Aaron Donald’s return only raises the stakes. The 35-year-old, a three-time defensive player of the year, trained with the Rams this summer before announcing he’d come out of retirement. With Donald and Garrett, Los Angeles now fields two of the era’s most dominant pass rushers. McDuffie’s arrival further fortifies a secondary that will play behind them.
Seattle remains the immediate test. The Rams and Seahawks clashed in three tense divisional games last season, with Seattle’s final win clinching the NFC and setting up their Super Bowl 60 triumph. Los Angeles didn’t build this defense just to climb the rankings, they built it to win those pivotal division battles.
Kelce’s preseason touchdown is a small sample, but it lands in a league where recent history offers no guarantees. Kansas City’s response to last year’s slide will be measured in regular-season efficiency and postseason results. The Rams, meanwhile, open the season carrying the weight that comes with being the team everyone else is chasing.
