The NFL season is always a mess. With upsets every week, new contenders arising out of nowhere, and major declines, opinions have to be altered as the season progresses. My predictions from the beginning of the year are still accurate with a record of 78-41 (discounting the tie between the Lions and Cardinals), but since injuries pile up and other mysterious trends form, new opinions are formed. In honor of the halfway mark in the season and the trade deadline passing, this is a perfect time to update predictions for the NFL season. Again, I determined each team’s record by picking who wins and loses every game which can be seen here.
AFC
East
13-3 New England Patriots: Riding an easy schedule, the Patriots seem to have their trip to the Super Bowl already locked up. While this may be true, their 13-3 projected record does not reflect their team’s talent. Their schedule certainly gets harder in the second half of the season but it continues to be a series of cakewalks. When the Patriots begin facing competitive teams, their flaws such as a bad offensive line and a lack of a deep passing game will both be exposed. Additionally, the Patriots’ defense has gotten extremely lucky in the number of touchdowns they’ve scored, unless they have found a new technique to scoring defensive touchdowns, that’s sure to regress. The Patriots are one of the few good teams in the AFC and that’s why they will have a great record, not that they’re uber-talented.
10-6 Buffalo Bills: Like the Patriots, the Bills are preying on their weaker opposition, and also like the Patriots, they’ll rack up easy wins without a problem. This Bills roster is good and will go places in the future, especially if Josh Allen can figure out his accuracy, but in 2019, their offensive line and relatively bland offensive scheme are holding them back from consistently pushing the ball down the field.
4-12 New York Jets: Before the season I was extravagant when all the signs pointed to this seemingly cursed franchise heading in the right direction, now, I just feel bad for Jets fans. By paying up for some of the best available free agents in the offseason, the Jets seemed like they were making a playoff push, but that has not come together. In hindsight, it makes sense what’s gone wrong with this team, their secondary can be easily exploited and their offensive line disallows the ground game to have any success. From these two problems comes a major ripple effect: great run stoppers like Jamal Adams are forced to favor the passing game and opposing defenses can take advantage of Sam Darnold’s youth and do whatever possible to stop him. Hopefully, just one more draft class and a few more major signings may finally get the Jets to a winning record.
0-16 Miami Dolphins: News flash: the Dolphins are tanking. Only three good players remain: Preston Williams, Mark Walton, and Xavien Howard who was just placed on season-ending injured reserve. If the Dolphins can muster a win, it will be against the Jets in week 9, but they probably won’t be able to accomplish that. In a few years everything will look different, but in the immediate future, don’t expect the Dolphins to win many games.
North
13-3 Baltimore Ravens: Let’s start with what the Ravens are known for: their defense, now that Za’Darius Smith and others are gone though, the Ravens defense is not nearly what it once was. They still have two great corners in Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey, but it’s the offense that constitutes the Ravens 13-3 record. In my previous prediction, I said if Lamar Jackson can figure out his accuracy, the Ravens could win 12 or 13 games, well, let’s just say Jackson has figured it out. He’s not even a top 10 thrower in the league, but when accounting for his transcendent running, opposing teams are put in a dilemma. They have three options, first, they can place a QB spy on him which leaves someone open, another option is containing him which gives him an eternity in the pocket, or blitz him which allows him to elude the blitz and escape the pocket then scramble or find the open man. Jackson is so unique that teams have to struggle to find a way to slow him down, which with his combination of talents, might take years. Not often can one man change an entire team’s destiny, but Jackson is just that special.
8-8 Cleveland Browns: Everyone that was on the Browns’ hype train has gotten off on various stops across America, whether it be in San Francisco or Baltimore. America has gone back to the way it always has been, not willingly rooting for the Browns. With that said, the Browns are not the dumpster fire they once were. They are mediocre and will grow into something more, but for now, they’re stuck to feasting on weak opponents.
6-10 Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers are an extremely confusing team. Are they rebuilding or is this just a wasted year because Ben Roethlisberger went down? Regardless, this season, the Steelers are going to continue to play as a bottom ten team as long as they keep the governor on Mason Rudolph. The Steelers’ coaching staff knows what they’re dealing with much more than anyone else, but in Rudolph’s career, both in college and the preseason, he’s been aggressive and it’s usually worked for him. The NFL regular season is a different beast than what Rudolph’s previously experienced, so his coaches probably know something that a spectator doesn’t. But still, how can you know if you don’t try?
