2023 Season, Playoffs and Super Bowl Predictions

[2006Coltsbestever]

Here they are, my 2023 NFL picks. I usually do them last week of August after Pre-Season but close enough.

 

What is everyone else's picks. There is no right or wrong picks here. It is all opinion; I could get a lot wrong here but I will take a stab at it.

 

My AFC Division winners:

West = Chiefs 13-4 (1st)

North = Ravens 12-5 (2nd)

East = Jets 11-6 (3rd)

South = Jags 10-7 (4th)

Wild Cards = Bengals 10-7, Bills 10-7, Dolphins 10-7

 

AFC Championship Game = Ravens at Chiefs, I have the Ravens winning the AFC!

 

I have a lot of BOLD predictions here as you can see. 2 more BOLD ones, Colts will go 8-8-1. They won't finish below .500. Chargers will miss the playoffs and their Coach will get fired. Regarding the Bengals, Burrow's injury is a concern. That will be interesting to follow.

 

My NFC Division winners:

East = Eagles 13-4 (1st)

North = Lions 12-5 (2nd)

West = 49ers 11-6 (3rd)

South = Panthers 9-8 (4th), Saints will be 9-8 too but Panthers get the tiebreaker.

Wild Cards = Cowboys 11-6, Vikings 10-7, Seahawks 10-7

 

I have the Bucs (no Brady) and the Giants missing the playoffs, they made it last year. Daniel Jones is MEH IMO.

 

NFC Championship Game = Lions at Eagles. Here it goes - I have the Lions winning the NFC! 

 

Super Bowl = Ravens vs Lions. My 2023 SB Champion is the Ravens.

 

 

[sb41champs]

3 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

What is everyone else's picks. There is no right or wrong picks here. It is all opinion; I could get a lot wrong here but I will take a stab at it.

 

My AFC Division winners:

West = Chiefs 13-4 (1st)

North = Ravens 12-5 (2nd)

East = Jets 11-6 (3rd)

South = Jags 10-7 (4th)

Wild Cards = Bengals 10-7, Bills 10-7, Dolphins 10-7

 

AFC Championship Game = Ravens at Chiefs, I have the Ravens winning the AFC!

 

I have a lot of BOLD predictions here as you can see. 2 more BOLD ones, Colts will go 8-8-1. They won't finish below .500. Chargers will miss the playoffs and their Coach will get fired. Regarding the Bengals, Burrow's injury is a concern. That will be interesting to follow.

 

My NFC Division winners:

East = Eagles 13-4 (1st)

North = Lions 12-5 (2nd)

West = 49ers 11-6 (3rd)

South = Panthers 9-8 (4th), Saints will be 9-8 too but Panthers get the tiebreaker.

Wild Cards = Cowboys 11-6, Vikings 10-7, Seahawks 10-7

 

I have the Bucs (no Brady) and the Giants missing the playoffs, they made it last year. Daniel Jones is MEH IMO.

 

NFC Championship Game = Lions at Eagles. Here it goes - I have the Lions winning the NFC! 

 

Super Bowl = Ravens vs Lions. My 2023 SB Champion is the Ravens.

 

 

VERY bold predictions!!

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, sb41champs said:

VERY bold predictions!!

 

I know I have a lot of them. I just see a lot of parity in the league right now and studied the teams schedules which I do every year before picking. Other than the Chiefs, nobody else is great to me and Repeating is almost impossible. Hasn't been done since 2004.

[2006Coltsbestever]

My over/under for the Colts is set at 7.5 wins. I think the Colts win 8 so I went over. They could easily only win 6 or 7 though, thoughts? This season is tough to pick from a lot of aspects. One reason why I picked quite of few surprises.

[NFLfan]

On 8/16/2023 at 10:30 AM, 2006Coltsbestever said:

What is everyone else's picks. There is no right or wrong picks here. It is all opinion; I could get a lot wrong here but I will take a stab at it.

