ESPN college basketball broadcaster Jay Bilas said that the NCAA’s decision to expand the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments to 76 teams was unnecessary.
Bilas, 62, said that while he is indifferent to the NCAA’s decision to expand, no one was clamoring for it.
“I don’t want to say I don’t care, but I’m not bothered by it. It’s not a decision I would have chosen for the NCAA because — I’m not one of those ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ guys, because nobody ever says, ‘if it’s not broke, don’t improve it or or don’t maintain it.’ But I don’t think it was necessary,” Bilas told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Sports broadcaster Jay Bilas plays golf during the first practice round at the ACC Celebrity Golf Championship 2025 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nev., on July 9, 2025.(David Calvert/Getty Images for American Century Investments)
“Nobody was clamoring to see a .500 team from a major conference making the tournament.”
Bilas noted that had the tournament been expanded for this past season’s tournament, there would have been .500 teams in the tournament.
In the new expanded tournament, the first two days of the tournament would look drastically different. On that Tuesday and Wednesday, there would be 12 games played between 24 teams due to the eight added at-large bids. The games would be played at two different sites.
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Bilas said it might be “a little bit confusing” for the average fan to fill out their bracket. He called the added play-in games “inconsequential.”
“The overwhelming majority of fans don’t think the tournament starts until the first Thursday of the 64-team bracket,” Bilas said.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas stands courtside before the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Florida Atlantic Owls at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Dec. 5, 2023.(Porter Binks/Getty Images)
“People still watch the games and especially the basketball nerds like me will watch religiously, but for most fans, they’re kind of — I don’t want to say inconsequential, but they are.”
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Bilas did say that the teams who win the play-in games will be rewarded financially for them.
“What it does is give a bunch of teams a chance to win an NCAA tournament game. Even though most fans won’t give them credit for it, they’ll get money credit. They’ll get an NCAA tournament unit and be able to say, ‘Hey, we won an NCAA tournament game, even though it was against a team with the exact same seed,’” Bilas said.
“It’s fine. I don’t think it’s as big a deal as some are making out of it,” Bilas continued. “Money is a good reason to do something. I’m cool with that.”
UConn head coach Danny Hurley was among the coaches who were concerned tournament expansion could devalue the regular season. Bilas said he understands Hurley’s point and agrees.
ESPN College GameDay host Jay Bilas prepares to broadcast ahead of the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Feb. 1, 2025.(Lance King/Getty Images)
“I understand it, and I think it does a little bit. So, the argument about who’s in, who’s out is diminished. Now, if we’re going to have .500 teams out of major conferences that make the tournament now, do I think that’s good? No, I don’t,” Bilas said.
“But it’s not that big of a deal. Most of those teams are going to be out by the first weekend anyway. You may have somebody that puts it together at the end of the year and is better than their record, but I think that horse is already out of the barn.”
American Century Tournament
Bilas will be playing in the American Century Tournament July 10-12 at Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe.
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The tournament has raised more than $8 million for regional and national charities. American Century Investments donates 40% of its profits to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and activates fundraising at the tournament to drive direct donations to Stowers each year.
Bilas said he was invited six or seven years ago and called it the equivalent of a PGA Tour player getting invited to the Masters.
ESPN basketball analyst and former Duke player Jay Bilas looks on during Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Oct. 19, 2012.(Lance King/Getty Images)
“When I got invited six, seven years ago and I was thrilled. I just couldn’t believe I would get to do it. And they’ve been they must have a very low bar, but they’ve invited me back ever since. And to me, getting that invitation has got to be the equivalent of a PGA tour player getting invited to the Masters. So, you get the invitation, you’re like, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe they invited me back again.” And it’s an automatic yes,” Bilas said.
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“It’s just a thrill. And it’s equally thrilling once you’re there cause it’s a beautiful setting in Lake Tahoe at the Edgewood Resort. The weather’s always spectacular. Seventy thousand people are there in shorts and sundresses and just enjoying seeing some of their favorite celebs.”