3-13 Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Mixon is a top ten talent at his position, but the Bengals’ offensive line is so bad that Mixon’s talent is being completely negated. The hope for Bengals fans is that once A.J. Green and John Ross return, the vertical passing game can open up and free Mixon for the first time in a while. With the rise of Auden Tate, who on film, shows flashes of resemblance to Kenny Golladay or none other than Green himself, it would have made so much sense to have traded Green. The deadline has now passed and the Bengals will remain as is without any additional draft picks for 2020. The Bengals are closer than other tanking teams to success due to their potentially explosive offense, so if they come away from the upcoming draft with a quarterback, the NFL will need to prepare for another powerful offense.
South
12-4 Indianapolis Colts: As I mentioned in my previous predictions article, before Andrew Luck’s retirement, I had the Colts winning the Super Bowl, now it appears that my adjustment for them to 7-9 was overcompensating the change in quarterback. Jacoby Brissett is a game manager, but he’s a good one and that’s all the Colts need to make them serious playoff contenders. Why that is, don’t make sense. They don’t have a near dominant defense nor do they have a high scoring offense, but the team is constructed to perfection. Both sides of the ball complement each other flawlessly which is a really underrated aspect of making a great football team. The chemistry on both ends of the ball can carry this team far, and once they add more pieces to either replace or help Brissett, they can win a Super Bowl.
11-5 Houston Texans: Similar to the Ravens, the Texans young, mobile quarterback has completely reformed his entire team. Both went from an old-fashioned, defense first, ground and pound team to an exotic and fun one. The primary difference in the two teams is that the Texans have completely reformed, reformed to the point where their defense is almost hopeless. Now that their two star rushers are gone, Jadeveon Clowney, traded and J.J. Watt, injured, there are only a few pieces to a once-great defense remaining. However, Deshaun Watson is so good that he can win most shootouts as will be seen in key matchups in the second half when he takes on the Ravens and Patriots.
7-9 Jacksonville Jaguars: With Minshew Mania slightly dying down, the question again arises, is Nick Foles good? The answer to this question has changed so many times that only time will tell, but it’s comforting for the Jaguars to know that Gardner Minshew is ready to take over if needed. Regardless of who’s starting under center, the Jaguars offense is finally on the right track, with Leonard Fournette carrying the ball efficiently and often and D.J. Chark turning into a legit star, if the defense can get it together, the Jaguars would be a Super Bowl contender. But with so many personalities and little urgency to make plays, like there was in 2017, the defense that once was Sacksonville will never return.
4-12 Tennessee Titans: The Titans want to go back to the 1980s, unfortunately for them, times have changed and that strategy is no longer viable. They have constructed a relentless defense that will keep them in most games but the offense is so stale that at the end of the year, they’ll have to accept that they’ve wasted this defense and have to rebuild.
West
12-4 Kansas City Chiefs: Previously I and many others said Patrick Mahomes should regress because in 2018 some plays happened that typically don’t. At this point though, it’s difficult to think that they’ll ever stop, Mahomes is just a different species. Still, the Chiefs aren’t what they were last year, and that’s probably due to a mix of Kareem Hunt’s absence and teams adapting to the Chief’s offensive gameplans. Hunt’s gone makes the Chiefs fairly one dimensional, but if anyone can overcome that, it’s Mahomes.
9-7 Oakland Raiders: The Raiders are on their way to something great, they aren’t quite there yet, but they’re just a few pieces away from a playoff appearance. This season seems to be unlike the other ones in recent memory, they’re playing tough and with chemistry. The new coaching staff and administration know what they’re doing and have found plenty of solid players late in the draft and cheap via free agency. With a few more years of good drafts and free agency, the solid players will compile and in the process, they’ll likely stumble upon a few stars. It’s clear that Derek Carr doesn’t deserve the mammoth contract he was given, but he can certainly manage a game and that’s all this up and coming offense needs. On the other side of the ball, the Raiders’ defense has problems, but unlike other teams, they can be fixed fairly quickly by filling in a few holes. If only they had a star pass rusher…
7-9 Los Angeles Chargers: What happened with the Chargers? Yes, their offensive line and defense are depleted but that’s an invalid excuse for the type of football that they’ve been playing. They look undisciplined and defeated which can usually be chalked up to coaching, but Anthony Lynn is a great coach. After their bye week which provides time to heal both physically and mentally, the Chargers theoretically should improve. Their offense has all the tools needed to be unstoppable and their defense should be better than what they’ve shown. The undisciplined tackling seen on this team in the first half of the season is unthinkable for a team that should be contenders for a Super Bowl. This year is just not the Chargers year, but if the season was simulated 1,000 times, they would end up victorious in a good chunk of those simulations. That just shows the wacky beauty of the NFL.
