NFL -- USA

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Divisions are supposed to create order. Four teams, two games against each of the other three, largely overlapping schedules—the format exists to sort them.

The NFC North was too good for its own hierarchy last season: every team finished above .500. It was just the second time since the 1970 merger that every team in a division finished with a winning record, leaving one fan base on the wrong end of some unlucky math.

The Detroit Lions outscored their opponents by 68 points. That was the best point differential in the division and the third-best in the conference. They still finished last in the NFC North. Detroit was good enough to win plenty of divisions but happened to play in one of the NFL's toughest—and caught too few breaks inside it, including a 2-5 record in one-score games. The market is betting on a worst-to-first turnaround, giving the Lions a 41% implied chance to win the division. From top to bottom, the NFC North is the NFL's toughest division—and makes the next one seem like grounds for realignment.

The NFC's Divisions Don't Add Up​


time.com

2026 NFC Division Odds: Eagles, Lions, Buccaneers, Rams Favored

2026 NFC division odds show a rare repeat favorite in the NFC East, a worst-to-first pick in the NFC North, a weak NFC South field, and a champion underdog in the NFC West.
time.com time.com
 
I'm not a Seahawk fan but I have been rooting for Sam darnold, hope he's going to be okay
 

American football is coming to Australia - can it succeed?​


Simon Atkinson
Australia producer

Supplied: San Francisco 49ers Men in red sports gear walk out of a tunnel into a stadium with fans behind them


Supplied: San Francisco 49ers
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers and other players were greeted by fans in Melbourne this week
An oval ball, in September, in Melbourne usually means just one thing - the business end of the Australian rules football (AFL) season.

But on Friday, at the unsportingly early time of 7am, 100,000 people will begin filing into the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for a very un-Australian sporting spectacle - American football.

The LA Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers in their opening National Football League (NFL) fixture, the first time the country has hosted a meaningful, non-exhibition regular season game.

The match sold out months ago, with more than half the crowd expected to be people living outside the state of Victoria. On the official ticket resale site, a restricted view seat is priced at more than A$650 (£350/US$470).

"Walking down the street, it's AFL finals week and you wouldn't even know," says Thomas McMillan, host of the NFL podcast Any Given Sunday Australia.

"It's all NFL everywhere. There are bars that are nothing but 49ers bars or Rams bars. We have a Ram Tram getting around the district. When you're in Melbourne and AFL isn't visible, it shows how big this is at the moment."

Kickoff at 10.35am local time on Friday may not be typical for local fans, but meets the demands of prime time US television schedules and their advertisers.

The league held its first international match in 2007, and over the past two decades the overseas matches have become a long-term strategy to attract supporters and their dollars.

Nine games outside the US are scheduled for the upcoming season, including three in London. But Melbourne is the furthest that players and US-based fans will have to travel.
 

Seahawks start Super Bowl title defense with rally over Patriots after early Darnold injury​

Jacob Lev
CNN

Josh Jobe celebrates with Seattle Seahawk teammates after intercepting a pass in the end zone to win the game on Wednesday.


Josh Jobe celebrates with Seattle Seahawk teammates after intercepting a pass in the end zone to win the game on Wednesday.

Jane Gershovich/Getty Images

On a night where the Seahawks were honored for their Super Bowl LX victory, the celebrations felt short lived as starting quarterback Sam Darnold left the game with an injury in the team’s 13-10 win over the New England Patriots at Lumen Field on Wednesday night in Seattle.

As fans settled in under sunny skies in The Emerald City and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready blared the national anthem with his guitar, the stage was set for a celebratory kickoff, a marquee rematch against the team Seattle defeated for its second Lombardi Trophy.

With the “12’s” bringing deafening noise at kickoff, Seattle opened on offense. However, the initial drive ended with concern when Darnold was sacked by Patriots defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones.
 
ghazi52 said:

American football is coming to Australia - can it succeed?​


Simon Atkinson
Australia producer

Supplied: San Francisco 49ers Men in red sports gear walk out of a tunnel into a stadium with fans behind them


Supplied: San Francisco 49ers
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers and other players were greeted by fans in Melbourne this week
An oval ball, in September, in Melbourne usually means just one thing - the business end of the Australian rules football (AFL) season.

But on Friday, at the unsportingly early time of 7am, 100,000 people will begin filing into the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for a very un-Australian sporting spectacle - American football.

The LA Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers in their opening National Football League (NFL) fixture, the first time the country has hosted a meaningful, non-exhibition regular season game.

The match sold out months ago, with more than half the crowd expected to be people living outside the state of Victoria. On the official ticket resale site, a restricted view seat is priced at more than A$650 (£350/US$470).

"Walking down the street, it's AFL finals week and you wouldn't even know," says Thomas McMillan, host of the NFL podcast Any Given Sunday Australia.

"It's all NFL everywhere. There are bars that are nothing but 49ers bars or Rams bars. We have a Ram Tram getting around the district. When you're in Melbourne and AFL isn't visible, it shows how big this is at the moment."

Kickoff at 10.35am local time on Friday may not be typical for local fans, but meets the demands of prime time US television schedules and their advertisers.

The league held its first international match in 2007, and over the past two decades the overseas matches have become a long-term strategy to attract supporters and their dollars.

Nine games outside the US are scheduled for the upcoming season, including three in London. But Melbourne is the furthest that players and US-based fans will have to travel.
Click to expand...
I'll be watching the game tonight on Netflix USA
 
Wow! The stadium in Brisbane, Australia is really fresh! Game is about to start
 

49ers rout Rams 27-7 in NFL's first Australia game behind Brock Purdy's 3 TD passes​


84169ce1-54f2-4d32-89ef-63672e6b365c.jpg


49ers dismantle Rams 27-7 in Australia​

AP
Updated: Sep 11, 2026, 12:59 am

MELBOURNE, Australia -- — The San Francisco 49ers enjoyed every moment of their weeklong Australian adventure. They gradually adjusted their body clocks, enjoyed Melbourne's sights and tastes — and then they dominated a division rival in the NFL's first regular-season game Down Under.

The Los Angeles Rams only boomeranged in 28 hours before kickoff, and they flew back out with their Super Bowl aspirations in disarray after getting thrashed in a historic season opener.

Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson and Deebo Samuel caught touchdown passes from Brock Purdy, and the Niners routed the Rams 27-7 Friday.

Purdy passed for 205 yards against the Rams' ineffective defense at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 100,021 fans, the seventh-largest regular season crowd in NFL history. Australia's sporting capital reveled in its first real taste of American football — and in a dominant win by the 49ers, who had already won many Aussies' affection by traveling to Melbourne a week earlier than the Rams.

“It was definitely worth it to come a little bit early,” said Evans, who caught six passes in a strong 49ers debut. “We definitely got acclimated. ... All the guys attacked it. We didn’t complain. We actually enjoyed being here in Melbourne.”
 
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