It’s the first edition of our new post, Sports!, where we are talking about the biggest sporting events, give predictions for the NFL season ahead, also talk about some NBA, MLB, and NHL news all throughout the new post.
So, with that said, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!!
That’s right, folks, the NFL season is quickly upon us and with the Chiefs and Patriots kicking things off for us this evening so, what we are going to do today is take a look at all 32 NFL teams and how I believe they will fare out this season as well as predicting who goes to the postseason, who ends up winning each division, who goes to the AFC & NFC Championship games and my overall prediction for who wins Super Bowl LII in February 2018 in Minnesota.
So, with all that said, let’s get right on to it, we’re gonna do this by looking at each division as a whole so, let’s jump in:
AFC EAST
BUFFALO BILLS
2017 Prediction: 6-10
Buffalo, what are you guys doing? I mean, do you want to be taken seriously anymore? The Buffalo Bills have become one of the biggest WTF franchises out there with them getting rid of Rex Ryan as their head coach last year and apparently the GM, Doug Wheatley, not aware that he had been fired.
So, now we have Sean McDermott, formerly the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator, as the head coach and then after the draft, they fired the entire scouting staff and worst of all, they lost a ton of their best players this year, it’s bad enough that they once again let two more players off to New England in Stephon Gilmore and Mike Gillislee but Marquise Goodwin is now on the 49ers, EJ Manuel went to the Raiders, and Justin Hunter went to the Steelers.
Well, it’s okay, they’ve still got Sammy Watkins right? Nope, shipped off to the Rams. Ronald Darby? Off to the Eagles. Reggie Ragland? Gone to Kansas City. Once again, Buffalo gets rid of players with potential and when they eventually break out big time for their new teams, the Buffalo Bills will be banging their heads against the wall thinking about what could’ve been. This is the team that got rid of Marshawn Lynch when he was showing all kinds of potential of what he could do for the Bills but the Bills said, nope, off to Seattle you go and…the rest is history.
At this point, it seems like Buffalo does not care when even the players admit that the only way that the Bills get back to the postseason is when Tom Brady retires. I’m sure it was a joke but it’s absolutely true with all these changes they keep making. But hey, it can always be worse, you could be the Jets.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
2017 Prediction: 9-7
With Ryan Tannehill officially out for the season and Jay Cutler coming in as the starting QB, the Dolphins may not have enough there to get them back to 11-5 but there’s still enough there for them to have a decent season at 9-7 and get in as a wild card. Running back Jay Ajayi is still very strong, Cutler can be a really good QB as he showed in preseason and the defense is much stronger with Lawrence Timmons of the Steelers and Rey Maualuga of the Bengals coming in.
I can even see them sneaking at least one win on New England and Buffalo to get them over the hump and in the wild card hunt. The AFC itself isn’t particularly too strong but there should still be enough to bring Miami in the wild card hunt this year.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
2017 Prediction: 12-4
NO, the Patriots will not go 16-0, as much as everybody wants to believe that they will, they just won’t but that doesn’t mean this team will still be very, very dangerous to face this season, I see them easily going 4-0 on the season beating the Chiefs, Saints, Texans, and Panthers. I see them losing to the Buccaneers, Falcons who will be looking for revenge for the Super Bowl, and Raiders and Miami will squeeze out a win at some point.
The Patriots have obstacles to face trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions, most notably the absence of Julian Edelman now that he’s out for the season which hurts them a lot but also, because I know nobody wants to talk about this but dammit, I have to. The Madden Curse.
Guess who just happens to be on the cover this year? Tom Brady. So, that is something that you need to keep in mind about this season, Tom Brady needs to watch out if he wants to repeat, if Tom Brady can survive not getting a season ending injury, then the Patriots will be back in the Super Bowl easily. But that’s gotta be something that Tom Brady has to have in the back of his mind this season, just pray that he doesn’t get hurt.
Regardless, the Patriots should be back in for another deep playoff run in route to another Super Bowl.