3-13 Denver Broncos: Well… I overrated Vic Fangio’s impact. The defense is good, but not nearly dominant enough to carry Joe Flacco’s incompetence. Flacco and his lack of aggression under center make this offense look lost, so hopefully, when Drew Lock returns from injured reserve, he’ll be able to get some wins. Not to mention, while Philip Lindsay’s durability should be a concern, there’s no good excuse to giving him this little of a workload. The hope for the Broncos is that Lock can come in for Flacco like Lamar Jackson did last year, and get them some wins or at the very least show signs of hope.
NFC
East
10-6 Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles are a solid team, almost identical to themselves in their Super Bowl run as a matter of fact, but anyone that’s watched them play can attest to the fact that they lack their mojo that they had. Besides long runs from Miles Sanders, the Eagles offense is a nonstop grind that has little pop. While this “grind it out” strategy works really well at times, when your secondary might as well be hay bales rolling around, it’s fairly ineffective. The Eagles are still a similar team to their 2017-2018 selves but with an abysmal secondary, they’ll be able to make it to the playoffs but not much further unless they can find their identity.
9-7 Dallas Cowboys: One of the hardest teams to predict is the Cowboys. In the 2018-2019 season, they became known as a running and defensive centric team, whereas so far they are almost the opposite. The pass-happy Cowboys have plenty of potential to become one of the best teams in the near future as their young defense gains more experience. On offense, it’s well known that Ezekiel Elliott is one of the best in the league at any position and the Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup tandem adds to this explosive offense. In addition to a great offensive line and good defense, in theory, this team should be Super Bowl contenders. Dak Prescott is good and probably the quarterback of the future, but it would be ignorant for the Cowboys to give an average quarterback a record-setting contract when they should more evenly distribute their cap space amongst Amari Cooper and other important players.
6-10 New York Giants: When Daniel Jones was drafted sixth overall, or in the first round at all, America was shocked, but as the weeks go by, the decision seems less and less foolish. With Jones sparking at times and Saquon Barkley continuing to dominate, this Giants team is going somewhere. Adding Leonard Williams and Jabrill Peppers in the past year stepping stones towards a good defense. The Giants do have gaping holes preventing them from winning much, but once those holes are patched, the Giants will be mediocre at worst.
1-15 Washington Redskins: The Redskins are full out tanking which after years of mediocrity is the right call. Their quarterback of the future may or not be on their roster as Dwayne Haskins has been atrocious, but he may just need time. Other young, unseen talent on offense consists of Derrius Guice and Terry McLaurin, so who knows; maybe in 2023 or some other arbitrary year, the Redskins, on one hand, could still be in the midst of a rebuild but on the other, they could have a Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown type trio. It’s impossible to tell what will happen in the far future, but for now, the only way they’ll win any games is if their average defense carries them there.
North
14-2 Minnesota Vikings: At the beginning of the season, I was intrigued by the Vikings and startled when other analysts projected them for a horrible record, with that said, I did not see this season coming. I thought their offense would be the best it had been in a long time, but I thought their defense was, to quote myself, “deteriorated”. To summarize, they proved me wrong. The Vikings are one of the best teams in the NFL thanks to their balance of both an elite offense and defense. Through the draft, what used to be a major issue was fixed, their offensive line, which is now among the best with the Colts and Cowboys. Creating gaping holes for Dalvin Cook to burst through, in turn, opens up the passing game where Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen’s amazing routes make them both reliable targets. What makes this team special, however, is on defense. Through Mike Zimmer’s scheme, defensive skill doesn’t matter as much as it would on other teams, because of this, even though Xavier Rhodes and others aren’t who they used to be, the defense still has the ability to shut the opposition out. The aspect that makes the Vikings one of the scariest teams in the NFL however, is their balance, while some teams have a dominant offense and others, a dominant defense, the Vikings have both.
13-3 Green Bay Packers: The Packers are the best they’ve been in a long time. It’s tempting to credit Matt LaFleur for bringing the offense back to what it once was, but most credit belongs to the defense, and down the stretch, this will be proven true. Every year that Aaron Rodgers is healthy is going to be a productive season, but this season, he has a defense that can gain possession often. In the past month, Rodgers has made a case for himself in the MVP race, while he won’t be crowned as the winner due to a tough upcoming schedule, he’ll be a major factor of his team’s success, but an even bigger one being the defense.
