PORT JEFF, NY – The NFL season is just a few nights away! Let’s make some predictions.
NFC Division Winners
East
Eagles. Their two biggest additions this offseason were Saquon Barkley, who gives the Iggles an element they really hadn’t had in past seasons and Bryce Huff, who emerged as a stud pass-rusher for the Jets in the past few seasons. Most of the disastrous end to their 2023 season can be attributed to injuries, specifically to Jalen Hurts who played the majority of the second half of the season injured. I expect them to bounce back in a big way and win the NFC east with relative ease. 11-6
North
Bears. I’m all in on the Caleb Williams hype. He enters his rookie season with as good a supporting class a rookie QB has ever had. The Bears added Rome Odunze who some argued was the best WR in this past draft class, Keenan Allen who’s coming off a career year and D’Andre Swift this offseason, on top of that they already have DJ Moore. That’s just one side of the ball, after their acquisition of Montez Sweat last year, Chicago had one of the best defenses in the NFL. I think Williams sets a bunch of rookie records and may even contend for the MVP. Chicago wins the North. 11-6
South
Falcons. I’m not entirely sold the Falcons are as good as everyone thinks they are. I’m very exctied to finally see Bijan, Pitts, and London be free of Arthur Smith and have a competent QB. However, I do have some concerns. Kirk Cousins is 36 years old and coming off a torn achilles, those two things don’t typically mesh well. While I have my doubts, the south is without question is the worst division in football and if Cousins is even 75% himself he’ll be a massive upgrade over what they’d been trotting out the past few years. I think Atlanta beats up on this poor division and wins it with ease. 10-7
West
49ers. Not much to be said here. The Brandon Ayiuk contract dispute is over, and they’ll return the majority of their roster from a year ago to form the best offense in football led by Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffery. I expect at minimum Kyle Shanahan will have this team in the NFC Title game. 13-4
Wild Cards
Lions. After a heartbreaking end to their 2023 season in the NFC title game, I think the Lions are well positioned to make another deep playoff run. They play 14 of their 16 games indoors which is massive for Jared Goff, who’s historically struggled playing in the cold coming down the stretch come November through January. They have a top 5 WR in Amon Ra St Brown, a top 5 RB in Jahmyr Gibbs, and probably the best offensive line in football. Despite their short comings on the defensive side of the ball I think Detroit battles for the division title with Chicago all year and ultimately settles for a WC spot. 11-6
Packers. After shocking the Cowboys and nearly upsetting the 49ers last postseason, the Packers enter the 2024 season with massive expectations. In his first year as starter Jordan Love was everything the Packers hoped for when they decided to move on from Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay has done an excellent job of surrounding Love with a ton of weapons on offense and I think the defense will continue to improve much as it did as the season went on last year. I think the Packers have another good year in what looks like the best division in football. 10-7
Cowboys. After their embarrassing playoff loss at the hands of the Packers last year, there are a lot of questions about Dallas coming into the 2024 season. To start they did very little to improve the defense that looked abysmal against any team with a competent QB, and they let Tony Pollard walk and will enter the season with the dust of Ezekiel Elliot and Rico Dowdle as their top two RB’s. Despite some of their lack of offensive talent I do believe Dak Prescott is good enough to take this team deep into the playoffs. Of course, they’re the Cowboys so I absolutely expect them to have another mildly successful regular season with an early playoff exit leaving even more questions about who the QB and Head Coach will be come 2025. 9-8
Giants. I made it point to just talk about the playoff teams BUT I couldn’t leave out the G-men.
I’ve thought a lot about how this season may go for the Giants, and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s gonna be ugly. The offensive line is still a disaster, and Daniel Jones looked horrific in the preseason. I really hope how bad this roster is doesn’t cost Daboll his job because he’s an excellent coach who deserves to be given a competent QB. Malik Nabers will make tons of highlight reel plays all year long but it won’t be enough, I’m afraid this is gonna be a long year. 5-12
AFC
East
Bills. It seems everyone is done with the Bills and I’m not entirely sure why. The defense is still very good and I love some of the moves they made, specifically adding Keon Coleman in the draft and Curtis Samuel in free agency. My prediction, Dalton Kincaid emerges as one of the best Tight Ends in the NFL, and Josh Allen has the best year of his career after being freed of the burden of having to force feed the ball to Stefon Diggs. Allen wins the MVP Award. 12-5
South
Texans. It’s tough to poke any holes in the Texans as a team, they added Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon to an already stacked offense that features Nico Collins and Tank Dell, they added one of the best pass-rushers in football in Danielle Hunter and CJ Stroud should only improve after playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in football last year. 11-6
North
Bengals. If Burrow can stay healthy they’ll be really good. it’s that simple. Star WR Jamar Chase is currently in a contract dispute with the team, however i’d be stunned to see them let this carry into the season. Chase along with Tee Higgins for at least one more year will form one of the best WR duos in the NFL and the Bengals will get right back to business among the elites in the AFC. 11-6
West
Cheifs. After a oddly bad offensive regular season it looked like 2023 just wasn’t their year. Then of course Patrick Mahomes showed everyone why he’s not just the best QB in the league but perhaps the best of all time. The Chiefs addressed the mess that was their WR room, adding Marquise Brown in free agency and Xavier Worthy in the Draft who recorded the fastest 40 yard dash time in history at 4.21 seconds. Their defense was incredible last year, I don’t see a weakness from this team. Look out. I think Kansas City looks scarier then they ever have. 13-4
Wild Cards
Jaguars. The Jags had a really bizzare season last year, they started the year 6-2, however they finished the year 3-6 to miss the playoffs. I think much of their late season struggles can be traced back to the plethora of injuries Trevor Lawrence suffered last year. I think Lawrence has a great year and the Jags have the season many of us thought they’d have last year. 10-7
Jets. Will this finally be the year? To be perfectly honest, on paper this team should be the best in the NFL. They should have a top 5 defense at minimum, they’ve drastically improved the O-Line, and they have two incredible players on offense Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. However, none of it matters if Aaron Rodgers either isn’t healthy or isn’t good anymore. I really have no idea what to expect from Rodgers this year, he wasn’t exactly great in his finally year in Green Bay and is 40 years old coming off a torn achilles. I think the range of outcomes is extremely wide for this year but I ultimately think if Rodgers is even half of what he was at his peak in Green Bay he can led this team to the promise land. 11-6
Ravens. I think we see a bit of a step back from Baltimore this year. The defense will almost certainly be worse after losing DC Mike Macdonald to Seattle, and they’ve suffered some big losses to the offensive line. I still think they’ll be a very good team that contends for the division and they did sign Derrick Henry which gives Lamar the best RB he’s ever had. This is a big year for Lamar who’s never been to a Super Bowl and is often not criticized the same way other QB’s who’ve struggled at times in the playoffs like Allen, Tua, Dak, etc. The best Ravens teams may have already passed making it harder and harder for Lamar to win a Super Bowl going forward in an increasingly difficult AFC. 10-7
MVP– Josh Allen
NFC Championship. 49ers over Eagles
AFC Championship. Bills over Chiefs
Super Bowl– 49ers over Bills .