Bilas said he loves competing in the tournament, but called the atmosphere what makes it special. He credited CEO Justin Thomas for being so welcoming and creating a family environment that everyone loves, on top of the tournament’s remarkable charitable work. The tournament will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
AEW Double or Nothing is set to be the next big pay-per-view for All Elite Wrestling this year, which will take place at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. The company has prepared a solid lineup of matches for the show, and fans are excited more than ever to witness the event unfold. Ahead of the show, a WWE veteran has also confirmed his status for the pay-per-view.
The veteran is none other than WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross. The latter has been making sporadic appearances in AEW due to his illness. His last showing in the promotion was on January 7, 2026, episode of Dynamite, where he returned to call the action in his home state of Oklahoma. But recently, Ross confirmed that he is coming back for the Double or Nothing show.
Speaking on the Grilling JR podcast, Jim said he plans to be in New York for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 24. He revealed that he is enjoying Darby Allin’s run as the AEW World Champion, and he is looking forward to seeing what Tony Khan has planned for him in the company from here on out at the pay-per-view.
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“I tell ya, AEW’s TV shows, and I know people expect us to ballyhoo it, to put it over – it’s easy to put it over when it’s good. And their TVs lately have been very good. And what they’re doing with Darby, they’re not doing anything more important on their television than featuring Darby Allin and letting us support him and get behind him and all that stuff. So he’s very resilient, and I like his approach a lot. So we’ll see how that materializes over the next few weeks. I plan on being in New York in a couple of weeks. And I’m excited about this card. It’s loaded, man. It’s got some good sh*t on it,” said JR.
Check out the full comments below:
Jim Ross gave his thoughts on the Stadium Stampede match at AEW Double or Nothing 2026
Stadium Stampede is set to make its return to AEW this year at Double or Nothing. A team of Chris Jericho, The Hurt Syndicate, and The Elite will take on Demand, The Don Callis Family, and The Dogs. Recently, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross gave his thoughts on this chaotic showdown.
In the same conversation on the Grilling JR, Ross said that Stampede matches are hard to produce due to them being scattered all over the place in a stadium. However, he believes Chris Jericho to be someone who will use his veteran experience to form the match.
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“Those matches are hard to lay out because you got so many moving parts. Jericho is a veteran. He’s been around a long time. He’s just coming back. He’s going to want to make a good returning impression,” said Ross.
Fans are very excited to see this epic showdown unfold later this month in New York. It will be interesting to see how Tony Khan plans this match at Double or Nothing.
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The Boston Bruins could look to sign a young part of their core to a lucrative long-term deal.
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Boston traded for Fraser Minten at the trade deadline in 2025 from the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the package for Brandon Carlo. Minten was expected to be a middle-six center who’s solid defensively, but he exceeded expectations last season.
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Minten ended up finishing 10th in Calder Trophy votes, and he’s set to enter the final year of his entry-level deal. With that, the Bruins could look to extend him, and insider Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic predicts he will sign an eight-year, $56 million extension this offseason.
“Fraser Minten has one year remaining on his entry-level contract,” Shinzawa wrote in an article published on Friday. “But his steady 82-game audition in 2025-26 should make the organization confident enough to invest long-term in the left-shot center.
“A good run with Team Canada at the World Championship would put Minten in line to start his second full NHL season as the No. 2 center. The best outcome would be to make him one of the last NHLers to sign with his current club for eight more years before the rule change on Sept. 16, when the maximum in-house term goes down to seven years.”
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Minten getting $7 million per season seems like a fair price for a future second-line center, as if he continues to develop, the contract could look like a steal. But, it also guarantees Minten a hefty payday and buys out some UFA years in the meantime.
In his first full NHL season, the 21-year-old recorded 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points in 82 games.
For the third time in the past four years, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have lifted the FA Cup title. This time they defeated Chelsea 1-0. It wasn’t a final for the ages in any sense of the term. The two teams combined for only five shots on target, but it’s a fitting end to Chelsea’s season, which is coming to a close with a whimper instead of a bang.
The Blues do have two remaining Premier League games to try and break their seven-match winless streak in league play, but with European play being very unlikely at this point, this wasn’t where things were supposed to be at this stage of the season. When the Premier League began it seemed like Chelsea were announcing their return to the upper echelons of the game after qualifying for Champions League play and winning the FIFA Club World Cup under Enzo Maresca, but as the Blues limp to the finish line under their third manager of the season, with Calum McFarlane overseeing the squad, their search for direction continues.