11-4-1 Detroit Lions: In the offseason, rumors rose of Matthew Stafford suffering a broken back in the 2018-2019 season but still playing through the excruciating pain. If Stafford’s play from this year indicates anything to a common fan, it’s that he was actually injured last year. Stafford looks as good as ever which comes imperfectly timed with Kerryon Johnson’s probable season-ending injury. Helping Stafford’s play is the surge of Kenny Golladay who’s one of the best receivers in the league right now. With a body resembling George Kittle, strong hands like Michael Thomas, and ball skills like A.J. Green, Golladay will be a household name for many years to come. In addition to this offense, comes an extremely well-coached defense, featuring disciplined tackling and ability to force fumbles, the Lions, like their division rivals, is one of the most balanced teams in the NFL. In the upcoming weeks, the Lions will ride an easy schedule to being in the wild card hunt, but in week 17 they come across the Packers.
4-12 Chicago Bears: Oh my God Mitch Trubisky’s bad. The only thing separating the Bears from the horrible season that they’ll have to bringing home the Lombardi Trophy is a quarterback. In the summer expect a lot of movement from the Bears’ quarterback room. They will draft a quarterback, it’s just a question of how much equity they spend. While grabbing a quarterback from the draft, they should also sign someone like Andy Dalton or Marcus Mariota since almost anyone is an improvement over Trubisky. If Trubisky fails to fix his mechanics in the remainder of this year, it would be shocking to see him start next season. But wouldn’t it just make so much sense for him to go to New England to be the heir to Brady?
South
14-2 New Orleans Saints: In spite of his numbers, Teddy Bridgewater is not good, while he is probably better, there’s not a noticeable difference between him and Mason Rudolph on film. That’s all just a testament to how good this team is. A run defense that lets almost nothing through, a developing cornerback in Marshon Lattimore, and an electric offense, add up to be unstoppable. The only way to beat the Saints is to relentlessly run the ball and play keep-away from their terrifying offense as well as passing to whoever Lattimore’s not covering since he can make any wide receiver invisible. This team looks unbeatable, with only one place to take advantage of them (the second corner) even the best and smartest teams will struggle in trying to find holes in their team.
9-7 Carolina Panthers: While I was right in saying not all of Cam Newton, D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Christian McCaffrey would remain healthy the entire season, I underestimated McCaffrey’s impact. Ever since Newton was ruled out and Kyle Allen took over, the Panthers have been on fire. Allen immediately appeared to be a sophomore sensation, but as time passed, that was proven untrue and instead, McCaffrey was the gears that make this machine function so smoothly. On defense, they’re solid: they generate enough pressure to constantly be in the quarterback’s face and cover just well enough to disallow easy check downs. This team is youthful, good, and with a few more years, they’ll once again be Super Bowl contenders.
5-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: This offense has so many powerful weapons in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin who are utilized to near perfection, but also have future stars in O.J. Howard nor Ronald Jones who are sitting idle. While this might be due partially to the coaching staff’s unwillingness to adapt, anyone that lives in Tampa Bay can affirm you, most fault falls on Jameis Winston. Some pro-Winston advocates may say he has some games where he’s atrocious, but in others, he’s good. It turns out, his good games are just luck, Winston has had countless dropped interceptions or other missed opportunities by the defense. Winston is bad and the Buccaneers will let him walk in free agency and aggressively pursue someone better. To see this talented of an offense go to waste is a disgrace for the NFL. With Winston and his childish attitude on their way out, it makes you think, wouldn’t he fit so well as the face of the XFL?
1-15 Atlanta Falcons: It’s almost like there’s a language barrier in this team’s secondary. By failing to make simple switches and adjustments both pre-snap and post-snap that anyone can make at both collegiate and high school levels, it’s obvious that this defense has fallen apart. The defense has many problems in coverage, but also they are the worst tackling team in the NFL. Their atrocity is so great that it raises the question has the defense quit on Dan Quinn? The answer to that is yes, Quinn’s worked wonders previously in his career and grown many young talents into superstars, but now, everything’s going wrong for no apparent reason. Maybe it’s just time for a change. Todd Bowles headlines the list of most likely candidates and if the Falcons can manage to recruit him, by all means, they should. The offense is still good and can easily handle a coaching change so if the losing continues after their bye week, Quinn should be fired immediately. The offense is still good enough to carry a slightly below-average defense to the playoffs but the defense is bad to an extent that if there’s no change, the Falcons will go winless for the rest of the season.