NEW YORK JETS
2017 Prediction: 0-16
No, you’re not reading that wrong, I am actually predicting that the Jets will become only the second team in NFL history to go 0-16, they are not going to win any games this year. This team that they have assembled is one of the worst looking teams I have ever seen, taking a ton of players who worked with other offenses and defenses and now being all crammed together on team without a good quarterback to lead them. I’m sorry Josh McCown but you’re not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Big Ben, you’re just not, there’s a reason that this dude has been with 10 different teams since coming into the league, the dude just sucks as a QB.
On top of that, it’s the Jets, they are notorious for showing signs of promise and then having it butt fumble right into their faces, they make terrible decisions, their players don’t know what kind of a system they are in and they looked terrible in the preseason.
Ladies and gentlemen, the NFL’s downward spiral, the New York Jets:
AFC NORTH
BALTIMORE RAVENS
2017 Prediction: 10-6
Last year, the Baltimore Ravens actually looked a lot better than they did in 2015, for one thing, Joe Flacco played for the entire season so that was a plus. This year, the team still looks solid, they made some decent acquisitions in Danny Woodhead, Jeremy Maclin, and Brandon Carr but it all depends on if this team can stay healthy, they’ve got a ton of injuries on them right now but if they can overcome the injuries, they’ll be back in the playoffs in a wild card spot.
CINCINATTI BENGALS
2017 Prediction: 6-10
Well, the Cincinatti Bengals got what was coming to them for the playoff collapse during the 2015 Wild Card Game with a 6-9-1 record and this year, I don’t see any difference. Andy Dalton’s offensive live lost a number of their key offensive linemen and with first round draft pick John Ross injured heading into the first game, the Bengals don’t look like they will get better at all and this will more than likely be Marvin Lewis’ final year as head coach as things need to change quickly.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
2017 Prediction: 5-11
Hey, it’s better than 1-15, though let’s be honest, the 2016 Browns were not the worst 1-15 team the NFL has seen, there have been far worse 1-15 teams than the 2016 Browns. This year, there’s definitely going to be improvement, there’s a better offense and defense on hand but starting rookie QB DeShone Kizer, who has so much potential going for him, is a big mistake in week 1, I think they should’ve waited to let him start but we’ll see what happens.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
2017 Prediction: 13-3
As I talked about last week, the Steelers have enough potential this year to have their best record since 2004’s 15-1 season. The motivation for the team is definitely there with a lot of their best players still there, the thoughts of winning the Super Bowl for their late owner Dan Rooney, and Ben Roethlisberger coming to the end of his long prolific career, things are all pointing in the Steelers direction going into this season and if everything falls into place, the Steelers should have their best chance to going for Super Bowl ring #7 that they’ve had in years. If things go right, the road to the Super Bowl could very well be going through Pittsburgh this year but only if the pieces come together.
AFC SOUTH
HOUSTON TEXANS
2017 Prediction: 8-8
With Houston currently going through Hurricane Harvey, there’s definitely going to be a lot of attention on how the Texans do this season. I don’t see them winning the division this year because there’s a team this year with the potential to be better than ever but we’ll get to them. Texans should have a decent season but not as good as in past seasons.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
2017 Prediction: 7-9
Andrew Luck is a really good quarterback but unfortunately, he hasn’t been given a capable offense to work with. Sure, he’s got T.Y. Hilton, Frank Gore, Donte Moncrief, and Robert Turbin but there’s no real depth to this team to make them the threat that the Colts were in 2014 when they went to the AFC Championship game. And with the division getting more tougher and tougher as years go on, the Colts may end up going back to obscurity again if things don’t get better for this team anytime soon.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
2017 Prediction: 2-14
The Jaguars look good on the offensive side but their biggest problem is that their quarterbacks suck, they are not very good at all, Blake Bortles has not been good for this Jaguars team and it showed in the preseason, Chad Henne was in a better position for the starting QB job this year than Bortles was but they stuck with Bortles and now this team who should be better are on the way to another sucky season.
TENNESSEE TITANS
2017 Prediction: 10-6
Thanks in large part to a number of draft picks from the Rams in 2016 to get Jared Goff, the Titans are looking to be in the best position they’ve been in years, Marcus Mariota entering his third year as QB should be a big upgrade for him barring injuries and a much better offensive line that includes Derrick Henry, DeMarco Murray, Delanie Walker, Eric Decker, there’s a lot of potential for this team to finally unseat the Texans for the division.