 

My AFC Division winners:

West = Chiefs 13-4 (1st)

North = Ravens 12-5 (2nd)

East = Jets 11-6 (3rd)

South = Jags 10-7 (4th)

Wild Cards = Bengals 10-7, Bills 10-7, Dolphins 10-7

 

AFC Championship Game = Ravens at Chiefs, I have the Ravens winning the AFC!

 

I have a lot of BOLD predictions here as you can see. 2 more BOLD ones, Colts will go 8-8-1. They won't finish below .500. Chargers will miss the playoffs and their Coach will get fired. Regarding the Bengals, Burrow's injury is a concern. That will be interesting to follow.

 

My NFC Division winners:

East = Eagles 13-4 (1st)

North = Lions 12-5 (2nd)

West = 49ers 11-6 (3rd)

South = Panthers 9-8 (4th), Saints will be 9-8 too but Panthers get the tiebreaker.

Wild Cards = Cowboys 11-6, Vikings 10-7, Seahawks 10-7

 

I have the Bucs (no Brady) and the Giants missing the playoffs, they made it last year. Daniel Jones is MEH IMO.

 

NFC Championship Game = Lions at Eagles. Here it goes - I have the Lions winning the NFC! 

 

Super Bowl = Ravens vs Lions. My 2023 SB Champion is the Ravens.

 

 

I would love to see the Lions in the Super Bowl but then the Vikings will be the only NFC team never to have made the Super Bowl during my NFL fandom. Every NFL team has been to the Super Bowl since 1990 except the Vikings and Lions.

 

I will post my picks later. I like the Jets pick for the NFC East. Are they better than the Bills?

 

It should be an exciting season with so many teams starting new QBs. I am looking forward to it.

 

Let the NFL Games begin!!

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

40 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

I would love to see the Lions in the Super Bowl but then the Vikings will be the only NFC team never to have made the Super Bowl during my NFL fandom. Every NFL team has been to the Super Bowl since 1990 except the Vikings and Lions.

 

I will post my picks later. I like the Jets pick for the NFC East. Are they better than the Bills?

 

It should be an exciting season with so many teams starting new QBs. I am looking forward to it.

 

Let the NFL Games begin!!

 

I have the Vikings making the playoffs at 10-7 despite losing Cook. Kirk and Jefferson are a great 1-2 punch. Kirk is a good QB and Jefferson may be the best WR in the league. They won't be 13-4 again IMO but they will squeeze in. 

 

Other teams not to make the SB since the 1990 season:

Jets

Dolphins

Texans

Jags

Browns

Raiders

 

-I am assuming you are talking about NFC teams that haven't made the SB since the 90's started. That stat is wild, only Vikings and Lions! Vikings did make the NFC Championship in 1998 at 15-1.  

 

Going by since the 1990 season, my top 5 teams/franchises that have failed to win a Super Bowl are:

5. 1999 Tennessee Titans - Lost to the greatest show on turf in the SB. 1 yard short!

 

4. 2015 Carolina Panthers - Very good all-around team. Cam Newton's best season ever. They also had a great defense. They went 15-1 during the regular season.

 

3. 1998 Minnesota Vikings - Moss, Carter, Reed, Smith, John Randle, Cunningham was still an above average QB even though older. Team was loaded. They got beat by a Falcons team that did not make this list in the NFC Championship Game 30-27 in OT. If the Vikings played that Falcons team 10 times in the same situation, Vikings would beat them 8 times IMO. Vikings could've easily been 16-0 that season. Their only loss was a 3 point loss to the Tampa Bucs. They finished 15-1. Your Vikings are 3rd on this list. The Falcons went on to get blown out by the Denver Broncos, what a waste. I wanted to Vikings vs Broncos, that would have been a shootout!

 

2. 2016 Atlanta Falcons - Matt Ryan's year, they smoked Aaron Rodgers and the GB Packers in the NFC Championship and had the NE Patriots down 28-3 in the SB. Pats took it away from them with a huge comeback to win 34-28 in OT.

