AFC

AFC East

New England Patriots 15-1

Miami Dolphins 8-8

Buffalo Bills 2-14

New York Jets 2-14

This prediction for the Patriots is most likely inflated, but it is just so hard to pick against them. With Tom Brady in seemingly ageless form and the pieces they added in the offseason, it is difficult to not see them as the top in not only the AFC, but the entire NFL. The Dolphins, with Jay Cutler at the helm, will finish middle of the road; benefiting from playing the other 2 dismal teams in their division. The Jets and Bills, but especially the Jets, look to be bidding for the top pick in the draft to get one of the [seemingly] great crop of young QBs in 2018.

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers 13-3

Cincinnati Bengals 8-8

Baltimore Ravens 6-10

Cleveland Browns 3-13

The Steelers appear to be the one team in the AFC that can compete with the Patriots right now. Their explosive offense will be able to make up for some of the holes in their defense. It seems like every year for the last few years has been “the year” for the Bengals, but I don’t think they have all the pieces together to be anything more than an average team. Baltimore takes a step back this season. And finally, probably the most cursed team in the NFL, the Browns. It looks like they may have found their young, franchise QB, but they still need a lot of help.

AFC South

Tennessee Titans 12-4

Houston Texans 9-7

Indianapolis Colts 4-12

Jacksonville Jaguars 3-13

The Titans are one of the most talked about teams in the league this year. Can Mariota, behind that stellar offensive line, make the leap to the next level at QB? I think he can, and he will lead the Titans to their best season since 2008. The Texans’ defense will lead them to more victories than they rightly should win, with Tom Savage at QB. The Colts, with Luck struggling with injury, take a big step back. The Jaguars, who will inevitably end up benching Bortles, will round out the bottom of the division.

AFC West

Oakland Raiders 12-4

Kansas City Chiefs 11-5

Denver Broncos 9-7

Las Angeles Chargers 7-9

The West looks to be hands down the best division in the conference. The Raiders, like the Titans, look to have their young, franchise QB take the next step and lead them to the playoffs again. While the back-end of their defense is suspect, their ability to get after the quarterback, and play ball control on offense, will take them to the top of the division. Alex Smith will continue to manage the Chiefs to a winning record, but I believe he will cause them to lose some close games this season. Like the Texans, the Broncos defense will make up for their below average QB play and win them more games than they should. I think the Chargers are a lot better than the record I have them finishing with, as they could easily flip records with the Broncos and battle for a wildcard slot.

NFC

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys 11-5

New York Giants 10 -6

Philadelphia Eagles 9-7

Washington Redskins 5-11

The NFC East was probably the hardest to predict, as there is so much up in the air. With Elliott’s suspension, Beckham’s ankle, and Cravens’ retirement limbo, it’s hard to see how everything will shake out. I still think Dak Prescott, and especially that offensive line, will be enough to keep the Cowboys at the top of the division. The weapon’s the Giants have will pull out more victories than they should, with their lack of offensive line and a declining Eli Manning. The Eagles will be much improved from last season, and I believe Wentz will show he is the guy for many years to come. And finally, we come to my team, the Redskins. The offseason started with the usually front office shenanigans from the Redskins, with the firing of GM Scot McCloughan. Things started to look better after the draft and into free agency, but it didn’t take long after that for the sparks to ignite the fire in the dumpster. Cousins will have just a good enough year to get him some big bucks on the free agent market next year. In the end, the terrible defense and an interior offensive line that looks to have taken major steps back, will have the Redskins as one of the worst in the NFC.

NFC North

Green Bay Packers 14-2

Detroit Lions 11-5

Minnesota Vikings 6-10

Chicago Bears 4-12

Like the Patriots in the AFC, the Packers look to be the top of the NFC. Rodgers is my preseason pick for MVP, as I think that offense will be very difficult to stop. The Lions will take a step forward, as now highest paid player in the league, Matthew Stafford, will have a better year than most expect. My pick for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Dalvin Cook, will pull out some unexpected victories for the Vikings, but I think they will struggle to win some close games. The Bears will struggle with many facets of the games, and will finish at the bottom of the division

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons 12-4

Carolina Panthers 9-7

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-7

New Orleans Saints 5-11

A lot people think the Falcons will regress this season, but not me. I still think they are one of the top 3 teams in the NFC. I think Matt Ryan will continue to put up elite QB numbers, even with the loss of OC Kyle Shanahan. The Panthers are a big question mark for me, but I think Cam is good enough to get them to a winning record. I think the Bucs take a big step forward this year, and will look to have an explosive offense behind Jameis Winston. However, there are concerns for me on their offensive line and defense that will hold them back from being a playoff contender. The Saints seem to be content with wasting away the last few good years Drew Brees has left in him.