Now they’re closing in on an agreement for Xabi Alonso to become the next manager of Chelsea, according to the Athletic, last seen getting fired by Real Madrid, to lead the side. It’s a move that could get the Blues back to where they want to be, but unlike Real Madrid, they’d need to give the manager control to construct the squad in his image. Considering the money that Chelsea spent to construct this squad, yet another overhaul could get them in hot water with Profit and Sustainability Rules, especially if they reverse the trend of recent years and bring in established top-tier talent, rather than baby-faced young prospects. While having anyone else be responsible for squad decisions could be a good thing, given the results of the last year, it would also be a stark departure from how the club has operated under the control of owners BlueCo.
Just the appointment of Liam Rosenior, who joined from BlueCo-owned club Strausburg in France, showed the flawed direction of the squad. While Rosenier might have been a promising manager, he hadn’t overseen a club at the stature or with the pressure that comes with Chelsea, and when losses started piling up, it was impossible to right the ship.
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It’s no surprise that Chelsea’s downward spiral continued in the FA Cup final. The Blues have appeared in four FA Cup finals since 2020, losing all four. Since then, there have been some bright spots, but since Thomas Tuchel’s departure following winning the 2021 Champions League final, this has been a club searching for a direction. Even winning this FA Cup wouldn’t be enough to make Chelsea’s season a success when they wanted to qualify for the Champions League, and change will be coming to the squad for yet another summer.
Only one team has won every major European competition, and that’s Chelsea, but if the Blues are looking to get back to the dominance that saw them win the Premier League five times in 12 years between 2005 and 2017, something has to change. Alonso could be a step in the right direction, reportedly joining on a four-year deal, but the issues run much deeper than that, as there has been no consistent plan laid out for how to repeat success. It seemed like that may be coming under Maresca, but potential links between him and Manchester City were enough for the Blues to rip up their foundation when a good plan should be able to survive manager upheaval. It’s a critical summer ahead, and if the right buttons aren’t pushed, more seasons without European soccer could be ahead.
Having previously trained Nonito Donaire, Robert Garcia has considered how his current charge, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, would fare against the lower-division legend.
Donaire became a multi-division world champion under the tutelage of Garcia, remaining unbeaten at the top level before losing to Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2013.
The Filipino would then go on to compete in several featherweight outings, before dropping back down to 118lbs and facing Naoya Inoue in 2019.
Still fighting at the age of 43, ‘The Filipino Flash’ is considered one of the all-time greats at bantamweight, where ‘Bam’ Rodriguez hopes to become a three-division world champion in his next outing.
The 26-year-old will face Antonio Vargas, the WBA champion, on June 13, after having unified the super-flyweight division with back-to-back stoppages over Phumelela Cafu and Fernando Martinez.
Victory could then see him enter an undisputed super-bantamweight clash with Inoue, who, like ‘Bam’, is widely considered to be a top five pound-for-pound star.
“Bam loves Nonito – Nonito’s his favourite fighter – and Bam might not like it but I think I would pick Nonito.
“Bam still has at least three-four years left in his career. There’s still so much that he’s gonna show, that he’s gonna do, that he’s gonna accomplish.
“Nonito, with me, we accomplished a lot.”
Garcia recalls Donaire’s second-round finish over Fernando Montiel in 2011 as a particularly memorable moment, while expecting ‘Bam’ to achieve similar success in his career.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight strikers Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa will square off TONIGHT (Sat., May 16, 2026) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 117.
Hopefully, Allen vs. Costa doesn’t get entirely lost in the Rousey vs. Carano hubbub, because this is an awesome main event! Allen climbed into the rankings by winning his first nine UFC fights, introducing him to elite competition like Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev. Though he’s come up short three times now against Top Five-level competition, Allen has been within inches of victory and proven himself a world-class Featherweight.
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Costa is in the midst of his own rise. The Brazilian picked up four excellent wins in 2025 and then started this year strong as well, spin kicking Dan Ige into oblivion a few months ago. Now ranked at No. 12, Costa remains a dark horse contender who could really break into the title mix if able to extend his current win streak to seven at Allen’s expense.