 

1. 1990 Buffalo Bills - Wide right! Lose to the Giants in the SB 20-19. That Bills team was loaded.

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

58 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I have the Vikings making the playoffs at 10-7 despite losing Cook. Kirk and Jefferson are a great 1-2 punch. Kirk is a good QB and Jefferson may be the best WR in the league. They won't be 13-4 again IMO but they will squeeze in. 

 

Other teams not to make the SB since the 1990 season:

Jets

Dolphins

Texans

Jags

Browns

Raiders

 

-I am assuming you are talking about NFC teams that haven't made the SB since the 90's started. That stat is wild, only Vikings and Lions! Vikings did make the NFC Championship in 1998 at 15-1.  

 

Going by since the 1990 season, my top 5 teams/franchises that have failed to win a Super Bowl are:

5. 1999 Tennessee Titans - Lost to the greatest show on turf in the SB. 1 yard short!

 

4. 2015 Carolina Panthers - Very good all-around team. Cam Newton's best season ever. They also had a great defense. They went 15-1 during the regular season.

 

3. 1998 Minnesota Vikings - Moss, Carter, Reed, Smith, John Randle, Cunningham was still an above average QB even though older. Team was loaded. They got beat by a Falcons team that did not make this list in the NFC Championship Game 30-27 in OT. If the Vikings played that Falcons team 10 times in the same situation, Vikings would beat them 8 times IMO. Vikings could've easily been 16-0 that season. Their only loss was a 3 point loss to the Tampa Bucs. They finished 15-1. Your Vikings are 3rd on this list. The Falcons went on to get blown out by the Denver Broncos, what a waste. I wanted to Vikings vs Broncos, that would have been a shootout!

 

2. 2016 Atlanta Falcons - Matt Ryan's year, they smoked Aaron Rodgers and the GB Packers in the NFC Championship and had the NE Patriots down 28-3 in the SB. Pats took it away from them with a huge comeback to win 34-28 in OT.

 

1. 1990 Buffalo Bills - Wide right! Lose to the Giants in the SB 20-19. That Bills team was loaded.

 

To follow this up, that Bills core went to 4 straight SB's from 1990-1993 led by QB Jim Kelly who is in the Hall of Fame. That team also had Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith. All are in the Hall of Fame as well!

[2006Coltsbestever]

Since the 1990 season, here are my top 5 greatest teams. Teams/franchises that have won a SB since 1990:

 

5. 2019 KC Chiefs - Led by Patrick Mahomes. That team also featured Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. That team had the perfect Coach as well in Andy Reid. Very explosive team. 

 

4. 2006 Indianapolis Colts - yes, we made the list. They have to be here simply because of Peyton Manning who is a Top 3 QB of all-time at worse. The team also featured, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Bob Sanders. Healthy Bob for that team made the defense really good.

 

3. 1994 SF 49ers - Led by Steve Young and Jerry Rice. They also had great CB's, Deion Sanders was the greatest of all-time IMO.

 

2. 2016 New England Patriots - Tom Brady's greatest moment was leading the Pats back from down 28-3 in SB 51 to win it 34-28. That team also had Julian Edelman who was great all season, and a 1000 yard rusher in Blount. Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest Coach of all-time as well. The 2016 Patriots were 1st in team defense regarding points allowed. They steamed roll a very good Steelers team in the AFC Championship Game 36-17. There have been so many great Patriots teams, but I choose this one out of their 6 SB wins, who went 14-2 in the regular season + there was no cheating scandal behind that year's Pats team either.

 

1. 1995 Dallas Cowboys - Simply this team had no weaknesses. Troy Aikman at QB, Emmitt Smith at RB, and Michael Irvin at WR1. They arguably had the greatest O.Line of all-time led by Larry Allen, Erik Williams, Mark Tuinei, Ray Donaldson, and Nate Newton. That Line was huge and would just maul teams. The Defense as a whole was lightning fast and great + like the 1994 49ers, they had Deion Sanders as well. That core team won 3 SB's in 4 seasons = 1992, 1993, 1995.

