Latest / The Sports Hangover Daily / NFL Schedule Chose Violence & Patriots Face Brutal Test | May 15, 2026
Transcript
- Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: the NFL schedule dropped last night and the league is already picking fights, Devon Achane just got PAID in Miami, A.J. Brown to New England keeps heating up, and the Cavs needed overtime to survive Detroit in Game five. Let's get into it. Alright, the NFL schedule is here and I gotta say — the league office chose violence with this one. The season opens Wednesday, September ninth. Defending champion Seattle Seahawks hosting the New England Patriots. A Super Bowl LX rematch right out of the gate. And the reason it's a Wednesday? Because the very next night, the Niners and Rams play the first ever regular season game in Melbourne, Australia. So the NFL said, you know what, let's just start the whole season a day early and make it an event. I respect it. But the real story is what this schedule says about the Patriots. New England's first four opponents combined for a winning percentage north of seven hundred last year. That's the toughest opening stretch any team has faced since 1986. They're walking into Seattle for a Super Bowl rematch, then they've got three straight division winners after that. If Vrabel's rebuild is real, we're gonna know by October. There's no hiding. The other headline? Bills and Chiefs on Thanksgiving. Josh Allen versus Patrick Mahomes with turkey on the table. That game is gonna be massive. And the Bills get to show off the new Highmark Stadium in Week two against the Lions on Thursday Night Football. Detroit at Buffalo in a brand new building on a short week. Everyone's watching that one. One more scheduling note that cracked me up — the Rams and Packers play the Thanksgiving Eve game on Netflix. Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Netflix got the Rams in prime time again. LA, you're welcome. Still in the NFL — Devon Achane got the bag. Four years, sixty-four million dollars from the Dolphins, can go up to sixty-eight million with incentives. Sixteen million a year for a running back coming off his rookie deal. Look, I know people love to scream about paying running backs, but Achane is different. This dude is a weapon. He's not just a between-the-tackles grinder — he's a receiver, he's a returner, he changes the geometry of the offense every time he touches the ball. Miami made the right call. You don't let a guy like that walk into free agency and let someone else turn him into a superstar. Now the A.J. Brown saga. This isn't slowing down. Schefter is basically saying the Eagles are ready to move him after June first. The Patriots are the team, and it's probably gonna cost a future first — maybe twenty twenty-eight. Brown was already spotted looking at a condo in the Seaport district in Boston. That's not what a guy does when he thinks he's staying in Philly. I think this deal gets done before training camp. New England needs a legit number one receiver for Drake Maye, and Brown is exactly that. Quick Tyreek Hill update — nobody wants him. He's thirty-two, coming off a torn ACL and knee surgery, and he voided the last three years of his deal. The Colts trolled him in their schedule release video, which is hilarious and also tells you where the league stands on this. Hill's market is ice cold right now. Over to the NBA — Cleveland survived, but barely. The Cavs beat Detroit one seventeen to one thirteen in overtime in Game five. James Harden went for thirty, eight boards, and six assists. He was the closer they needed in the extra period. But Cade Cunningham — man. Thirty-nine points, seven rebounds, nine assists. That kid left everything on the floor and still took the loss. And the ending was messy. Jarrett Allen got called for a flagrant on Ausar Thompson with under a minute left in regulation. Detroit's bench was furious. Thompson was down for a while. The Cavs won, but that game is gonna leave a mark on both sides heading into Game six tonight. In the NHL — Montreal took Game five in Buffalo, six to three. The Canadiens lead the series three games to two and can close it out Saturday at home. Suzuki and Evans scored sixty-eight seconds apart in the second period and Buffalo never recovered. The Sabres have now lost three straight after taking the first two games at home. That's a brutal collapse. Colorado finished off Minnesota in five games. Brett Kulak scored in overtime. Avs win four to three and move on. That team is rolling. And I gotta mention the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. After Round one, there's a seven-way tie at three under. Scottie Scheffler shot a sixty-seven, hit thirteen of fourteen fairways. Patrick Reed went bogey-free. Jordan Spieth was tied for the lead and then bogeyed sixteen and seventeen. Classic Spieth. Rory McIlroy shot a seventy-four and called his round — his exact words — garbage. Thirty-three players are within two strokes of the lead. This thing is wide open. Here's your Hangover Take. The Patriots are about to become the most interesting team in football and nobody's talking about it yet. Think about it. They've got the hardest opening schedule in forty years. They might be trading for A.J. Brown. Vrabel is in Year one of a full rebuild with a young quarterback in Drake Maye. And the NFL just handed them the season opener against the defending champs in Seattle — on national television, on a Wednesday night, with the whole country watching. If Maye shows up and New England steals that game, the narrative shifts overnight. And if they get Brown? Now you've got a real offense forming. The Patriots aren't contenders yet. But they're the team everyone's gonna be watching in September. That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.