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Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:
Allen vs. Costa Betting Odds
Arnold Allen victory: -154
Arnold Allen via TKO/KO/DQ: +380
Arnold Allen via submission: +1400
Arnold Allen via decision: +170
Melquizael Costa victory: +120
Melquizael Costa via TKO/KO/DQ: +600
Melquizael Costa via submission: +650
Melquizael Costa via decision: +330
How Allen Wins
Allen is one of Featherweight’s finest boxers. He moves very well on the outside, stabbing at opponents with that famous Tristar jab and blitzing in behind his left hand counter. The Southpaw kicks well at distance too, making him a well-rounded striker despite his boxing aptitude. As he demonstrated against Evloev, Allen is an excellent defensive wrestler with a very sneaky guillotine choke.
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Stylistically, this fight is similar to Allen’s 2024 matchup versus Giga Chikadze. Allen may like to box on the outside, but he doesn’t want to spend all night getting blasted by kicks — we just saw how badly that can end for boxers in Jack Della Maddalena vs. Carlos Prates! As such, he has to pressure more and try to extend combinations, because that’s the kind of exchange that will allow his more fluid punching to shine.
How to close range against a fellow leftie? Allen has to double up on the jab to close forward, but he has to do so without getting his leg kicked to bits. The key there is to feint and false start often, as well as hide real jabs between non-committal shoulder pumps and arm-only jabs. The goal is to draw out Costa’s low kick and then press forward as he recovers his stance.
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Running along on the outside and kicking often is an exhausting style, particularly over five rounds. Allen should quicken the fatigue process by targeting the body with his punches and trying to catch kicks for easy takedowns, which can prove very tiring.
How Costa Wins
Costa, still just 29 years of age, has come a long way technically in a short time. His striking style exemplifies the “all the way or all the way out” style of Muay Thai, as Costa does his best work while blasting kicks at distance or in the clinch with knees and elbows. In the pocket, Costa is good for a quick counter punch, but his boxing tends to falter when forced to trade for longer periods.
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Costa has also grown into a solid wrestler, and like Allen, that guillotine choke is nasty.
Typically, Costa is fighting Orthodox opposition, meaning he’s able to play the left hand-left kick double threat quite easily. Against a fellow Southpaw, the dynamic changes quite a bit, and Costa will want to really focus his left leg on chopping down Allen’s lead calf. We just saw Jean Silva find great success in kicking Allen during his pivots, which can be very damaging and limit movement quickly.
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If Allen’s lead leg is too injured to close distance, he’s in for a rough night. Costa has a wide variety of kicks in his arsenal, and he should use those threats to hide the low kick. Naked calf kicks aren’t likely to land for “The Dalmatian,” but he’ll find better accuracy if hiding them behind the threat of front kicks or marching knees.
Aside from taking apart the lead leg, Costa should occasionally look to stand his ground and clinch. If he lets Allen run into him then breaks with a knee or elbow, that will help discourage Allen’s pressure and leave him stranded at the kicking range more often.
Allen vs. Costa Prediction
If you’re a fan of technical and violent kickboxing, this fight is going to rule. It may end up more of a slow burn than crazy brawl, but these two are likely to make continual tactical adjustments across five rounds, which is how you end up with momentum swings and competitive scraps. Slow burn or not, I’m expecting blood to be shed from both athletes.
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Ultimately, I see this fight going to the cards and being consistently competitive for 25 full minutes. The outcome will depend on where the fight mostly takes place, at long range or more in the pocket. As the fight wears on, I expect that Allen’s more efficient boxing style while wear Costa down a bit, allowing the English standout to capture enough of the second half of the fight to sway the judges.
Race favourite Losange Bleu won the Racing TV Grande Course De Haies D’Auteuil [The French Champion Hurdle] at Auteuil this afternoon, but there was disappointment for the Irish challenger Home By The Lee who was pulled up.
Coming into this afternoon’s 3 miles 1 furlong 77 yards race, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Home By The Lee was seen by many as a serious challenger to French star Losange Bleu who was bidding to regain the title he won in 2024.
The Seán O’Driscoll-owned Home By The Lee had won two Grade 1 races, at the Cheltenham Festival and at Aintree, on his two previous starts.