[VikingsFanInChennai]

The Title is like some web site article link that never ends

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 minutes ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

The Title is like some web site article link that never ends

I could have left the last sentence off but many in here know I usually don't do my final picks until pre-season is over. When I post in here I try to be thorough, otherwise I get questioned. That is the first time in my 8 years here, a title I created got questioned. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Since the 1990 season, here are my top 5 greatest teams. Teams/franchises that have won a SB since 1990:

 

5. 2019 KC Chiefs - Led by Patrick Mahomes. That team also featured Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. That team had the perfect Coach as well in Andy Reid. Very explosive team. 

 

4. 2006 Indianapolis Colts - yes, we made the list. They have to be here simply because of Peyton Manning who is a Top 3 QB of all-time at worse. The team also featured, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Bob Sanders. Healthy Bob for that team made the defense really good.

 

3. 1994 SF 49ers - Led by Steve Young and Jerry Rice. They also had great CB's, Deion Sanders was the greatest of all-time IMO.

 

2. 2016 New England Patriots - Tom Brady's greatest moment was leading the Pats back from down 28-3 in SB 51 to win it 34-28. That team also had Julian Edelman who was great all season, and a 1000 yard rusher in Blount. Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest Coach of all-time as well. The 2016 Patriots were 1st in team defense regarding points allowed. They steamed roll a very good Steelers team in the AFC Championship Game 36-17. There have been so many great Patriots teams, but I choose this one out of their 6 SB wins, who went 14-2 in the regular season + there was no cheating scandal behind that year's Pats team either.

 

1. 1995 Dallas Cowboys - Simply this team had no weaknesses. Troy Aikman at QB, Emmitt Smith at RB, and Michael Irvin at WR1. They arguably had the greatest O.Line of all-time led by Larry Allen, Erik Williams, Mark Tuinei, Ray Donaldson, and Nate Newton. That Line was huge and would just maul teams. The Defense as a whole was lightning fast and great + like the 1994 49ers, they had Deion Sanders as well. That core team won 3 SB's in 4 seasons = 1992, 1993, 1995.

Probably the one big omission I left off was the 1998 Denver Broncos. They won a back to back SB's = 1997/1998. I just think the 2019 Chiefs could outscore them if those 2 teams played, JMO. No disrespect to John Elway and Terrell Davis, the 1998 Broncos do belong in with those teams but I could only choose 5 teams. During the 2019 Chiefs playoff run, they scored 51 points, 35 points, and then 30 points in the SB. In the 3 games they played they averaged almost 39 points a game.

 

For Championship week, I would want to see:

 

2016 Patriots at 2006 Colts (AFC)

1995 Cowboys at 1994 49ers (NFC)

-I would give the 2 teams that aren't as great on paper HFA to make it damn near even. Tons of story lines with those games. The 2006 Colts went 10-0 in the Dome that year, never lost. Brady vs Manning on Peyton's turf! Aikman vs Young and that Cowboys/49ers rivalry was unbelievable during the 90's.

[chad72]

34 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Probably the one big omission I left off was the 1998 Denver Broncos. They won a back to back SB's = 1997/1998. I just think the 2019 Chiefs could outscore them if those 2 teams played, JMO. No disrespect to John Elway and Terrell Davis, the 1998 Broncos do belong in with those teams but I could only choose 5 teams. During the 2019 Chiefs playoff run, they scored 51 points, 35 points, and then 30 points in the SB. In the 3 games they played they averaged almost 39 points a game.

 

For Championship week, I would want to see:

 

2016 Patriots at 2006 Colts (AFC)

1995 Cowboys at 1994 49ers (NFC)

-I would give the 2 teams that aren't as great on paper HFA to make it damn near even. Tons of story lines with those games. The 2006 Colts went 10-0 in the Dome that year, never lost. Brady vs Manning on Peyton's turf! Aikman vs Young and that Cowboys/49ers rivalry was unbelievable during the 90's.

