We’re heading into week 8, and teams seem to be settling into who they are (mostly). Let’s run through each division and predict the future cause that always works out well.
AFC East
| Buffalo Bills | 5-2 | vs. Patriots |
| Miami Dolphins | 3-3 | vs. Rams |
| New England Patriots | 2-4 | @ Bills |
| New York Jets | 0-7 | @ Chiefs |
Analysis: After getting off to a hot start, the Buffalo Bills have come back to earth a bit. They struggled in the first half against an awful Jets team and were unable to score even a single touchdown. That seems bad. Meanwhile, the Patriots are in a free-fall after losing to a bad Denver team and getting embarrassed by the 49ers. The upcoming game between these two teams should tell us a lot about which direction these teams are headed.
Miami has turned to their rookie QB, a move that seems to have worked out pretty well for both Cincinnati and the Chargers. If Tua turns out to be a better player than Fitzpatrick right now, this could be a dangerous team. His first test will be against the Rams who are traveling across the country. Might be a sneaky good spot for him.
The Jets are so bad Trevor Lawrence is considering not entering the draft next year.
Prediction: Tua breaks out and leads Miami to a division win. Buffalo ekes in as the third wild card team.
AFC North
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-0 | @ Ravens |
| Baltimore Ravens | 5-1 | vs Steelers |
| Cleveland Browns | 5-2 | vs Raiders |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1-5-1 | vs Titans |
Analysis: Pittsburgh is on a roll, and it’s hard to see them losing too many games. However, the Ravens and Browns are hot on their heels allowing little room for error, and an unexpectedly early bye week means no rest before the playoffs.
The Ravens are doing their thing, but look a step slower on offense than a year ago. However, the recent addition of Ngakoue may give the defense enough of a boost to help mitigate that. Their loss to the Chiefs earlier this year suggests they may not be ready to face elite teams. With a matchup against the Steelers this weekend they have a chance to rebound.
Cleveland is a feisty team, but just lost their top WR while the defense got shredded by Cincinnati. They might be able to sneak into the playoffs, but expecting much more than a one-and-done may be asking too much. They aren’t ready yet.
Cincinnati has their QB in Joe Burrow and could be a contender again in another year or two with some good GM work. For this year, I recommend getting no more than 3 or 4 wins. Enough to get the taste, but not so much to drop out of a top 10 draft pick. This team needs more talent around Burrow, especially on defense.
Prediction: Pittsburgh wins the division. Baltimore joins them as a wild card while Cleveland falls just short.
AFC South
| Tennessee Titans | 5-1 | @ Bengals |
| Indianapolis Colts | 4-2 | @ Lions |
| Houston Texans | 1-6 | BYE |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-6 | BYE |
Analysis: This is a two-team race between the Titans and Colts. The Titans have been running over everyone all year and will look to continue that trend. The bad news here is: when was the last time a run-dominant team actually won anything? Hard to consider them a Superbowl contender until they can beat an elite team like the Steelers or Chiefs when it matters.
The Colts are a good, solid team with good, solid coaching. Phil Rivers isn’t quite what he used to be but can still win games. Doesn’t feel like a true contender though.
Houston and Jacksonville are a complete mess. Outside of Watson is there anyone one either team that can’t be traded or replaced?
Prediction: The Titans and Colts feed off the bottom dwellers of this division to boost their record and reach the playoffs. Titans win. Colts get second wild card.
AFC West
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6-1 | vs. Jets |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 3-3 | @ Browns |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 2-4 | @ Broncos |
| Denver Broncos | 2-4 | vs. Chargers |
Analysis: This is a one-team race with the Chiefs building a lead against any would-be contenders. Things only get easier with what is basically a bye this week against the Jets.
The Raiders are a slightly above-average team still lacking the talent they need to rise to true contender status. They could be a spoiler for others down the stretch, but aren’t likely to be much more.
The future appears bright in Los Angeles with Justin Herbert at the helm. Like the Bengals, they should strive to win a few games but not too many. Need to build the talent around their budding star QB.
The Broncos appear to have no identity and no answers. Drew Lock seems ok, but it wouldn’t be hard to find an upgrade. Could be a few more years before they become contenders again. They do have some nice WR talent though.
Prediction: Chiefs fall out of bed with the top seed in the AFC.
NFC West
| Seattle Seahawks | 5-1 | vs. 49ers |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-2 | BYE |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5-2 | @ Dolphins |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4-3 | @ Seahawks |
Analysis: This division is easily the best in football, and probably the most entertaining. Who didn’t like seeing Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray slinging the ball all over the field last week? That will be a must-see QB match-up for years to come.
