The NFL season is starting THIS WEEK! The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions kick off the season on Thursday, September 7th at 7:20pm. To celebrate the start of the season, I’m going to predict what teams are making the playoffs and who is going to win the Super Bowl! Let’s go!
AFC Playoff Teams:
Honestly, the AFC wasn’t too difficult to predict, and I (accidentally) picked all of the same teams from last year’s playoffs (although I did switch some of their records and seeds).
Kansas City Chiefs (14-3): Pretty self-explanatory: they won the Super Bowl last year. The Chiefs are very dangerous, especially on offense! I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the Chiefs go back-to-back on Super Bowls.
Cincinnati Bengals (13-4): The Bengals are quickly becoming a scary team to go up against. Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Ja’mar Chase, and Tee Higgins make this offense nearly impossible to stop. I am optimistic about the Bengals, and I think they could make a deep playoff run!
Buffalo Bills (12-5): The Bills are an amazing team that excels on both defense and offense (especially in the passing game). They have a fairly difficult season, but I think they can pull off a good record.
Jacksonville Jaguars (10-7): Even though the Jaguars aren’t an amazing team, they play in the worst division in the NFL: the AFC South (I say that as a Colts fan). The Jaguars shouldn’t have too much difficulty taking the AFC South against 3 pretty bad teams…
Baltimore Ravens (11-6): As long as Lamar Jackson stays healthy, the Ravens should do well in the regular season, but probably won’t win their division due to the Bengals.
Miami Dolphins (9-8): The Dolphins are a developing team that is slowly getting better on both offense and defense. They exist in a difficult division because of the Bills, but they can probably get a Wild Card.
LA Chargers (9-8): The Chargers, similar to the Dolphins, are a developing team in a difficult division. Nonetheless, the Chargers have a great offense including players such as Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, and Keenan Allen.
NFC Playoff Teams:
Unlike the AFC, the NFC was VERY hard to predict! There are a lot of changes going on in the NFC right now with teams trading players. The NFC seems to vary every year, so it is difficult to predict how they are going to stack up this season.
Dallas Cowboys (12-5): This is perhaps my riskiest pick on here, but I’m going to do it anyway. The Cowboys present a good offense and an even better defense (possibly the best in the league). They do play in a pretty difficult division, though, which will make things challenging…
Minnesota Vikings (12-5): The Vikings have a great offense, sporting likely the best wide receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson. On the other hand, the Vikings have one of the worst defenses in the league, which could cause issues. Their division is pretty weak, which will be helpful for them!
San Fransisco 49ers (11-6): From Christian McCaffrey on the run game, to Deebo Samuel and George Kittle in the receiving game, and one of the best defenses in the league, the 49ers have it all. As long as the 49ers can figure out their quarterback situation, I think they are going to be an extremely dangerous team!
New Orleans Saints (9-6): The NFC South was easily the hardest division to pick since all 4 teams have completely changed their rosters from last year. I’m going to pick the Saints, though, because they have built up a pretty decent offense (Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, etc).
Philadelphia Eagles (11-6): My reasoning for putting the Eagles this low is because they have by far the hardest season, including games against the Vikings, Cowboys, Chiefs, Bills, and 49ers!
Seattle Seahawks (9-8): The Seahawks proved to us last year that they are a team to watch out for. Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, and D.K. Metcalf present a powerful and efficient passing game. I think the Seahawks can pull off a decent season and make the playoffs as a Wild Card.
Chicago Bears (9-8): The Bears certainly aren’t the best team on the list, but I think they can sneak into the playoffs with a wild card…maybe.
Super Bowl Prediction: Cincinnati Bengals over San Francisco 49ers (27-23): Both of these teams have made the Super Bowl in the last 5 years, and I think they can do it again. The Bengals have an amazing offense (one of the best in the league) and the 49ers have an amazing defense (also one of the best in the league). I predict the Bengals will just edge out the 49ers (27-23) to lift the Lombardi Trophy!
Wow, I know that was a lot, but I had to get all of my predictions in before the season started! Let me know what your predictions are in the comments!