AFC WEST
DENVER BRONCOS
2017 Prediction: 9-7
The Broncos are still trying to get their team together after winning the Super Bowl two years ago and while the offense looks better and the defense is still just as strong, the quarterback is still the biggest question mark, Trevor Simian was good in his first season as the starter but there’s also Paxton Lynch and Brock Osweiler in the mix again and with a new head coach in Vance Joseph, this is a team that is still trying to get things together. I expect them to have a similar season that they had last year at 9-7.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2017 Prediction: 7-9
The Chiefs really do not look as strong as they do in the last few years, their top running back is out for the season in Spencer Ware, they lost Jeremy Maclin to the Ravens, Dontari Poe has gone to the Falcons, these are some big names going away and while they still have Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and Eric Berry among their star players, there’s going to be way too much competition from other teams in the division so I see them just barely missing out on the postseason for the first time in a few years.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
2017 Prediction: 7-9
New city, slightly better Chargers. I don’t expect them to make a lot of noise but as long as they can stay healthy with as many injuries they had last year, this is a team that can improve to be slightly better than what they were when they were in San Diego.
OAKLAND RAIDERS
2017 Prediction: 11-5
With Marshawn Lynch back in the game playing for the Raiders, this team looks a lot better than they did last year. That being said, I think they will have a lower winning season than they did last year but they won’t have to deal with competition because I think the Raiders should easily win this division with all the weapons they have.
That’s the AFC, now let’s look at the NFC:
NFC EAST
DALLAS COWBOYS
2017 Prediction: 11-5
With Ezekiel Elliott out for six games this season after this week, the Cowboys are a gigantic question mark this year. They’ll definitely be back in the playoff hunt but I’m not expecting them to be the 13-3 team that they were last year, I think they will get to 11-5 easily although they probably won’t win the division since the competition is getting tougher. Case in point…
NEW YORK GIANTS
2017 Prediction: 12-4
I really do think that the Giants will win the division based on beating some of the other teams in the division. They can easily beat the Redskins both times this year and beat the Eagles twice and the Cowboys one time this year plus the team overall looks a lot better than they did in past years and more improved this year than last year so I strongly believe that the Giants have a very good chance of winning the division this year easily.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
2017 Prediction: 6-10
The Eagles look better on offense and defense but with the Giants looking the best they’ve been in a while and the Cowboys still strong, the Eagles may still have struggles going into this season that they can’t get over the hump.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
2017 Prediction: 4-12
The Redskins have an incredibly tough schedule going into this season facing much improved offenses on their division rivals but also facing an improved Raiders, Rams, Broncos, Seahawks and Saints team as well, this is going to be an incredibly tough schedule to overcome and I really don’t see the Redskins making a big impact this year as much as they want to make us believe they will.
NFC NORTH
CHICAGO BEARS
2017 Prediction: 3-13
The Bears putting all their money on Mike Glennon as their starter is not going to help them get better as a team and it won’t surprise me when Mitch Trubisky ends up taking over the team probably midway through the season, won’t get too many wins but if Trubisky is as good as he was in the preseason, he could help this team get much better next season.
DETROIT LIONS
2017 Prediction: 8-8
Matthew Stafford should continue to be as strong as he was last season but the overall team is not as strong as it was last year to get them over the hump. Should have a decent season at 8-8 but will more than likely miss the playoffs again.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
2017 Prediction: 14-2
The Green Bay Packers are looking a lot better this year and they should definitely be strong contenders to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers at the head.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
2017 Prediction: 6-10
The Vikings will more than likely not be the first team to be the home team when Super Bowl LII hits US Bank Stadium. Losing Adrian Peterson to the Saints is a big deal and they will definitely feel the effects of that going into the season.