 

It is all speculative though. Both Mike Shanahan and Andy Reid were good play callers, and like the Eagles did, the Broncos would control clock and keep Mahomes off the field, just like the Brady led Patriots did to win close games against Mahomes and the Chiefs before Brady bolted to the Bucs. The difference would be, unlike the Eagles who gifted 14 points in a defensive TD and special teams almost TD in the SB despite dominating TOP 36-24, which was THE biggest factor in them losing the SB, the Broncos would play more sound all round football, IMO.

 

That is why the Belichick led Patriots with Brady were a problem for the Andy Reid/Mahomes combo, because they didn't make mistakes on top of keeping Mahomes off the field. That is also how Burrow and the Bengals won vs Mahomes and the Chiefs, till the AFCCG where Burrow turned it over more than he normally does vs the Chiefs because of how well the Chiefs D played.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, chad72 said:

 

It is all speculative though. Both Mike Shanahan and Andy Reid were good play callers, and like the Eagles did, the Broncos would control clock and keep Mahomes off the field, just like the Brady led Patriots did to win close games against Mahomes and the Chiefs before Brady bolted to the Bucs. The difference would be, unlike the Eagles who gifted 14 points in a defensive TD and special teams almost TD in the SB despite dominating TOP 36-24, which was THE biggest factor in them losing the SB, the Broncos would play more sound all round football, IMO. That is why the Belichick led Patriots with Brady were a problem for the Andy Reid/Mahomes combo, because they didn't make mistakes on top of keeping Mahomes off the field.

The Patriots, 2016 specifically had a much better defense than the 1998 Broncos. It is all subjective so I thought I better mention the 1998 Broncos because they were great. Perhaps with Davis, they could have limited Mahomes chances, I don't doubt that at all. 

[chad72]

Just now, 2006Coltsbestever said:

The Patriots, 2016 specifically had a much better defense than the 1998 Broncos. It is all subjective so I thought I better mention the 1998 Broncos because they were great. Perhaps with Davis, they could have limited Mahomes chances, I don't doubt that at all. 

 

I felt the 2014 Patriots with Revis and Browner as man corners, played better D overall consistently, when they went against the Seahawks, than the 2016 Patriots that had a tale of two halves vs the Atlanta Falcons. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

9 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

I felt the 2014 Patriots with Revis and Browner as man corners, played better D overall consistently, when they went against the Seahawks, than the 2016 Patriots that had a tale of two halves vs the Atlanta Falcons. 

I chose 2016 over 2014 mainly because I felt like the Seahawks gave away that SB in 2014. Not running Lynch was just mind boggling at the end. Pats also could've easily have lost to the Ravens in the Divisional Round as well. They barely pulled that out. In 2016, that was Tom's greatest moment. Yeah the Falcons blew a big lead but IMO the comeback wasn't a fluke or lucky. It was just the Pats being the Pats, they played great defense and offense in that 2nd half to make that happen. The Seahawks SB was gifted to them.

[VikingsFanInChennai]

3 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I could have left the last sentence off but many in here know I usually don't do my final picks until pre-season is over. When I post in here I try to be thorough, otherwise I get questioned. That is the first time in my 8 years here, a title I created got questioned. 

[NFLfan]

8 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

-I am assuming you are talking about NFC teams that haven't made the SB since the 90's started. That stat is wild, only Vikings and Lions!

 

Yes, just NFC.

 

 

[teganslaw]

It's too early for me to make 2023 picks. The list is interesting, but before choosing the Jets or Ravens I have to see how Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers perform.. Remember the hype with Russell Wilson in Denver and how that turned out? Big name players don't always work out as expected. 