NFC West

Seattle Seahawks 14-2

Arizona Cardinals 6-10

Los Angeles Rams 4-12

San Francisco 49ers 3-13

The 1b to the Packers’ 1a for best in the Conference is the Seahawks. Their defense was already one of (if not the) best in the league, and it got better with the acquisition of Sheldon Richardson. I have a lot of faith in Russel Wilson, but the one thing that does still concern me is their offensive line. That could be the one thing to hold them back from going deep in the playoffs. This could be it for the aging Cardinals. Despite David Johnson being a preseason candidate for MVP, I don’t think they have the longevity to be successful for a full season. We will most likely see a re-tooling of this team in the offseason. The Rams will take a small step forward (albeit not in the win/loss column) under new head coach, Sean McVay. I consider this a fresh start for QB Jared Goff and look to see him improve. Last is the team that many consider to be the landing spot for Kirk Cousins next year, the 49ers; as they go into the season with Brian Hoyer at the reins. New head coach Kyle Shanahan looks to right some of the dysfunction this franchise has experienced over the past few years. For now, I believe they are content with coasting through this season.

Playoffs

AFC

Order	Team
1	Patriots
2	Steelers
3	Raiders
4	Titans
5	Chiefs
6	Broncos

No surprise to see the Patriots with home field advantage in the playoffs. The wildcard round starts out with the Broncos vs. Raiders and Chiefs vs. Titans. I believe the Raiders will handily dismantle the Broncos. The Chiefs will pull the upset win over Mariota and the Titans. That brings divisional match-ups of the Raiders vs. Patriots and Chiefs vs. Steelers. The former will be a rematch of the Week 11 game in Mexico City, which I have the Patriots winning. I think that continues here in Foxboro with the Patriots taking care of business. I believe the second game will be a closer match-up. The Chiefs stout defense will give the Steelers trouble, but I think home field advantage comes into play here and the Steelers win a close one. That leaves a match-up of Steelers vs. Patriots in Foxboro for the conference title. I think this will be an epic back and fourth affair, with the Patriots pulling out the victory as the last team with the ball.

NFC

Order	Team
1	Packers
2	Seahawks
3	Falcons
4	Cowboys
5	Lions
6	Giants

The NFC wildcard weekend would open with Giants vs. Falcons and Lions vs. Cowboys. I believe the Giants defense would put pressure on Matt Ryan and step up to pull out the victory in a big win for the Giants. The second match-up would have the Cowboys running all over the Lions in Jerry World. Elliott, presumably back and in mid-season form, would rush for 125+ and control the ball, keeping it out of Stafford’s hands. This leads to divisional match-ups of the Giants vs. Packers and Cowboys vs. Seahawks. I think  the Packers pass rush vs. the Giants offensive line will be the key factor in the Packers rolling over the Giants to move onto the conference championship. The next game would be, I believe, the best match-up of all the divisional playoff games. This would be an old school, hard nose game that will come down to who makes fewer mistakes. Ultimately, I am going to give the edge to the Cowboys and their far superior offensive line, who would open up a surprising number of holes in that stout Seahawks defense. The leaves use with an old school NFL championship game, the Cowboys versus the Packers. I think this is where Aaron Rodgers will shine. Despite the Cowboys attempt to control the ball, I think Rodgers will be able to strike quickly and often, leading the Packers to victory.

Superbowl

Patriots vs. Packers

This seems to be to be the popular choice for Super Bowl predictions this year (and for the past few years it seems), but for good reason. The NFL, these days, is driven by quarterbacks and these are the best 2 in the league. This could be an epic back and fourth match-up with 2 dominating QB performances. One of those match-ups that ends with whoever has the ball last winning the game. Despite Rodgers being my MVP pick for this season, I think Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots pull it out again. It is really hard, especially in today’s NFL, to repeat, but I believe the Patriots have made the offseason moves (and have the Hall of Fame QB and Coach) to make it happen.