Hello readers! The season we're all waiting for is just only a few days away as the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers square off on Thursday night to open the National Football League's 102nd season. In This post I will predict how well each of the 32 teams will do this season, who will win the division, who will place where, etc. I will also predict the playoffs including the Super Bowl and who will win the yearly awards. Unfortunately before making this post I was planning on doing something about the preseason but lost track of time. Let's get to the predictions!
Season Predictions
I did the AFC first last year so let's do the NFC...
NFC
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys (1st in NFC East): You had one of your more uglier seasons in a long time as Dak Prescott went down and the offensive wheels fell off. Another ugly season and Mike McCarthy's hot seat might get a lot warmer. I still think they'll pull off a division championship if they stay healthy.
Washington Football Team (2nd in NFC East): The defending division champs look to be riding high but with the arrival of Ryan Fitzpatrick and an inept offense it will look like its going to have to rely on the defense to get them far.
New York Giants (3rd in NFC East): New York along with most of the division had the chance to be in the playoffs as well as a top-10 pick. With Saquon Barkley missing most of last season 2021 will be a big year for him to stay healthy. Daniel Jones will also have a lot to prove to be the franchise quarterback that this team desperately needs. If the Gints want to go far they'll need their improved defense to take them to that next level.
Philadelphia Eagles (4th in NFC East): Carson Wentz is gone and Doug Pederson is gone. Jalen Hurts seems to be quite the talent at quarterback but with a weak receiving corp and running game I feel this year will be a lost one for Hurts. It'll be a long road for new Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.
The NFC East proved that last year was no fluke, this division is pretty bad. The division might've been the gold standard in the NFL 30 years ago but this division makes the NFC West in the early 2010's look like a competitive division. If Dallas stays healthy, this will be their division, if they don't then it'll be wide open.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers (1st in NFC North): Green Bay had an interesting offseason as it gave Packers fans PTSD from 2008 when Brett Favre wanted to come back to play for the Green & Gold. With Aaron Rodgers back and a possibly better receiving corp and a shored up defense, the Packers look to get back to the playoffs with a Super Bowl or Bust mindset.
Minnesota Vikings (2nd in NFC North): The Vikings are a dark horse in the division as the attention seems to be given to the Packers. The season will be a big one for head coach Mike Zimmer and quarterback Kirk Cousins. The defense will need to step up big for the Vikes. Worst case scenario: you'll win seven games. Best case scenario: you might make the playoffs.
Chicago Bears (3rd in NFC North): Chicago confuses me, you drafted a quarterback and then you bring in a new quarterback in Andy Dalton. Matt Nagy's seat is already warm and the season hasn't started yet. The Bears running attack and defensive front will have to win the day if they want to have success.
Detroit Lions (4th in NFC North): Matthew Stafford out, Jared Goff out as Detroit's newest head coach Dan Campbell will have a lot of growing pains in his first year. Sorry Lions fans, this years iteration of the Detroit Lions will likely be that of a punching bag. Still it might mean that you guys win the 1st overall pick next spring.
NFC North stock will drop a bit this year as I think the best case scenario is that two teams will represent the division in January. Worst case scenario is that the Packers will runaway with the division and maybe a team will eke out a wild-card berth.
NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1st in NFC South): The defending champs look to have everything in place to make another title run. I honestly don't really find anything wrong with them on offense or defense, perhaps the running game might be weaker but when you have Tom Brady playing for you on offense, you just need to run for three yards every once in a while.
New Orleans Saints (2nd in NFC South): Drew Brees retired and in comes Jameis Winston. I don't necessarily doubt Winston but his play in Tampa Bay hasn't really convinced me that he is the worthy successor to the future hall-of-famer Brees. Sure it might be a guarantee that Winston will throw 30 touchdowns but hecan possibly throw 28 interceptions as well.
Carolina Panthers (3rd in NFC South): Christian McCaffrey will be key for the Panthers to have any shot of having the elusive 2nd place in the division. Their ceiling is a winning record but it is a high ceiling. You got Sam Darnold out of that awful situation in New York though this situation isn't much better, at least he has some help.