[holeymoley99]

I have Cardinals with worst record in league, just think with no qb set (Rookie Clayton Tune maybe starts) and lacking multiple top notch players an uphill battle. Throw in a rookie coach (Who was the weaker coordinator of the super bowl runner up) and it could be ugly,

[2006Coltsbestever]

8 hours ago, teganslaw said:

It's too early for me to make 2023 picks. The list is interesting, but before choosing the Jets or Ravens I have to see how Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers perform.. Remember the hype with Russell Wilson in Denver and how that turned out? Big name players don't always work out as expected. 

The purpose of the thread is before season picking though. That is what makes it fun. Just to see how close your predictions are right before any games are played. If I was to pick mid-season, I would probably get close to 90% of my division winners right. = 7/8. I still usually get at least 5/8.

[VikingsFanInChennai]

9 hours ago, NFLfan said:

 

Yes, just NFC.

 

 

@2006Coltsbestever

 

Bears 1 and Packers 2!

 

Is NFC North the worst division in terms of SB wins? 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

@2006Coltsbestever

 

Bears 1 and Packers 2!

 

Is NFC North the worst division in terms of SB wins? 

Since 1990 the Packers have won 2 SBs. 1996/2010. The AFC South is the worst. Colts have won 1 SB (2006), nobody else in the division has won 1.

[VikingsFanInChennai]

Just now, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Since 1990 the Packers have won 2 SBs. 1996/2010. The AFC South is the worst. Colts have won 1 SB (2006), nobody else in the division has won 1.

Oh yeah, forgot that... 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

Oh yeah, forgot that... 

Of course Bears won 1 in 1985, but yeah the AFC South has only had 1 winner, that would be the Colts 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

5 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Of course Bears won 1 in 1985, but yeah the AFC South had only had 1 winner, that would be the Colts 

It would really suck for all other NFC North fans if Jordan Love goes to get a SB win and gets a hat-trick of consecutive HOF QBs for Packers...

 

Vikings fans jokingly would say that, and last week packers game might've made them shudder for a second... 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

It would really suck for all other NFC North fans if Jordan Love goes to get a SB win and gets a hat-trick of consecutive HOF QBs for Packers...

 

Vikings fans jokingly would say that, and last week packers game might've made them shudder for a second... 

I may be wrong but I have the Packers finishing last in the North. I see something like this:

Lions 12-5

Vikings 10-7 (wild card)

Bears 7-10

Packers 6-11

[VikingsFanInChennai]

9 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I may be wrong but I have the Packers finishing last in the North. I see something like this:

Lions 12-5

Vikings 10-7 (wild card)

Bears 7-10

Packers 6-11

Lions, after disappointing their fans for over half a century, are gonna prove this year wrong anyone else who thinks Lions can actually win the division 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

I have Justin Fields getting awesome and winning NFC North before Lions winning the division...

 

The way Lions collapse every year is beyond the capability of human comprehension 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

I have Justin Fields getting awesome and winning NFC North before Lions winning the division...

 

The way Lions collapse every year is beyond the capability of human comprehension 

Bears don't have the overall roster to compete with the Lions. I am not big on Goff but he is good enough to do some damage, sort of like Foles in Philly.

[King Colt]

Da-a-a Bears had 8 sacks in the second had last week and allowed no points in the second half.

[2006Coltsbestever]

12 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Da-a-a Bears had 8 sacks in the second had last week and allowed no points in the second half.

Fields will be better this year. Their defense is respectable. Packers will be in the basement.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Our division will probably look like this:

Jags 10-7

Colts 8-8-1

Titans 8-9

Texans 6-11

 

AR will be better than Stroud. 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

5 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Bears don't have the overall roster to compete with the Lions. I am not big on Goff but he is good enough to do some damage, sort of like Foles in Philly.

The thing is some of the teams who did well last year and reached playoffs won't sniff January this year. 

 

Many teams who looked promising last year like lions might still be catching up this year because of struggles in some other areas, or they'd be a candidate for  regression like Vikings.

 

Some of the teams which barely get approval at the start of the season and last year would get a very good season this year, Bears is such candidate this year if Fields did well with their good OL and run game.