The Rams feel kind of over-rated though. They’re a run-heavy team for no reason other than the coach still doesn’t fully trust the QB, which is a bad sign for a QB in his 5th year.
The 49ers suffered a massive amount of injuries early this season, but seem to have righted the ship after losing to the Eagles and Dolphins. Tough test coming against a Seahawks team looking to rebound off a tough loss to the Cardinals.
Prediction: The Seahawks win this division in a frantic final few weeks while the Cardinals lock up the second wild card. The 49ers finish ahead of the Rams, but just miss out on the playoffs.
NFC South
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-2 | @ Giants |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-2 | @ Bears |
| Carolina Panthers | 3-4 | vs Falcons |
| Atlanta Falcons | 1-6 | @ Panthers |
Analysis: Two strong teams, one average team with a fun offense, and one very bad, no good team.
Tom Brady is leading his new team to a playoff spot while his old team flounders. Fooey. I wanted both his new team and old team to suck, but I guess you can’t have everything. Another win seems likely with the Giants on deck.
The Saints and Drew Brees seem to have taken a step back, and now have a situation with their top WR who is apparently fighting people in practice. Not good.
Carolina sure is fun to watch with that offense. The defense on the other hand…actually also fun because they give up a lot of offense.
The Falcons are terrible. Bold Prediction: The Jets somehow sneak out a win near the end of the season giving the Falcons the #1 pick in the draft. Trevor Lawrence opts in thinking he’ll land with the Falcons only to see Atlanta draft a guard. The Jets take Lawrence and ruin his career. Atlanta still sucks. Update: Atlanta won the very next game played after this post and ruined all chances at getting the first pick.
Prediction: The Bucs win the division with the Saints close behind as the first wild card.
NFC North
| Green Bay Packers | 5-1 | vs. Vikings |
| Chicago Bears | 5-2 | vs. Saints |
| Detroit Lions | 3-3 | vs. Colts |
| Minnesota Vikings | 1-5 | @ Packers |
Analysis: Unless Matt Nagy is willing to hand over play-calling duties to literally anyone else, this is a one team race. The Packers are legitimately good. The Bears have a good defense, but as we see year in and year out in this league, that isn’t enough.
Matt Stafford is an under-rated QB, but he made the mistake of signing an extension with this franchise. The Lions will never do anything other than be feisty and annoy other teams.
The Vikings are terrible! You like that?
Prediction: Packers win the top seed because the South and West teams beat up on each other. The Bears snag the third wild card.
NFC East
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2-4-1 | vs. Cowboys |
| Washington Football Team | 2-5 | BYE |
| Dallas Cowboys | 2-5 | @ Eagles |
| New York Giants | 1-6 | vs. Buccaneers |
Analysis: 7 wins. The entire division has 7 wins total through 7 weeks. That’s….unfathomably bad.
Washington gets to use their bye week to enjoy having crushed the Cowboys for a little longer. They aren’t a good team, but the defensive line is monstrous. They can cause problems for any team with a porous O-line. They don’t really have an answer at QB, though. If they win a few more games, they might not have one next year either.
The Giants are actually trending in the right direction under Joe Judge, which might be the biggest upset of the year after his high-school level antics during the off-season. Still, they aren’t good and Daniel Jones sure likes giving the ball to the other team. Can’t see him as a long term option.
Dallas is so bad right now. I thought Dak was over-rated, but it’s clear he’s been carrying this team more then Russell Wilson. And now the players are speaking out against the coaching staff. Gonna be a tough off-season if they don’t right this ship.
The Eagles are a weird team. They should have a better record, but accuracy issues from Wentz, a ridiculous number of injuries, poor roster management and questionable play-calling has them barely holding a lead in the worst division in the history of sports. Still, they have the best QB in the league, and a solid, not spectacular defense. They should be able to do enough to win the division. Winning a wildcard game is another matter altogether.
Prediction: The Eagles get healthy and start to figure things out in November. They win a nail-biter in week 17 over the Football Team to secure the division, but some important player gets injured and costs them any chance to win the wildcard matchup against the Saints.
Final Playoff Standings Predicted
| AFC | NFC |
|---|---|
| 1. Kansas City Chiefs | 1. Green Bay Packers |
| 2. Pittsburgh Steelers | 2. Tampa Bay Buccanners |
| 3. Tennessee Titans | 3. Seattle Seahawks |
| 4. Miami Dolphins | 4. Philadelphia Eagles |
| 5. Baltimore Ravens | 5. New Orleans Saints |
| 6. Indianapolis Colts | 6. Arizona Cardinals |
| 7. Buffalo Bills | 7. Chicago Bears |