NFC SOUTH
ATLANTA FALCONS
2017 Prediction: 9-7
The biggest challenge facing the Falcons this year is coming back from that devastating Super Bowl loss and so far in the preseason, I’m thinking they can’t. I think they’ll still have a good season but there are big games in there that the Falcons will more than likely lose out of. Shouldn’t be a Carolina Panthers-like disaster of a season like it was for the Panthers after they went to the Super Bowl. Speaking of the Panthers…
CAROLINA PANTHERS
2017 Prediction: 7-9
Christian McCaffery will play a big part in helping the Panthers get back on track but I don’t expect them to make another playoff run with the competition they are facing with the division looking really good and then facing the Patriots and the Packers as well.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
2017 Prediction: 8-8
The Saints looking really good with the addition of Adrian Peterson and should see at least a one game improvement on the previous few years but they will more than likely miss out on the postseason due to the competition at hand.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
2017 Prediction: 12-4
Expectations are high for the Buccaneers to finally get back to the postseason and the team looks a lot stronger than they did in recent years picking up a ton of big free agent acquisitions in DeSean Jackson and T.J. Ward and Jameis Winston should have himself a improved season with the track he is going on.
NFC WEST
ARIZONA CARDINALS
2017 Prediction: 8-8
The Cardinals are hoping to have a better season than they did last year with 7-8-1 but I think they’ll be right back where they were at 8-8, they didn’t really do much to improve on the field and they should be at the very least, decent but not spectacular.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
2017 Prediction: 4-12
The Rams should also be stuck in the same place they were at last year, they should win their first two games against an Andrew Luck-less Colts and the Washington Redskins both in their home and the Jaguars for 3 wins out of 7 before the bye week but the schedule after the bye week is incredibly tough with the only surefire win likely to be the 49ers in Los Angeles.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
2017 Prediction: 5-11
A much better season than last year but it’s a starting point for the new 49ers, with some luck they can get better in future seasons but Kyle Shanahan should definitely lead the 49ers in the right direction going forward.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
2017 Prediction: 9-7
Seahawks will easily win the division by far but they may end up having less wins than in past seasons with the 49ers looking better as well as facing the Cowboys and Green Bay in their home stadiums. Should have no trouble winning all their home games at Century Link Field to push them over the top.
Those are the predictions for each team, now let’s get to the postseason action
AFC POSTSEASON PICTURE
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)
2. New England Patriots (12-4)
3. Oakland Raiders (11-5)
4. Tennessee Titans (10-6)
WILD CARD TEAMS
5. Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
6. Miami Dolphins (10-6)
NFC POSTSEASON PICTURE
1. Green Bay Packers (14-2)
2. New York Giants (12-4)
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4)
4. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
WILD CARD TEAMS
5. Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
6. Atlanta Falcons (9-7)
This now brings us to the overall final game to decide the Super Bowl contenders, here are my Championship predictions:
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. 2. New England Patriots
It’s going to be Brady vs. Roethlisberger III in the AFC Championship game and this time, it’s at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Even though I called for the Patriots to beat the Steelers in the regular season, I think the Steelers finally get over the hump, FINALLY, with the offense and a much stronger defense in tact to defeat the defending Super Bowl champions and go for their seventh Super Bowl, a close matchup at hand but I’m giving the slight win over Pittsburgh to finally get over the hump.
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Green Bay Packers vs. 2. New York Giants
A rematch of last year’s NFC Wild Card matchup at Lambeau Field and while the New York Giants will be coming in much stronger than last season, the Packers should have enough weapons to get the win and finally send Aaron Rodgers back to the Super Bowl to get his second Super Bowl title after being in two of the last three NFC Championship games.
That means we’ve got a rematch of Super Bowl XLV on our hands, who comes out on top?
SUPER BOWL LII
Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Both teams should be at the peak of their prime by this point leading to a much more exciting and epic battle that Super Bowl XLV was. With Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, and Martavis Bryant hopefully in healthy condition with Big Ben, the Steelers should be able to power through the Packers defense easily but the biggest challenge will come from Aaron Rodgers, who, in my opinion, is the real best quarterback in the league with his ability to score so many touchdowns in the most ridiculous and insane ways, it will be an outstanding challenge for the Steelers to overcome.
In terms of who wins, it comes down to the wire but I’m going to give the slight advantage over the Pittsburgh Steelers to get their seventh Super Bowl win. If all the pieces come together as they should, this Steelers team should be the best they’ve been in years and should finally get them a long overdue Super Bowl title.
So, those are my overall predictions for the 2017 NFL season and every month, we’ll be looking back at each record so far and see how I fare up so check back on Thursday October 5th for an update on my predictions and check back next week for a new Sports! post.
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