Photo From: Duluth News Tribune
Today. NFL. I feel like this offseason has been so long, and we have been so patient. BUT IT IS FINALLY TIME. Tonight the long-awaited NFL season kicks off with a very exciting Thursday night game. The most recent Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys at 8:20 pm. The Buccaneers ruled the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV 31-9 and then managed to maintain all of their core starters during free agency. Can Brady get his eighth ring? With a repeat lineup and time for growth in the team's chemistry, a repeat doesn't sound too out of reach. During this free agency, we have seen many other teams make impressive improvements that can give them a legitimate chance. In this article, I am going to be predicting every division winner and which 14 teams will compete for the title of Champions.
Photo From: KC Kingdom
AFC West Champions: Kansas City Chiefs
With Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce I can't think of another passing game trio in the current NFL that compares. If Mahomes, Hill, and Kelce remain healthy throughout the season I expect nothing less than a return to the Super Bowl. Along with that scary trio, the Chiefs added more depth to their offensive line with Orlando Brown Jr. (left tackle), Joe Thuney, Creed Humphry, and Kyle Long. Clyde Edwards-Helaire will continue to do what he does and create tons of yards after contact. Along with that very impressive offense, the Chiefs defense also does not disappoint, Tyrann Mathieu and Chris Jones are just two examples of the talent of the defensive end.
Photo From: With The First Pick
AFC North Champions: Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a very interesting team to cover, not only did they almost knock the Chiefs out during the divisional round last season but they did that without some key components. Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams will be making their return after being out all last season from injuries. The Browns also added some more depth to their roster with free agency pickups John Johnson III and Troy Hill, along with drafting Greg Newsome II who will be competing for a starting position. They also traded to gain some instant change with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a linebacker from Notre Dame. With Baker Mayfield controlling this offense, it will be no surprise to see this Browns team take all their talent as far as the AFC Championship game.
Photo From: Titan Sized
AFC South Champions: Tennessee Titans
I was going back and forth over this prediction. The Indianapolis Colts were making this decision a lot more difficult but after Deshaun Watson chaos, and Wentz dealing with his foot injury I had to go with the past AFC South champions the Titans. Julio Jones and A.J. Brown leads this team with their big names as they will be gathering passes from Ryan Tannehill. The addition of Jones will make this team way more dynamic in the passing aspect as they release some pressure off of Derrick Henry. After also adding some young talent to their team during this past draft (Elijah Molden and Caleb Farley) the Titans are expected to be a team to look out for.
Photo From: USA Today
AFC East Champions: Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and more exceptional players with the guidance of head coach Sean McDermott, really look to be setting in motion at the perfect time. Yes, there is always room for improvement but their defense seems to be pulling together especially after adding two pass rushers (Carlos Basham Jr., and Gregory Rousseau). The Bills seem to be improving as time goes by only making their chances to the Super Bowl become clearer every day.
Photo From: The Phinsider
AFC Wildcard: Baltimore Ravens, LA Chargers, Miami Dolphins
Photo From: Turf Show Times
NFC West Champions: Los Angeles Rams
With Matthew Stafford escaping the Detroit Lions, and the Rams finally cutting ties with Jared Goff I think we can all agree on UPGRADE! Stafford is certainly more dynamic than Goff, he has a great number of weapons to utilize and could easily fit in and progress McVay's offense.
Photo From: Tampa Bay Times
NFC North Champions: GreenBay Packers
I feel like you can never really count out the Packers, Matt LaFleur has been absolutely spectacular and I am truly excited to see this team in action. Since Matt LaFleur has become coach he has led this Packers team to a game away from the Super Bowl. Not once, but twice. With two consecutive 13-3 seasons, their very similar team should be able to cause another successful season. And hopefully for them, a chance at the Super Bowl.
Photo From: WFLA
NFC South Champions: TampaBay Buccaneers
There are a bunch of things I can say to justify why this Team will win the NFC South but all I can say is Tom Brady. At 43 years old, we continue to see this guy bless every offense he is on. He has made getting to the Super Bowl such an easy task that we fans/viewers take it for granted, just one year in Tampa Bay and he already got them a Super Bowl. Can Brady do it again? Along with Brady, this team has multiple names (Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Mike Evans, and the list goes on) that give them a real chance to repeat.
Photo From: Hogs Haven
NFC East Champions: The Washington Football Team
This conference was also hard for me to predict just because I feel like the competition for this upcoming season isn't too high. Yes, defense is a strong suit for this Washington Football Team, but the offense is still shaky. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been hopping from team to team, as his inconsistent play put him in this position. I do think that this is the best situation for him, and he does have a really skilled cast to help him perform (Curtis Samuel, Terry McLaurin, and Antonio Gibson). If Fitzpatrick can perform this season it should be no problem for this team to repeat as NFC East Champions.
Photo From: Revenge of The Birds
NFC Wildcard: Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals
Photo From: Who Dat Dish
As the season gets started and continues I will drop more NFL predictions like full postseason predictions including a SUPER BOWL prediction! But for now, I am just so excited for the NFL season to get started again and of course GO DOLPHINS!!
