It’s that time again! My favorite sports blog post of the year! I’ll never top the year where I predicted the Ravens beating the 49ers in the Super Bowl, followed up by the very next season predicting the Seahawks over the Broncos, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try every year.
Check out all my predictions from past seasons:
As you can see last year, I had the Jags over the Rams in the Super Bowl, which was Half Right and Half Laughably Stupid. I only had 2/6 NFC playoff teams correct (though I had Eagles as division champs, not a wild card). I had 4/6 AFC playoff teams correct (though only one division champ – New England). Without further ado, here we go 2019!
NFC East
- Philadelphia
- Dallas
- Washington
- New York
Give me a first class ticket to the Philly Hype Train, because I’m ALL ABOARD! I also have a hard time believing the Cowboys won’t make the playoffs (barring a thousand injuries), so count me in for 2/6 playoff teams coming from the East. I like Washington to be around 7 wins, and I like the Giants to be among the worst teams in all of football.
NFC North
- Minnesota
- Chicago
- Green Bay
- Detroit
I have a tough time reading this division, but for some reason the Vikings really strike me as a tough team on the cusp. I also think the Bears are due for some regression. The fact of the matter is, I believe the Bears are probably a 10-win team, but I think they’ll get axed out by another 10-win team with a better conference record. As for the Packers, you can never rule them out with A-Rod at the helm, but they feel like they’re in a mediocre, 8-8 spiral right now until they improve the defense. There will be growing pains nevertheless, with a new coaching staff at the helm. Honestly, it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if the Packers finish 4th in the division; the Lions could be a little underrated (but probably not).
NFC South
- New Orleans
- Atlanta
- Tampa Bay
- Carolina
We call this one: Playing It Safe. I agree the Saints are probably the shakiest one of the bunch, with Drew Brees as old as he is, and as ineffective as he is on the road in open-air stadia. But, they were the deserving team to make the Super Bowl last year, and I believe they would’ve beaten the Patriots. That fire is only going to make them tougher to beat this year, even with the target on their backs. Atlanta feels like a 9-win team on the outside looking in. The Bucs could be one of the surprise teams of the NFC if Jameis Winston figures out a way to put it all together under Bruce Arians. I think the Panthers are destined to lose Cam Newton to injury at some point and will win about 4 games.
NFC West
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Arizona
Boom! Bombshell! Here’s the deal – and we’ll get into this more during my official Seahawks preview – but I think the Seahawks are more poised than they’ve been in YEARS to start off strong. Last year, the Seahawks were 3-3 at the BYE, and eventually fell to 4-5 before finishing on a 6-1 run. By and large, in this run under Pete Carroll, that’s been in line with tradition: starting off okay, finishing on a tear. I think it’s well within the realm of possibility for the Seahawks to start 4-1 with a home win on Thursday night over the Rams to take a brief edge in the divisional battle. If that comes to fruition, we could be looking at something special, as over the subsequent five weeks, the Seahawks should also go 4-1 to be 8-2 heading into the BYE week. From there, we close out the season – again, traditionally the time we play the best – with a few potential NFC contenders and a few of the dregs in the last three weeks. I mean, if things break right, 13-3 or 12-4 is on the table. I fully anticipate the Rams to be right around that level as well, but with a tiebreaker based on head-to-head, the Seahawks could take the nod and potentially secure a BYE. I think the 49ers are a year away from double-digit wins, and I think the Cardinals are just happy to be here.
AFC East
- New England
- Buffalo
- New York
- Miami
The only question here is who will be better, the Bills or the Jets; I’m banking on Buffalo, who I think could be in line for a wild card spot. What’s for certain is the Patriots winning the division (and probably a playoff BYE) and the Dolphins being in the running for the #1 draft pick.
AFC North
- Pittsburgh
- Cleveland
- Baltimore
- Cincinnati
For some reason, I love the Steelers this year. I’ve been going after them like they’re the antidote in my fantasy drafts. I think with a locker room free from head cases, they’re poised to take a step forward on offense. And, I think their defense is criminally underrated. I like Cleveland to keep pace, and ultimately come down with one of the wild cards, because they’ll be fun and talented on both sides of the ball. I’m not buying the Ravens at all; I think they’re a 7-win team, mostly because their defense is strong. The rest of the league will figure out Lamar Jackson, though, and he won’t be able to throw his way to victories. The Bengals will be bottom feeders.
AFC South
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Jacksonville
- Tennessee
This could be the most mediocre division in football, with the highest floor but the lowest ceiling. I’m projecting between 7-9 wins for all four of these teams; and it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if the Colts actually come away victorious. With Luck, I would’ve had them on top, but without Luck this is still a solid team through and through. I’m giving the nod to the Texans because I think they’re pretty dynamic in the passing game.
AFC West
- Kansas City
- Los Angeles
- Denver
- Oakland
Will the Chiefs regress in Mahomes’ second full season starting? Absolutely. Nevertheless, he’s so good that even his regression will still make them among the best teams in all of football. I like the Chiefs to repeat as division champs and crack the top overall seed. I still like the Chargers, but I’m not quite as high on them as their 12-win campaign proved them to be in 2018. They’ll be a wild card and like it. I think Denver will be okay, and I think the Raiders are still a mess, though they should be more fun offensively.
NFC Playoffs
- Philadelphia
- Seattle
- New Orleans
- Minnesota
- Los Angeles
- Dallas
AFC Playoffs
- Kansas City
- New England
- Pittsburgh
- Houston
- Cleveland
- Los Angeles
Wild Card Round
- New Orleans over Dallas
- Los Angeles over Minnesota
- Pittsburgh over Los Angeles
- Cleveland over Houston
Divisional Round
- Seattle over New Orleans
- Philadelphia over Los Angeles
- New England over Pittsburgh
- Kansas City over Cleveland
Championship Round
- Philadelphia over Seattle
- Kansas City over New England
Super Bowl
- Kansas City over Philadelphia
My backup guess is a Super Bowl of the Rams vs. Chiefs, with the Rams prevailing, but I’ll never hang my hat on another team in the NFC West outside of Seattle winning it all.