Folks, as I try and do every year, I like to get my season predictions on record so that you all can laugh at them when I’m dead wrong. I’m not going to be giving you an in depth analysis on each team. Instead, I’ll post my predicted record for each team in division-by-division format and give you a sentence about my thoughts on each team. It’s more fun that way because I won’t bog you down with all the details as to why the Falcons are going to go 3-14 this year when you can just look at their roster.
I also know that I’m a few days late in blogging this since the season technically started on Thursday but I did already have the Rams losing to the Bills factored into my predictions that I made last weekend. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
Let’s get to it and start with my home division, the NFC East. Please note that an “x” denotes a team predicted to be a wild card. Also, please remember that there will be 3 wild card teams from each conference this year!
NFC East
1. Dallas Cowboys (11-6): The NFC is BAD this year and this team can make some noise but they will most likely be eliminated in the divisional round.
2. x- Philadelphia Eagles (9-8): I’ve been around long enough to see the Eagles crowned as offseason champions before and it never works out for them. They will be a first round exit once again this season.
3. Washington Redskins Football Team Commanders (8-9): They have a new quarterback. They have a new name (again). They have new uniforms. Now all they need is new ownership!
4. New York Giants (6-11): This season has never been about winning for the New York Giants. It’s about getting the Dave Gettleman scholarship recipients like Daniel Jones and Kenny Golladay out of town to set up to be competitive for 2023.
NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers (11-6): Can Aaron Rodgers have another big season with his worst supporting cast ever? Time will tell.
2. x-Minnesota Vikings (10-7): I’m all in on Kirk Cousins again with Kevin O’Connell as his head coach. This will likely end horribly for me.
3. Detroit Lions (7-10): My heart thinks that they can make a playoff push after watching Hard Knocks but my brain says that their roster is still developing. Seven wins would be a major improvement for them.
4. Chicago Bears (4-13): Free Justin Fields.
NFC South
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4): Tom Brady (allegedly) sacrificed his marriage for this season. You better believe he’s going off.
2. New Orleans Saints (7-10): If this team had Sean Payton then I’d probably believe in them a bit more but I’m just not sure how all of this is going to work without him.
3. Carolina Panthers (7-10): This team will be irrelevant after Week 1 when Baker Mayfield thrashes the Browns.
4. Atlanta Falcons (3-14): This may be the worst roster in football.
NFC West
1. San Francisco 49ers (11-6): The million dollar question is if Trey Lance will take this team to new heights that Jimmy Garoppolo just couldn’t reach. My gut says that he does.
2. x-Los Angeles Rams (11-6): Yes, things looked bad on Thursday night against the Bills. But the Bills are one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team. The NFC is still horrendous. The Rams will be FINE.
3. Arizona Cardinals (9-8): Will Kyler Murray answer the call of duty after getting paid or will he be too busy playing Call of Duty?
4. Seattle Seahawks (3-14): With the 2nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Bijan Robinson, running back, Texas.
AFC East
1. Buffalo Bills (13-4): After watching the Bills play on Thursday night, my prediction of 13 wins may be too low. NOBODY circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!
2. x- Miami Dolphins (10-7): Will Tua lead them to the playoffs or will they have a new quarterback in 2023? That’s what’s at stake here. To me, this team has too many weapons to not make the playoffs this year.
3. New England Patriots (7-10): Yes, it’s Belichick. Yes, it’s the Patriots. But their offense is going to be really bad with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge leading it.
4. New York Jets (7-10): This prediction is probably too high. There’s nothing particularly exciting about this team.
AFC North
1. Baltimore Ravens (12-5): Everything that could have gone wrong for the Ravens did in 2021. Now Lamar Jackson is in a contract year and you can bet he’s set to have one of the best seasons of his career.
2. Cincinnati Bengals (10-7): I have the Bengals missing out on the playoffs which may be a bold move but since 2015, Super Bowl runner ups have only made the playoffs three times.
3. Cleveland Browns (6-11): I hate everything about this team and franchise.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-11): I am not a believer in Mitch Trubisky. I’m not a believer in Kenny Pickett. This is going to be a long season in Pittsburgh.
AFC South
1. Indianapolis Colts (10-7): Is Matt Ryan an upgrade over Carson Wentz? Probably. But It’ll be the defense that carries this team into the playoffs if they get that far.
2. Tennessee Titans (8-9): If this team disappeared tomorrow then nobody would notice except for the people in the Nashville area.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-9): Trevor Lawrence is gonna look like a new man today.
4. Houston Texans (3-14): Maybe it won’t be this bad, but they’re going to have to prove it.
AFC West
1. Los Angeles Chargers (12-5): Nobody is a bigger Justin Herbert homer than me but this man is going to do big things this season.
2. x-Kansas City Chiefs (11-6): Who will replace Tyreek Hill? Maybe Juju Smith-Schuster turns back the clock, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
3. x-Denver Broncos (10-7): Broncos country, let’s ride!!!!!
4. Las Vegas Raiders (9-8): For what it’s worth, they’d win the AFC South.
NFC Championship Prediction: Buccaneers over Cowboys
AFC Championship Prediction: Bills over Ravens
Super Bowl Prediction: Bills over Buccaneers
Featured Image Credit: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons