Now that the regular season is upon us and we know what teams look like it’s prediction time! The 2015 NFL year is wide open. There are probably 20 or so teams with legitimate playoff aspirations. Since there are only 12 post-season spots available it’s going to be a wild race to the finish line. Here’s how I see this season going down.
AFC West
1) Denver Broncos (11-5)
2) San Diego Chargers (11-5)
3) Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
4) Oakland Raiders (6-10)
The West is one of the best divisions in football. Peyton Manning is not what he once was, but even if the Broncos are not putting up 30 points a game (which they won’t) and wears down when the weather gets cold (which he will) Denver is going to win with defense. Wade Phillips returns to the AFC West as Denver’s new coordinator so the Broncos should have a top-5 defense. The Chargers, however, are going to take a lot of people by surprise. The running game will get better as the season rolls on behind Melvin Gordon, Danny Woodhead and Branden Oliver. Denver wins the division on a tiebreaker (the third tiebreaker, which is record against common opponents) but the Bolts are still in the playoffs. The Chiefs are in the discussion, as well, but without a consistent passing game they’re a step behind Denver and San Diego. The Raiders still have a lot of work to do but they’re on the right track. The roster looks much better than it has in previous years, although Oakland’s secondary is abysmal.
AFC North
1) Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
2) Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
3) Cincinnati Bengals (9-7)
4) Cleveland Browns (5-11)
The North is another division with three legitimate playoff hopefuls and one team still trying to find its way. The Ravens have been the model of consistency under head coach John Harbaugh (with a big nod to General Manager Ozzie Newsome) and although they lost All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and will have their share of troubles on defense they still have enough to win the division. The Steelers might have the best QB-RB-WR trio in the league with Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown but the loss of center Maurkice Pouncey will hurt a lot more than most people realize. Bengals fans will finally be spared the pain of Andy Dalton being terrible in the playoffs because he’ll be terrible in the regular season and miss the playoffs. As long as the Browns keep trying to convince themselves Josh McCown is a legitimate NFL quarterback they’ll be looking at double-digit losses.
AFC South
1) Indianapolis Colts (14-2)
2) Houston Texans (9-7)
3) Jacksonville Jaguars (6-10)
4) Tennessee Titans (1-15)
The Colts are scary good. Andrew Luck just keeps getting better and with Frank Gore and Andre Johnson he has even MORE weapons to play with. Defensively they’re still a work in progress but they’re good enough to be on the short list of Super Bowl hopefuls. If the Texans had anything resembling a quarterback they could contend for the division because their defense is phenomenal. The Jaguars should improve with T.J. Yeldon helping out Blake Bortles with a running game. They could surprise some people. The Titans are also scheduled to play football games this season.
AFC East
1) New England Patriots (11-5)
2) Miami Dolphins (10-6)
3) Buffalo Bills (9-7)
4) New York Jets (5-11)
The Patriots train just keeps on rolling, although it does pain me greatly to say that. Until someone knocks them off or figures out where the bugs are in the visitor’s locker room to remove that home-field advantage New England will win this division every year. The Dolphins are the team closest to knocking off the Pats. Miami’s defense is going to make a lot of quarterbacks uncomfortable. Ryan Tannehill has improved every year as the starting QB but until he has that “breakout” season the Dolphins will be in New England’s rear view mirror. If the Bills had a QB who could just get through a game without making 50 mistakes they could win 12 games. Buffalo’s best bet at this point might be running the wishbone with Sammy Watkins or Percy Harvin taking snaps. The Jets might be the only team in the NFL that envies Buffalo’s quarterback situation.
NFC West
1) Seattle Seahawks (12-4)
2) Arizona Cardinals (10-6)
3) St. Louis Rams (9-7)
4) San Francisco 49ers (3-13)
The Seahawks have reloaded for another playoff run. They may not be as dominant as they’ve been the last two years but they still have more than enough to be the class of the NFC. The Cardinals keep chugging along under brilliant head coach Bruce Arians. Having Carson Palmer healthy for an entire season will help enough for Arizona to potentially make the playoffs again. The Rams are the biggest mystery in the league to me. Their defense has more pass rushers than should be legal and Nick Foles is a definite upgrade at quarterback but there are enough question marks to give pause. St. Louis could win 11 games or 7 games and neither would surprise me. The 49ers are a mess. Retirements, arrests and coaching changes take them back to the bottom of the conference.
NFC North
1) Green Bay Packers (12-4)
2) Detroit Lions (10-6)
3) Minnesota Vikings (8-8)
4) Chicago Bears (2-14)
As long as the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, the best QB in the NFL, they’re going to be Super Bowl favorites. Losing Jordy Nelson will slow Green Bay down a bit but someone else will thrive in that offense. If the Seahawks are not the best team in the NFC, the Packers are. The Lions were smart to replace defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with Ngata so the NFL’s number one rushing defense from 2014 will still be stingy. The Vikings are on the right track and Adrian Peterson could threaten 2,000 yards again. Minnesota could be a surprise playoff team, as well. The Bears are horrid. If they don’t get QB Jay Cutler killed by Week 8 it will be a miracle.
NFC South
1) New Orleans Saints (10-6)
2) Carolina Panthers (9-7)
3) Atlanta Falcons (5-11)
4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12)
This is one of the strangest divisions in football. A year ago the Panthers won the South with a losing record because they had a tie. The Saints lost five straight games in the Superdome after having won 11 in a row. The Falcons forgot how to do, like, everything at once. The Bucs tried to pass off McCown as a starting QB (apparently Tampa games are blacked out in Cleveland). The Panthers will be solid again with a top-notch defense but losing wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin is going to put way too much pressure on Cam Newton and the Saints are not going to have another losing record at home. Advantage: New Orleans. If Drew Brees gets back in the playoffs again, look out for the Saints.
NFC East
1) Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
2) Dallas Cowboys (9-7)
3) New York Giants (8-8)
4) Washington Professional Football Team (2-14)
Although I think Eagles head coach Chip Kelly made a horrible mistake in cutting Tim Tebow Philly looked like they were ready to take the next step during the exhibition season. The Cowboys could win 12 games again but I just don’t see how right now. Their defense is going to have trouble stopping anybody. The 2015 Giants will be a representation of Eli Manning’s career; unless there’s a dominant defense, just average, and there’s no dominant defense this year. Washington is atrocious. If it wasn’t for the Titans, the team that plays home games in Landover, MD, would be on the clock with the first pick by early December.
AFC Playoffs Seeds
1) Colts
2) Patriots
3) Broncos
4) Ravens
5) Chargers
6) Dolphins
Wild Card Round: Broncos 26, Dolphins 16; Chargers 38, Ravens 37
Divisional Round: Patriots 23, Broncos 20; Chargers 34, Colts 33
AFC Championship Game: Chargers 20, Patriots 17
NFC Playoffs Seeds
1) Seahawks
2) Packers
3) Eagles
4) Saints
5) Cardinals
6) Lions
Wild Card Round: Lions 30, Eagles 27; Saints 31, Cardinals 24
Divisional Round: Seahawks 27, Lions 16; Packers 41, Saints 37
NFC Championship Game: Packers 23, Seahawks 22
Super Bowl 50
Yes, I did it. While the Packers are a fairly easy pick for the Super Bowl the Chargers are a giant longshot. Maybe it’s because they got through training camp and the exhibition season healthy and there seems to be a vibe about the team right now, I don’t know. But if the Bolts are going to leave San Diego they should give us a parting gift. A Super Bowl parade would be one heck of a way to do that.
Bolts fans get ready for the last charge of Wyatt Earp and his immortals. Philip Rivers gets his ring in one of the most exciting Super Bowl shootouts in history.
Final score: Chargers 31, Packers 30