Atlanta Falcons (4th in NFC South): Arthur Smith is the new head coach for the Falcons as he hopes to bring his Tennessee Titans offensive magic to a team that is decent to good on offense but horrendous on defense. Atlanta will need to hold onto leads to even have a shot to be better than Carolina or New Orleans. The loss of Julio Jones could be a factor into Atlanta's season. Overall, I think it's a basement season for the dirty birds.
The South will be a weaker division as expected as its only really the Buccaneers that will take it. Only team I think that will make noise is the Saints. It'll be a battle for 2nd place among the Panthers, Falcons and Saints.
NFC West
San Francisco 49ers (1st in NFC West): Jimmy Garoppolo will be the starter as Trey Lance will take the role of the backup. It is the wiser decision to start the more experienced man as Lance only played over a year at North Dakota State. The talent that the 49ers have is quite remarkable on offense and defense.
Seattle Seahawks (2nd in NFC West): The defending division champs will have a tougher NFC West to deal with. With Russell Wilson still at quarterback the Seahawks will still make the playoffs but I just feel that the Seahawks will have a setback this year.
Los Angeles Rams (3rd in NFC West): Jared Goff out, Matthew Stafford in as Sean McVay will have an experienced veteran at quarterback. With a stingy defense that will keep them in games, I'm not sure how well the offense will do. A playoff berth could be in their future.
Arizona Cardinals (4th in NFC West): The Cardinals seem to be the offseason champions as they acquired JJ Watt and AJ Green. The talent of the team could be in just name only as both players haven't been able to stay healthy for an entire season for a while. The Cards will likely have a winning season or at worst a 8-9 record.
The West will be the toughest division in pro football as the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams could very well be playing football into January. Could very well see all four teams with winning records. This division is just that good.
AFC
AFC East
Buffalo Bills (1st in AFC East): Winning the battle in the trenches is the name of the game and the Bills look to be much improved on both sides of the ball. Josh Allen has proven to be a quarterback that can win you ballgames. The defense can be very physical and torment opponents. This team could very well be the gold standard in the division.
New England Patriots (2nd in AFC East): Cam Newton is out and the Mac Jones era begins in earnest in New England. Bill Belichick has improved the defense a lot and could be a thorn at the side of the Buffalo Bills. Could see Mac Jones struggling a bit but a lot of trust is put on him.
Miami Dolphins (3rd in AFC East): Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has done a remarkable job and looks to make some noise in the division. Miami could cause havoc on both the Bills and Patriots playoff hopes as they have the pieces together to make a playoff berth. Just how well can the Dolphins be depends on how mature will the Dolphins have built do.
New York Jets (4th in AFC East): Sam Darnold is out and Zach Wilson is in. Wilson is yet another quarterback to try and rejuvenate this team which has lacked talent for years. With little help on offense and a defense that isn't that much better. Robert Saleh will have a rough one on the sidelines for the Jets as the rebuild will continue on.
This division intrigues me for some reason. It's not nearly as bad as it has been and the emergence of the Dolphins as a division title contender makes it even better. I still think the Bills will be the division winner when it's all said and done but a 2nd team could very well represent this division as well, whether it'll be the Patriots or Dolphins.
AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers (1st in AFC North): Last season was a tough one to swallow as the Steelers went from 11-0 to 12-4 and then a one-and-done team. Pittsburgh will still have a successful season but with the emergence of the Browns will keep them on their toes. The defense will be there but it could be possible that the offense will slip a bit.
Cleveland Browns (2nd in AFC North): At this time last year I felt a winning season would've been a successful one for this team but to actually make the playoffs and win a playoff game was something that I didn't see. A lot will hinge on how well Kevin Stefanski will keep this group hungry for more and keeping them focused as this team has found success just not sustained success.
Baltimore Ravens (3rd in AFC North): The Ravens remain a team that can devastate opponents in the regular season but act like a chicken with its head off in the playoffs. It is a trend that needs to change if Baltimore wants to win a championship with this group. The window is still there but the loss of JK Dobbins will play havoc with those plans. It'll be a battle for 2nd place against the Browns.
Cincinnati Bengals (4th in AFC North): Joe Burrow will be back from injury but the Bengals success will hinge on him staying upright. The Bengals have done their part to give him help in Ja'Marr Chase out of LSU and Jackson Carman out of Clemson. With a defense that needs to do its part, the ceiling is unfortunately another basement season in the North.
