Watching the NFL playoffs (on CBS, of course), the conversation has largely centered around Josh Allen. The Buffalo Bills quarterback has been so close, yet so far from leading his team to the Super Bowl throughout his career, which unfortunately aligns with the history of his franchise.
The Bills team may be battered and bruised, but this year, there is no Patrick Mahomes, no Joe Burrow, no Lamar Jackson to compete with him in the AFC. Allen is the clear belle of the ball, and although he may not be in the MVP conversation, he is the quarterback most would pick to lead their team with the game on the line. (Put aside any bias, you know it’s true.)
While Allen’s path appears to be the widest of his career, in reality, it is not. There is a reason Buffalo is the No. 6 seed with Denver and New England surging to the top of the AFC.
Rewinding a couple of months, few expected the NFL campaign to transpire this way before the season began. Preseason polls in college football painted a similar picture with the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon all projected as potential national champions.
Unlike football — despite the PGA Tour wanting to be football — golf seems to be steadier year to year (despite the season being twice as long).
Scottie Scheffler should again stand as the top player in the world by the end of 2026. Rory McIlroy should contend for major championships this season, especially now that he can freewheel it. Tommy Fleetwood should continue to win on the PGA Tour after getting the monkey off his back at the Tour Championship.
But “should,” “could” and “would” mean different things, and over the course of a long, grueling, eight-month season, the power of their meaning dissipates. Some players could catch us all by surprise. Others should make us all look dumb for suggesting otherwise. And maybe, just maybe, a few months into the year, you would want to go back and change some of your predictions.
Still, we have to start somewhere, and for us, that means the preseason edition of The Power 18.
The Power 18 provides insight as to how golfers are currently performing with benefit given to their play over recent events. It is a wider lens than simply what happened at the last tournament to be played but more narrow than the Official World Golf Rankings, which take into account how more than 2,000 golfers perform across an entire season.