West
12-4 Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks can advance the ball in so many ways that almost no one can stop them. Unlike any other team, the Seahawks have found a way to be successful using slow, methodical drives in an era where long plays dominate. Their defense isn’t as good as expected, but they also slow down the opposition. Jadeveon Clowney has disappointed, but he has still been a massive contributor to a defense that compliments their offense perfectly by slowing down their opposition’s pace of play. In this day of highlight bombs and innovative coaches speeding up the number of play run per game, the Seahawks are doing the opposite, and it’s working.
12-4 San Francisco 49ers: Riding an easy schedule to an 8-0 record is impressive, but the 49ers are not quite the Super Bowl contenders that America wants them to be. As their schedule gets harder with games against the Packers, Ravens, and Saints, the Seahawks’ gets easier. Until the end of the season, the 49ers will continue to prove their offensive intellect, but the Seahawks will catch up with them and take the division crown. Kyle Shanahan finally has dynamic running backs that he can be creative within Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, and Raheem Mostert. Another advantage of this running back trio that he can rotate them in and to have fresh legs when the defense gets tired. While Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, and a much improved offensive line make this team one of the best in the league, they aren’t the only factors making this team win. The new additions along with a great coaching staff and an easy schedule are what brought this team to an undefeated record. The raw talent on the 49ers isn’t enough to win a Super Bowl just yet.
7-9 Los Angeles Rams: What’s in the water in L.A.? Both the Chargers’ and Rams’ offensive lines are the sole piece that is holding their teams back, other than that, the Rams are almost what they have been in the rest of the Sean McVay era. Opposing teams have found a way to defend the Rams’ deadly outside zone, play action duo. While this has slowed them down, the Rams’ offense continues to churn, the only difference between this year and years past, is their bad offensive line, which in turn, forces them to pass more than desired. Many credit the Rams’ regression to Todd Gurley’s knee, but in reality, the blame lies completely on the offensive line. Gurley of years past can certainly advocate what a bad offensive line does to his stats.
5-10-1 Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals aren’t the futuristic, air raid, offense that NFL fans were hoping for, but they’re still much improved from last year. The offensive line nor the defense can support a winning team even if their offense produced as advertised. Kyler Murray is a star in the making but still has to make slight improvements in his mechanics and play-calling strategy to become one of the best. It’s not the Cardinals’ time yet, but the combination of an exciting offense and a bad defense, in the right game script can play spoiler against running teams such as the Seahawks and 49ers.
Awards
Most Valuable Player
DeShaun Watson: I’m sticking with my pick of Watson as he nor anyone else has given me a reason to change. The combination of Watson’s electric speed and nimble pocket presence is only comparable to Lamar Jackson, but Watson has a great arm. Watson will pass for 4,643 yards and 37 touchdowns while tacking on an additional 318 rushing yards.
Offensive Player of the Year
Christian McCaffrey: As long as McCaffrey stays healthy, he basically has this award locked up. In addition to the unbelievable start to the season that McCaffrey’s had, it can only get better if Cam Newton returns. It’s been proven time and time again that running backs benefit greatly from rushing quarterbacks, which Newton certainly is so McCaffrey’s second half could be even better than his first. McCaffrey concludes the year with 1,264 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground with 738 yards and 5 touchdowns in the air.
Defensive Player of the Year
Za’Darius Smith: It seems unbelievable that the Ravens, one of the smartest defensive teams in the NFL let Smith walk without much of a fight. Smith has exploded playing alongside Preston Smith since both of them can’t be double-teamed. With help from future star Jaire Alexander locking down opponents’ primary wide receiver, Smith has considerable amounts of time to get pressure on the quarterback that other players dream of. Finishing the season with 16.5 sacks and 2 turnovers, Smith makes a name for himself as an elite pass rusher.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Josh Jacobs: Even though the Raiders’ offense isn’t the best, Jacobs is good enough to overcome their lackluster production. Jacobs has carried the load and will be the primary reason why the Raiders will remain in the wild card hunt deep into the regular season. Jacobs will finish the season 1,344 yards and 7 touchdowns, while only adding 287 yards and 1 touchdown in the air.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Nick Bosa: Bosa has lit the world on fire and despite Kyler Murray’s success, has the Cardinals regretting not taking him number one. It was hard to not pick Bosa as defensive player of the year, but due to his limited repertoire of techniques teams might catch on in the second half. Bosa will get 12.0 sacks and force 2 fumbles.
