PORT JEFF, NY- I can hardly contain my excitement! The first NFL Sunday of the year is upon us! Let’s make some NFL Season Picks and Predictions
Division champions
NFC East
Eagles
The defending Super Bowl champs defeated the Cowboys Thursday night to start their season 1-0. They didn’t look particularly impressive, but I’m not too concerned. While Jalen Hurts does have his limitations, as we saw Thursday night. We also saw last year what this is offense is capable of with the roster that surrounds him. Barring several injuries to the defense or Barkley, this team easily wins the NFC East and 12 plus games.
Lions
While much has been made of the Lions losing both their coordinators a season ago and the with Green Bay trading for Micah Parsons, the shine is a bit off the Lions. This is still a loaded roster that’s won as many games the last two years as any team in football. The defense was absolutely decimated by injuries last year and they still won 15 games. Star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson returns from injury and they signed DJ Reed from the Jets to solidify the secondary. An average defense at worst is all this team needs paired with the leagues best offense should position them to win this division and make a run at a Super Bowl title.
Panthers
I’ll go slightly off the wall with this one. After a disastrous start to the 2024 season, the Panthers and Bryce Young closed the year strong and showed a ton of improvement. They drafted Tetoroia McMillan in the first round who was widely regarded as the best receiver in the draft. The Panthers were also decimated by injuries on the defensive side of the ball, and while I don’t expect this team to have a top end defense they should improve from their 32nd ranking a year ago. In a wide open division with no clear dominant team, I think the panthers could surprise some people and win this division. Which may only take winning 9-10 games.
49ers
After a disappointing injury filled 2024, the 49ers return much of their roster from a year ago and appear to be healthy coming into the season. Christian McCafferey, did pop up on the injury report with a calf injury, the same injury that sidelined him for most of the 2024 season. However, McCaffery insists he’s healthy and at full strength. What excites me most about this team is the return of Robert Salah for his second stint as the defensive coordinator for this team. If that unit can return to peak form this team is easily among the best in football.
Wild Card teams
Packers
The Packers are the trendy team everyone is picking to go to the Super Bowl. I’m not sold just yet. While Micah Parsons is without a doubt a fantastic get, I still have my doubts about Jordan Love. He’s been incredibly inconsistent for long stretches over the first two years of his career. I don’t doubt the upside for this team which is why I think they’re good enough to make the playoffs, but I’m not sold just yet on how good they’ll be. I’m willing to acknowledge that this team can easily win the division and compete with the best teams in football if everything clicks.
Rams
The Rams to me are a (not so) dark horse team to win the Super Bowl if their key guys on offense can stay healthy for the whole season. That’s true for almost any team but is perhaps the most important for this team. Matt Stafford showed last year he can still play at an elite level, however he enters the season with massive injury concerns. Stafford missed most of training camp with a mysterious back injury that the team seemed very iffy about. Nevertheless Stafford’s healthy for now and this offense is among the best in football and they’ve added Davante Adams. On top of that no team has improved their defense over the last few years more than the Rams. They’ve nailed several first round picks and it’s led to them boasting a top 10 unit in football. If Stafford manages to make it though the season, they can win the Super Bowl.
Commanders
The Commanders and Jayden Daniels are everyone on earths pick to go to the Super Bowl and for the sophomore QB to win MVP. I don’t have much to poke at that belief. Daniels should only improve and they’ve added Deebo Samuel to the receiving corps. I’m very high on this team like everyone else, I just don’t think they’re on the level of the Eagles.
AFC
Bills- I’ll keep this short. By far the best team in a bad division, with perhaps the best player on the planet.
Texans
I have almost no conviction in this pick. CJ Stroud took a massive step backwards last year which can perhaps be blamed on poor play calling and a terrible offensive line. The good news is they’ve got a new OC, the bad news is the O-line may have gotten worse. On the defensive side of the ball the Texans do possess one of the best defenses in football, and for that reason alone I’ll take them to win this division.
Ravens
I just don’t get who is stopping this team. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry return to form maybe the best QB-RB duo in the league. Pair that with a fantastic O-line and defense. The Ravens are easily the best team in football.
Chiefs
Despite a disappointing season opening loss to the Chargers, I have complete faith Mahomes and Reid will figure things out. Mahomes did an incredible job keeping the chiefs in the game without his top two receivers who he should have later in the season.
Wild Card Teams
Chargers- the Chargers were incredibly impressive Friday night against the chiefs. After running an extremely conservative run heavy offense last year, Justin Herbert was fully unleashed Friday night and looked like the best QB in the game. I wouldn’t be stunned even a little if the chargers won the west and Herbert won MVP if they fully unleash Herbert for the entire season. I think they’ll be a very good team and a dangerous wild card team.
Bengals
I love Joe Burrow, I think he’s probably the second or third best QB in football, and that’s absolutely good enough for the bengals to win 10 plus games and be a wildcard team. Having said that, this defense is horrible. It was among the leagues worst a year ago and they’ve done very little to improve that. Burrow is good enough for this team to win a Super Bowl that’s always on the table, but this defense is a real hindrance to this teams upside.
Broncos
Another extremely popular pick for a dark horse Super Bowl team. Bo Nix surprised everyone last year and looked like a borderline top 10 QB. Denver possess one of the best defenses in football and have done a lot to improve on offense. They signed JK Dobbins and drafted RJ Harvey to bolster the RB room which was among the worst in football last year. Sean Payton has done an excellent job building a really good football team in Denver that has a real shot at competing with the elites in the AFC.
Super Bowl Prediction.
Ravens over Lions