 

Having said that, Lions have revamped their bad secondary with good free agents and look poised for a good year. As much as Goff needs to be praised, their success last year was equally due to Jamaal Williams who did phenomenal job in converting opportunities into TDs and is not with the team now. If you look at last year, Goff was not good in away games and was great in home games. Lions are still cat on the wall, we can make good cases for them being good or bad. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

The thing is some of the teams who did well last year and reached playoffs won't sniff January this year. 

 

Many teams who looked promising last year like lions might still be catching up this year because of struggles in some other areas, or they'd be a candidate for  regression like Vikings.

 

Some of the teams which barely get approval at the start of the season and last year would get a very good season this year, Bears is such candidate this year if Fields did well with their good OL and run game.

 

Having said that, Lions have revamped their bad secondary with good free agents and look poised for a good year. As much as Goff needs to be praised, their success last year was equally due to Jamaal Williams who did phenomenal job in converting opportunities into TDs and is not with the team now. If you look at last year, Goff was not good in away games and was great in home games. Lions are still cat on the wall, we can make good cases for them being good or bad. 

Yep every year it happens, some teams that make the playoffs, then miss the next. Lions have improved their roster coming off of a 9-8 season, they missed the playoffs last year so are really hungry. Packers losing Rodgers, Vikings losing Cook just adds to their chances to making the playoffs. Roster vs roster, Lions are just simply better than the Bears, IMO. 

 

Teams that made the playoffs last year in the NFC = Bucs and Giants, I have them missing the playoffs this season. There are usually at least 2 in each conference, those are my 2. 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yep every year it happens, some teams that make the playoffs, then miss the next. Lions have improved their roster coming off of a 9-8 season, they missed the playoffs last year so are really hungry. Packers losing Rodgers, Vikings losing Cook just adds to their chances to making the playoffs. Roster vs roster, Lions are just simply better than the Bears, IMO. 

 

Teams that made the playoffs last year in the NFC = Bucs and Giants, I have them missing the playoffs this season. There are usually at least 2 in each conference, those are my 2. 

Teams in NFC who made playoffs in 2021:

 

Cowboys, Eagles, Packers, Bucs, Cardinals, 49ers, Rams 

 

Teams in NFC who made playoffs in 2022:

 

Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Bucs, Vikings, 49ers, Seahawks

 

Very few thought Vikings, Seahawks and especially Giants in their division had any chance to reach playoffs last year. Nobody would've thought SB Champs Rams would miss playoffs, rather would've slated as automatic play-off contender at this point last year. Injuries to both Stafford and Kupp opened up spot for another team. Many also thought Murray would do well before last year with new contract in place, and he struggled before injury last season.

 

We don't know which good teams will have combination of luck, form or injuries this year, and there will be surprising candidates who previously would've long shot at playoffs would stand a good chance this year once the season starts.

 

Bears not having good roster wouldn't be a problem if Fields goes off, their defense still did well last year even after trading star players. Seahawks had a bad roster last year, yet they qualified for playoffs. No one thought Geno would do that well and their bad secondary would've a Rookie ProBowl CB. 

 

If Love is very good, Packers have great chance too.

 

Lions have the best chance on paper this year, but they have finished the year on positive note many years in past decade, especially when they had chance to qualify for playoffs during Caldwell era only to disappoint again.

Let's see how it goes. 

[jaxjag]

Based on their spanking by the Jag backups today, they may need an injury free season to have any shot.

[danlhart87]

[2006Coltsbestever]

10 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

[2006Coltsbestever]

On 8/19/2023 at 5:34 PM, jaxjag said:

Based on their spanking by the Jag backups today, they may need an injury free season to have any shot.

Game 2 of the pre-season. Lions will run away with the North.

[2006Coltsbestever]

A friend of mine called me last night and said he watched the game with a Bears fan. He was rubbing it in, I said dude, it is game 2 of the pre-season