Comeback Player of the Year
Carson Wentz: Wentz, with little competition, will win this category by a significant margin. If DeSean Jackson ever returns, he’ll add major potential for a big play on any snap, which would greatly benefit Wentz’ season. Even if Jackson fails to make an appearance for the rest of the season, due to the competition, Wentz will still win by passing for a mediocre 3,831 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Coach of the Year
Kyle Shanahan: Shanahan laid out the blueprint of utilizing running backs possessing similar attributes relating to speed and agility in 2019. This may just have created a trend, but it may be a lot more, it could change how football’s played for years. Strategies similar to Shanahan’s have been attempted before, but not to the same extent nor the same success. His innovation in addition to his willingness to gameplan toward the strengths of his team, leads Shanahan walking away with the easy win.
Playoff Predictions
Wildcard
(5) Houston Texans @ (4) Kansas City Chiefs: In a shootout that will be remembered for a while, two teams with no defenses but fierce offenses take on one another. A quarterback duel that will reign over the NFL for years to come truly begins here. Patrick Mahomes makes magic and takes one of the first of many battles over DeShaun Watson.
(6) Buffalo Bills @ (3) Indianapolis Colts: Josh Allen is not ready for the playoffs yet. They can feast on weak opponents all they want, but when they meet a fitting competitor the Bills will quickly crumble.
(5) Green Bay Packers @ (4) Philadelphia Eagles: In what’s hyped up to be a game for the ages, the Eagles falter to the mighty Aaron Rodgers. Not many teams can defeat Rodgers in the playoffs, and when someone does, that team is really special. The Eagles this year are not special.
(6) San Francisco 49ers@ (3) Seattle Seahawks: Two teams that differ from everyone else by slowing down the game instead of speeding it up, meet their match for the third time this season. After closely splitting the regular season contests, when the game comes down to the wire, Russell Wilson outperforms Jimmy Garoppolo.
Divisional
(4) Kansas City Chiefs @ (1) Baltimore Ravens: Patrick Mahomes has taken the first two matches versus Lamar Jackson. However, after beginning the gauntlet of young quarterbacks, the Chiefs are exhausted from the shootout versus the Texans, whereas the Ravens are well-rested. While Jackson puts points on the board, it’s really the Ravens defense that gives them an edge over the Chiefs.
(3) Indianapolis Colts @ (2) New England Patriots: Tom Brady takes on his former backup of Jacoby Brissett and dominates. In the largest point differential of any playoff matchup, no one is surprised when Tom Brady advances closer to his seventh Super Bowl win.
(5) Green Bay Packers @ (1) New Orleans Saints: In a rivalry that never disappoints, this matchup is no different. Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers both have reliable run games and defenses now which will add extra allure to this celebrated matchup. The Packers defense which has been the talk of the town finally shows a sign of weakness against the Saints running game which will be their kryptonite.
(3) Seattle Seahawks @ (2) Minnesota Vikings: The Seahawks are good, but the Vikings are great. Dalvin Cook immediately takes over and after the first quarter, the Seahawks have to spend the rest of the game doing what they’re most uncomfortable with: playing from behind. Cook grinds down the clock and up the Seahawks for the rest of the game, making his mark as a playoff hero.
Conference
(2) New England Patriots @ (1) Baltimore Ravens: This is a difficult game to predict. It could go either way easily. The Ravens could destroy the Patriots with their unique offense, but the Patriots, after seeing Lamar Jackson in the regular season, may scheme a flawless system limiting him. The latter is the more likely outcome and combined with Tom Brady’s playoff experience, they’ll defeat Jackson and the Ravens.
(2) Minnesota Vikings @ (1) New Orleans Saints: The sequel is never better than the original, but in this case, it is. In the rematch of the Minneapolis Miracle, two of the best teams seen in for some time in the NFL take on one another in a fight for the ages. When it comes down to the wire though, the major difference between these teams is Drew Brees and Kirk Cousins. Brees’ pinpoint accuracy is too much for this elite Vikings defense to handle.
Super Bowl
(2) New England Patriots @ (1) New Orleans Saints: Two great offenses and defenses take on each other for the first time in about 2 years. The Saints and their near-perfect team rise to the occasion to take down the Patriots in a competitive Super Bowl. The main factor contributing to the Patriots’ loss is their faulty offensive line that showed signs of being their eventual doom earlier in the season. With all the mess that the NFL makes, one prediction will remain the same from before the 2019-2020 season until now. The Saints will win the Super Bowl and a few weeks after Brees is crowned Super Bowl MVP, he expectedly retires, thus completing one of the best careers in sports history.
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