The beautiful chaos of NFL Sundays is back like it never left, so let’s sift through the storylines that shaped the season’s opening weekend.

There’s no time to waste: The new NFL season is already underway after the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 13–10 in last night’s season-opening Super Bowl LX rematch. Whether you’re tackling conspiracy theories or drawing up travel plans, consider this your football cheat sheet.

NCAA football chose chaos in Week 1: One powerhouse plummeted in the rankings, another program faces conference expulsion, and the postseason could be expanding…again. It’s been a minute since we went back to school, but has it always been this dramatic?

After last weekend’s Week 0 soft launch, NCAA football is officially back with a full slate of Week 1 action, kicking off in earnest this weekend and culminating in the January 25th national championship. It’s been 229 days since the Indiana Hoosiers hoisted the program’s first trophy — aka, 228 days too long without the wildest, weirdest, most unpredictable game on grass.

As we wrote in February, flag football participation is surging at the youth level, particularly for girls. There are more opportunities for girls to play flag compared to tackle football, and athletes (and their parents) are drawn to it as a “safer” option. Let’s look at the numbers that support the sport’s grassroots success.

One less down, the (modified) rouge, longer fields (for now) — there’s nothing quite like Canadian football. And the 68th CFL season started with a bang as the Montreal Alouettes beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 30–27 in overtime last night.

The Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC) announced a multiyear agreement with ESPN yesterday to broadcast its June 21st championship game live on ESPN2. The league has seen recent growth, mostly thanks to increased media exposure and sponsorship, so we chatted with WNFC advisory board member, commentator, and former player Jennifer King to learn more.

Cue the chime because the 2026 NFL Draft begins tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From the coveted No. 1 pick to the selection of Mr. Irrelevant at No. 257, the picks keep comin’ and they don’t stop comin’ for seven rounds spanning tomorrow through Saturday.