Fast early pace
This afternoon, however, was one of the 11-year-old’s ‘non-going’ days, as Losange Bleu and jockey Johnny Charron set a fast pace at the front of the 11-runner field.
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With the seven-year-old son of Martaline extending his advantage as the race progressed, J.J. Slevin and Home By The Lee soon found themselves struggling at the back of the field.
On the far side, on the final circuit, Slevin took the wise decision to pull the son of Fame And Glory up, as he was by that stage quite a distance off the other runners.
Losange Bleu, trained by Dominic Bressou, came home in splendid isolation, with Theleme staying on for second under Gaetan Masure, who had won the Prix Sagan earlier in the day.
A half-brother of the winner – both being by Martaline – Jet Blue was third, with Illusion Machine next home in fourth.
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Didn’t happen for Home By The Lee
Reacting to Home By The Lee being pulled-up, J.J. Slevin told Sports News Ireland immediately after the race:
“It just didn’t happen for him today. They went a really good gallop and obviously horses went past him and he hasn’t enjoyed it – that’s him. The preparation had been good. That’s just him – everyone knows what he’s like, and the winner’s very very good.”
TNT Tropang 5G’s Bol Bol during a game vs NLEX Road Warriors in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals. –PBA IMAGES
ANTIPOLO–TNT became the lone team to overcome a twice-to-beat disadvantage after eliminating top-seeded NLEX, 118-112, in the quarterfinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday at Ynares Sports Center here.
“The key was finally getting the lineups we wanted on the floor,” coach Chot Reyes said. “I think that was big in our turnaround. They did a lot for this team.”
NLEX trailed by just one early in the second quarter, 39-38, before TNT unleashed an 11-2 run to build a 50-40 cushion at the 6:57 mark.
The Road Warriors later cut the deficit to four, 55-51, behind a triple from Brandon Ramirez, but TNT answered with a 9-3 closing run to take a 64-54 lead at halftime.
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By the end of the third quarter, TNT had stretched the lead to 101-84.
TNT Tropang 5G’s Roger Pogoy during a game vs NLEX Road Warriors in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals. –PBA IMAGES
Bol Bol dominated anew for the Tropang 5G with a monster double-double of 35 points and 13 rebounds. The local pair of Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively.
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“I think this momentum started because when we had an ugly elimination, we all talked as a team. We asked each other if we really wanted to win and it just started from there,” said Pogoy.
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For NLEX, Cady Lalanne finished with 46 points and 15 rebounds, while Schonny Winston added 24 points.
Robert Bolick chipped in 16 points and six assists in the loss.
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Leading that charge was Roger Pogoy, who got the starting nod for the first time this conference.
“We just needed to step up like this. It can’t all be Bol (Bol),” said Pogoy in Filipino. “All of our games in the elimination looked like he did all the work, so in this one, we all worked together.”
Pogoy finished with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals as TNT completed the upset of NLEX, which was armed with a twice-to-beat-advantage.
Calvin Oftana and Jayson Castro also chipped in 20 and 14 points, respectively, in the win.
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The TNT locals perfectly complemented Bol Bol, who once again delivered a monster double-double of 35 points and 13 rebounds.
Coach Chot Reyes was among the first to praise Pogoy’s effort.
“We couldn’t start Roger before because we were managing his minutes,” said Reyes. “Aside from Roger’s scoring ability, he’s really our main defender.”
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Pogoy and company take on Meralco in a best-of-seven series in the semifinals starting Wednesday at the same venue.
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Oct 17, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) reacts as he leaves the field following the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Jets 28-3. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings released their 2026 schedule on Thursday night, on tap for nine true home games, seven on the road, and one at a neutral site (Mexico City). With that in the books, it’s time to glance at the “easy” games on the schedule.
A handful of games should favor Minnesota on paper.
We say easy loosely because good teams can pop up out of nowhere, but from a May standpoint, here’s the list.
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Home Matchups Give the Vikings a Clear Path to Wins
The cakewalk sections of the 2026 docket, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = easiest game).
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones looks on before a home matchup against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 26, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones entered the contest attempting to solidify his standing with the Colts during the second half of the regular season after joining Indianapolis in search of a career reset. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
5. Week 7 — vs. Colts
This game makes the cut to start the list because it is at home — plain and simple.