AFC North will be the toughest division in the AFC just like the NFC West in the NFC. The Steelers, Ravens and Browns have what it takes to win the division but they will just beat up on the Bengals. Practically those three teams could win the division.
AFC South
Tennessee Titans (1st in AFC South): With the addition of Julio Jones into the offense, this team has what it takes to be a contender. With injury issues in Indianapolis the Titans look like to be the favorite to win the division. As far as them winning the Super Bowl, that remains in doubt.
Indianapolis Colts (2nd in AFC South): The losses of Quenton Nelson and Carson Wentz will put this teams playoff hopes in doubt. They will still have talent on defense and rely on the running game but I feel the Colts will play catch up with the Titans. They surely will finish better than the Jaguars and Texans in the division.
Jacksonville Jaguars (3rd in AFC South): Trevor Lawrence will be a bright spot for the team in a team that lacks a lot of bright spots. Urban Meyer will have his work cut out for him as this team will be fighting for 3rd place against the Texans.
Houston Texans (4th in AFC South): The Bill O'Brien era is over. The team is just not that great on offense or defense. DeShaun Watson's situation is just getting worser. The team is just a mess and won't likely even sniff a winning season.
The AFC South looked like a good division at first but injury problems with the Colts put any hopes of that to rest. Tennessee looks like the team to beat in the division while the Texans and Jaguars will fight for who wants the basement cellar the most. Just not a thrilling division to watch.
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs (1st in AFC West): Despite the loss in the Super Bowl the Chiefs look like the team that will win the division as long as Patrick Mahomes stays healthy. The Chiefs defense laxed a lot last year and will need to play better if they want to hoist a Lombardi trophy in February.
Los Angeles Chargers (2nd in AFC West): Justin Herbert had a good rookie season and with an improved offense and a defense that will be just as good. As long as the sophomore slump doesn't sting him the Chargers could very well play for a playoff berth.
Las Vegas Raiders (3rd in AFC West): Make or break season for the Raiders as Derek Carr could be on the way out if the Raiders don't make the playoffs. With the Broncos and Chargers playing improved ball, the Raiders could be the odd man out.
Denver Broncos (4th in AFC West): The quarterback carousel continues as Teddy Bridgewater becomes the next one on the merry-go-round. He will have help on offense as the Broncos will have a good receiving corp. The question is how well the defense can do to keep them in games.
The Chiefs seem to be the team that will take the division while the rest of the division will try to beat up on each other to get a possible playoff berth. It'll be a toss-up to who will win the elusive 2nd place in the division. I like the Chargers to do it but the Raiders and Broncos look to put that to change that.
Playoff + Super Bowl Prediction
NFC
1st seed: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2nd seed: Green Bay Packers
3rd seed: San Francisco 49ers
4th seed: Dallas Cowboys
5th seed: Seattle Seahawks
6th seed: Los Angeles Rams
7th seed: Minnesota Vikings
Wild Card:
Packers over Vikings
49ers over Rams
Seahawks over Cowboys
Divisional:
Packers over 49ers
Buccaneers over Seahawks
Championship:
Buccaneers over Packers
AFC
1st seed: Kansas City Chiefs
2nd seed: Tennessee Titans
3rd seed: Buffalo Bills
4th seed: Pittsburgh Steelers
5th seed: New England Patriots
6th seed: Cleveland Browns
7th seed: Baltimore Ravens
Wild Card:
Ravens over Titans
Bills over Browns
Steelers over Patriots
Divisional:
Chiefs over Ravens
Bills over Steelers
Championship:
Bills over Chiefs
Super Bowl:
Buccaneers over Bills
Award Predictions
MVP: Patrick Mahomes
Offensive Player of the Year: Nick Chubb
Defensive Player of the Year: TJ Watt
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Najee Harris
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Micah Parsons
Comeback Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey
Coach of the Year: Kyle Shanahan
With the Opening Night game on Thursday, expect the Week 1 picks post to be posted sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday night. Until then enjoy the rest of your Labor Day weekend!
-Tom
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