I’ve been lax in doing this the past couple of years, and I
think it’s boiled down to my Broncos winning Super Bowl 50 and not wanting to
try and predict where they’d go. But with some (cautious) optimism for 2018,
plus the fact that there are no hard-and-fast favorites, in my opinion, I
figured I’d weigh in on what might happen in the NFL this year.
I’ll give my predicted order of finish for the season (no
records, I really suck at that part) along with commentary, then go into playoff
picks. Without further ado:
AFC
EAST
Patriots
Dolphins
Jets
Bills
NORTH
Steelers
Ravens
Bengals
Browns
SOUTH
Jaguars
Texans
Titans
Colts
WEST
Chargers
Broncos
Chiefs
Raiders
NFC
EAST
Eagles
Giants
Cowboys
Redskins
NORTH
Vikings
Bears
Packers
Lions
SOUTH
Falcons
Saints
Panthers
Buccaneers
WEST
Rams
49ers
Seahawks
Cardinals
I sincerely
don’t get the love people have for the Ravens this year. The Ravens
were pitiful last year on offense, and I don’t see much improvement. That said, with Le’Veon Bell looking like he’ll
hold out til week 10, they could win the division by default. But the Steelers
still have Big Ben and AB, and a young, improved D.
Yes, my Broncos
pick could be seen as a homer play, but here’s why I did it. First of all, the
Raiders have done nothing right since Gruden took over. I relish their trading
of Mack and the fact that they have the oldest roster, plus having to learn
Gruden’s notoriously complex playbook, signal failure.
As for the Chiefs,
Pat Mahomes has had some nice moments
this preseason. But he’s a QB from the Big XII.
No Big XII QB has experienced sustained success at the NFL level this
millennium (Scott Frost did as an NFL
safety. And while Sam Bradford has been in the league a good # of years, I
would argue he hasn’t been successful). The Chiefs got rid of most of their defensive stars, and Mahomes threw 7 INTs
against them in camp. They make have some big plays, but I doubt they can win
many games needing to score 35+ points.
The worst-case
scenario happened last year: The Eagles won the Super Bowl. I am genuinely
surprised Philadelphia wasn’t destroyed as a result, and the fans have gotten
more insufferable. But Foles looks like a backup again, and they haven’t looked
right this summer. I don’t see a repeat.
The Saints
should’ve gone to the NFC title game last year, if not for a fluky play. I
argue they would’ve beaten Philly had they done so. They’ll be in the thick of it this year, but
man do the Falcons look good.
The Rams are
all in, mostly for the new stadium coming in 2 years, but they came up small in
the playoffs, and if they don’t get home field, I don’t see them in the Super
Bowl.
The Bears,
with Khalill Mack, all of a sudden have a top 5 D in the NFC, if not the league.
I think Trubitsky is still a year or two away from being a bona fide top dawg,
but his D is better than Aaron Rogers.
PLAYOFFS
AFC TEAMS: Chargers, Patriots, Jaguars, Steelers, Texans, Ravens
NFC TEAMS: Falcons, Rams, Eagles, Vikings,
Saints, 49ers
WILD CARD
AFC: Jaguars over Titans, Steelers over
Ravens
NFC: Eagles over 49ers, Saints over
Vikings
DIVISIONAL ROUND
AFC: Chargers over Steelers, Jaguars
over Steelers
NFC: Saints over Rams, Falcons over
Eagles
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
AFC: Chargers over Jaguars
NFC: Falcons over Saints
SUPER BOWL LIII
This is my
second-worst scenario, as I cannot stand Philip Rivers, aka the Bolo Tie Bandit. But man, do the Chargers
have a seemingly complete team. They just can’t start slow like they usually do.
They matchup against the Falcons, who become the first team to play in their
home stadium in the Super Bowl (which I hoped for last year). And they also
avenge their record-breaking loss 2 years ago.
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