[Editor’s note: Welcome to Athlon Sports’ poll of the day, where we ask readers to weigh in on the biggest topic of the day. Thanks for voting, and be sure to sound off in the comment section.]
Don’t ... Don’t … Don’t … Don’t believe the hype! I had Public Enemy playing in my head when I read today’s story from Andrew Perloff, in which he made the case for the Chicago Bears being the most overhyped team of the 2026 preseason. He’s got a point. The Bears won a bunch of games last season thanks to late-game Caleb Williams heroics and an inordinate number of takeaways. Those are two things that are not always sustainable, so regression is possible.
But the Bears aren’t the only overhyped team heading into this season. Allow me to offer three more:
Los Angeles Rams: Super Bowl favorites, but they play in a tough division and they’ve got a 38-year-old quarterback.
Kansas City Chiefs: Everyone’s excited that Patrick Mahomes will be ready for the start of the season, but they forget the Chiefs were bad last season before Mahomes got hurt.
New York Giants: The media expects John Harbaugh to make a big impact in his first season with New York, but 4-13 to playoffs? Might be tough.
So…
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