The Vikings’ defense will be familiar with Daniel Jones; they saw him in practice for two months during the 2024 season. The Colts have a decent roster, not a dream team.
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Minnesota has also had luck against Indianapolis as of late, even orchestrating the largest comeback in NFL history against the franchise in 2022. The Colts’ defense ranked 16th in the league last year per EPA/Play, so the Vikings will not face an overly daunting test in Week 7.
4. Week 4 — vs. Dolphins
This team’s roster stinks. Its best wide receiver is arguably Jalen Tolbert or Parker Washington. You have to be pretty damn deep into fantasy football to know who those guys are. Miami has been conducting a fire sale over the last several months. It’s probably not a serious contender in 2026 unless Malik Willis becomes an All-Pro-caliber asset.
At home, Minnesota should trash Miami.
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SI.com’s Gilbert Manzano gave the Dolphins’ an ‘F’ grade this offseason: “Miami Dolphins: F. Notable moves: TE Greg Dulcich (one year, $3.25 million), CB Lonnie Johnson Jr. (one year, $1.48 million), edge David Ojabo (contract n/a), G Jamaree Salyer (one year, $1.4 million), WR Jalen Tolbert (contract n/a), QB Malik Willis (three years, $67.5 million).”
“Clearly, the Dolphins are in rebuild mode and have their eyes on 2027. The team needed a fresh start, and there was no need to add Willis, who now has to play for a team that said goodbye to wide receivers Waddle and Tyreek Hill this offseason. It would have been better if this team had fully committed to the rebuild and taken its lumps with a veteran quarterback who would have commanded a lot less money than Willis.”
3. Week 13 — vs. Panthers
Another home contest, the Panthers will visit U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time with fans in attendance. Carolina and Minnesota did battle in 2020, but that was the pandemic season, and no fans were allowed.
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Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan stands on the field during second-quarter action against the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 8, 2025, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. McMillan continued adjusting to NFL competition during preseason play as the Panthers evaluated the rookie receiver’s role within the offense heading into the regular season. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Last season, the Panthers’ defense ranked 23rd in the NFL per EPA/Play. The group is not scary. The offense checked in at No. 26 per the same metric. Carolina made the postseason because of poor competition in the NFC South.
The Vikings should win this one, almost no matter what.
Not everyone agrees, though. A to Z Sports‘ Kole Noble predicted a Panthers dub on Thursday, explaining, “Headline: Tetairoa McMillan fourth-down catch sets up game-winning field goal. This game will be a defensive chess match between Ejiro Evero and Brian Flores.”
“The tight game lasts deep into the final quarter until the Panthers pull off a fourth-down conversion when Young connects downfield with McMillan to set up the game-winning field goal. Score Prediction: Panthers win 13-10 (5-7).”
2. Week 12 — vs. Falcons
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Will this contest feature Tua Tagovailoa as the Falcons’ quarterback? Will this contest feature Michael Penix Jr. as the Falcons’ quarterback? Nobody knows.
If it’s Tagovailoa, you can circle it as the “Brian Flores Revenge Game.” A couple of summers ago, out of nowhere, Tagovailoa called Flores a “terrible person” on a random podcast. Flores will remember the unnecessary dig and make sure Tagovailoa knows how terrible his pass rush can be.
Minnesota also needs revenge here because the Falcons’ defense embarrassed the Vikings’ offense in 2025.
1. Week 17 — at Jets
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Unless the Jets are forced to sign a free agent outsider 6-7 months from now, the Vikings will face Geno Smith, Cade Klubnik, Brady Cook, or Bailey Zappe at quarterback. That should not be a difficult test. Weather could be a factor in this game, but generally speaking, the Vikings are battle-tested in the elements from games in Green Bay and Chicago.
New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn walks the sideline before a road matchup against the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 21, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Glenn entered the late-season contest leading the Jets through his first campaign as head coach while attempting to keep New York competitive in the AFC playoff race. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
The Jets were one of the NFL’s worst teams last year, and despite a pretty formidable defense, they’re not on track to be a playoff team in 2026. This one should be a win unless Jets coach Aaron Glenn fully reverses his fortune.
Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
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