Alright, guys – time for my annual NFL predictions piece. Longtime readers of SoBros Network know the drill full and well by now, but for those of you who don’t, allow me to reintroduce it. Every year, I sit down, look at the NFL schedule, and pick every single game of the season based on where things stand prior to kickoff. There’s no scientific or statistical approach to it at all – just simply your boy lookin’ at it, and recording my gut reaction to it.
Last year was easily my best year ever – I successfully predicted that the Chiefs would win the Super Bowl (let’s just ignore the part where I said they’d be beating the Falcons for it). My surprise team in the AFC was the Bills. My surprise team in the NFC was the 49ers. I tweeted out that I had a little inkling in my tummy that the Ravens would be really really good.
Damn, you guys know that I hate for my victory lap to end, but it’s on to 2020!
NFL 2020 Record Predictions
AFC South
- Tennessee Titans (12-4)
- Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
- Houston Texans (5-11)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13)
AFC East
- Buffalo Bills (10-6)
- New England Patriots (10-6)
- Miami Dolphins (6-10)
- New York Jets (4-12)
AFC West
- Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)
- Las Vegas Raiders (8-8)
- Denver Broncos (8-8)
- Los Angeles Chargers (6-10)
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
- Cleveland Browns (8-8)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (7-9)
- Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)
NFC South
- New Orleans Saints (13-3)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5)
- Atlanta Falcons (5-11)
- Carolina Panthers (2-14)
NFC East
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (8-8)
- New York Giants (7-9)
- Washington Football Team (5-11)
NFC West
- Seattle Seahawks (12-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (10-6)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-7)
- Arizona Cardinals (7-9)
NFC North
- Minnesota Vikings (8-8)
- Green Bay Packers (8-8)
- Chicago Bears (8-8)
- Detroit Lions (6-10)
2020 Playoff Predictions
Wild Card Weekend
- (2) Titans over (7) Raiders
- (3) Ravens over (6) Patriots
- (4) Bills over (5) Colts
- (2) Seahawks over (7) Rams
- (6) 49ers over (3) Eagles
- (5) Buccaneers over (4) Vikings
Divisional Round
- (1) Chiefs over (4) Bills
- (2) Titans over (3) Ravens
- (1) Saints over (6) 49ers
- (2) Seahawks over (5) Buccaneers
Championship Weekend
- (2) Titans over (1) Chiefs
- (1) Saints over (2) Seahawks
Super Bowl
- Saints over Titans
Draft Order
- 1: Carolina Panthers
- 2: Jacksonville Jaguars
- 3: New York Jets
- 4: Washington Football Team
- 5: Atlanta Falcons
MVP Prediction: Russell Wilson
Coach of the Year: Bill Belichick
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Joe Burrow
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Chase Young (shout out to Kristian Fulton for showing up on the odds at +4000, though)
Takeaways
People are going to call me biased, but if any of you have actually followed my work over the course of the last seven years, you know I’ve been vocally critical of the Titans franchise in the past. I have no problem with calling a spade a spade. But, I genuinely believe that this is the most complete team in the entire AFC.
The Ravens don’t have the depth of dynamic players on offense that the Titans have. The Chiefs don’t have the defensive talent that the Titans have. The Bills and the Patriots don’t have the quarterback play that the Titans have. Everyone’s expecting a Jacksonville-esque slump, but what hard evidence is there to suggest that this team can’t get back to contending for a Super Bowl? They didn’t get worse over the summer. They got better.
The Titans spent this offseason making moves that are designed to catch the Chiefs, and I think that barring any sort of unforeseen injury, they will. Similarly, I think the Saints are that complete team in the NFC. The way this schedule lines up for them, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them win MORE than 13 games. I love how electric Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are. I love the way the 49ers have built that team….but, the Saints should absolutely be the Super Bowl favorites.
I wrote my list of dark horse candidates about a week ago, and after looking over the schedule, I think it’s safe to remove the Cardinals, Falcons, and Lions from that list. So, I’m gonna bank on it and say that the Bills and the Raiders are my official dark horse teams for 2020.
I didn’t realize I liked the Rams all that much. If you would have asked me before I performed this exercise, I probably would’ve picked ’em to finish last in the NFC West. But, here we are – that’s why I say if you’re going to make preseason predictions, you gotta do it in detail. There’s still a lot to like about that organization.
I have no clue what I’m doing with the Steelers. They’re one of the favorites in the AFC, but I just don’t like ’em after last season. I think the Browns could have the year we thought they’d have last year with a little more stability and discipline in leadership, and the AFC North could be a little more competitive than we’re expecting. Similarly, no way I would sit here right now and call the Texans a 5-11 football team, and yet….here we are. Maybe I don’t like the Steelers, Texans, and for that matter, Cowboys, as much as I thought I did.
I’m not particularly buying the hype behind the Broncos and Jets that we had at the conclusion of last season. The Jets still employ Adam Gase, and the Broncos are still a YOUNG team that could be another year or so away.
The NFC North is going to be a slugfest among teams that all have serious and valid question marks. Will the division champ be 8-8? I doubt it….but, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see this thing jumbled up big time in December, and there’s no team that could win this division and surprise me. That’s right – even you, Detroit Lions.
Two deep cut teams that I think could really surprise some people this season are the Bengals and Giants. I don’t think the Bengals are as far away as people think they are and Joe Burrow is a stud. The Giants showed some real potential on offense at times in 2019, but if the defense can catch up, they could make the NFC East quite interesting. I love that defensive line, too.
Finally, I would’ve said that the Jags would get the first pick next spring, but looking at the division that Carolina plays in, the schedule, and the hard re-build they have ahead of them, I take no issue with the Panthers ending up as the worst team in the NFL this season. I can get behind that prediction.
Alright, let’s hear it, SoBros Nation – what’s your Super Bowl pick? Hit the comments below.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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