What are your NFL predictions?

[MuddyMole]

The start of the new NFL season is upon us once more.
Who's your pick for the Super Bowl, and how do you think your team will fare this year?
Which records will be broken? Who will be MVP? What other predictions are you making?

I'm predicting the following regular season records:

BUF 14.75 wins
MIA 6.5
NE 5.5
NYJ 3.25

BAL 14
CIN 12.25
PIT 6.75
CLE 3

HOU 12.75
TEN 5.75
JAC 4.75
IND 2.5

DEN 12.75
KC 10.5
LAC 9.75
LV 2.5

PHI 13.5
WAS 12.25
DAL 9.5
NYG 1.75

DET 13
MIN 9.5
CHI 9.25
GB 7

TB 12.25
ATL 11.25
NO 4.25
CAR 3.75

LAR 12.25
SF 10.25
ARI 9.25
SEA 4.75

Fractional points are there because I've looked at the schedule in detail, and some games could easily go either way, so I give each team half a win, and some have a heavy favourite who I give 0.75 and an underdog who I give 0.25.

And I'm picking the Detroit Lions to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl.

Chiefs will be bad, but still make the playoffs because only the AFC North has more than one good team. Packers won't even finish the season with a winning record.

[Julie_TS]

Best & worst from each division. AFCC game BUF over BAL. NFCC game DET over PHI. Superbowl - BUF over DET

AFC East
1. Bills: 13-4
4. Jets: 5-12

AFC North
1. Ravens: 12-5
4. Browns: 6-11

AFC South
1. Texans: 9-8
4. Titans: 3-14

AFC West
1. Chiefs: 12-5
4. Raiders: 7-10

NFC East
1. Eagles: 12-5
4. Giants: 5-12

NFC North
1. Packers: 11-6
4. Bears: 7-10

NFC South
1. Buccaneers: 10-7
4. Saints: 3-14

NFC West
1. 49ers: 13-4 4. Seahawks: 8-9

[MuddyMole]

I don't understand the Packers hype. They're largely unchanged from the team that just barely won 3 games against teams with winning records last year, and this year they have a much tougher schedule. They also have one of the worst groups of receivers in the entire league (Matthew Golden is nothing special).

The 49ers are a tricky one. If CMC stays healthy and produces like he did in 2023, then they'll do okay, but how likely is that, really? Plus Deebo Samuel is gone, and Brandon Aiyuk is injured. They've even signed a couple of ex-Chiefs WRs, so they must be desperate! On the plus side, they have one of the softest schedules of any team.

[Julie_TS]

I don't know if it's necc GB hype, I mean as far as their schedule goes... in the division, let's say they lose twice to DET, split MIN, sweep CHI. That's three losses. OOD schedule, they lose to PHI, BAL & CIN. There's six losses. Remaining games which are all GB winnable are: WAS, CLE, DAL, ARI, PIT, CAR, NYG & DEN. I don't know feels like 11 is doable for them.
And, for SFO, that's definitely a scheduling thing. In the division, split SEA & LAR, sweep ARI. That's two losses. Their OOD schedule they lose @ HOU & TB. There's four losses. Remaining games all very winnable: NO, ATL, JAX, NYG, CAR, CLE, TEN, IND, CHI. There is a very real possibility that they go 8-1 over their last nine games.
I don't know, we'll see...

[MuddyMole]

I'll give you CLE, CAR and NYG, and maybe they split the games against both MIN and CHI. I don't see them beating DET, PHI, BAL, CIN or WAS. The remaining 4 teams are all on the same level as the Packers (DAL, ARI, PIT, DEN), but they're all away games, so I doubt they win more than half, which gets them to 7-10.
The 49ers, I'm not sure at all. With that schedule, they could do very well, but there's definitely the potential for another dud season. The Rams are a better team, for sure, but they face a much tougher schedule.

[Julie_TS]

It's 7:15pm EST, and huh! Look at that.

[MuddyMole]

There were two surprising results from yesterday. I still don't think the Packers are any good - the Lions were just very bad, but it's only week 1, and I'm confident they will improve. The Dolphins loss was more shocking. I didn't think they were a good team either, but I thought they'd be good enough to beat the Colts, at least - but after that performance, things are looking very bad...

[Anonymous]

That maga households always scream and yell at every childish play. 🙄

[FunkyMonkee]

All the players will get fed up with it all and will finally come out of the closet, pair up and get juggy wit each other. The cheerleaders will finally take the field naked but with their costumes painted on and t. v. will finally stop being the big prissy assholes they are and actually show it all on national t. v.!!

[MuddyMole]

We can but hope. Fingers crossed, eh?

[OneViewpoint]

I agree, the Pats, Jets, and Steelers are gonna suck. Again.

I hope the Buccaneers are in the playoffs.

Bills, Eagles, and Ravens should be good.

KC dropping to 10 wins? Not sold on that prediction.

But the wild card as always is injuries. Whoever can stay healthy for 17 games.

[MuddyMole]

The Chiefs aren't a worse team than last year, but they got *very* lucky multiple times (they were really more of a 12-5 calibre team), and have a tougher schedule this season.
They should be underdogs against PHI, BUF, BAL, DET. They're fairly evenly matched against WAS, HOU, DEN (x2). It's even possible that they drop games against DAL and LAC. And if they're already locked into a wildcard spot by the time they play the Raiders in week 18, they could lose that game too (remember they lost 38-0 to the Broncos in the final week of last season, with Carson Wentz at QB).

[OneViewpoint]

I’ve got friends who are huge Steelers fans. I’m betting on Aaron Roger’s to stink the place up with more Prima Dona theatrics and morale killing ego.

To be fair none of my Steelers friends are that excited this year. Hey ya never know. A miracle could happen. 🤣

[MuddyMole]

Yeah, I don't know what the Steelers are trying to achieve at the moment. Normally, if you bring in a veteran QB like Aaron Rodgers, for one last season before retirement, it's because you're in "win-now" mode, and that would explain why they got DK Metcalf, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsay, too. But then why trade away their other best receiver, George Pickens? I actually think they have a pretty decent roster, and may have been too down on them (wouldn't be surprised to see them start the season 5-0), but playing the Ravens and Bengals twice each, plus the NFC North, is going to be tough.

[OneViewpoint]

@MuddyMole,

Damn, Rogers managed to find a win. Thanks mainly to the Steelers defense in the closing minutes. But the Jets? Not really an impressive close call win. To be fair, Rogers did his part.

What was an impressive close call win was the Bills / Ravens war. The Ravens looked impressive on the road but ultimately wore themselves out in a battle royale. Not to take anything away from Josh Allen who looked positively Tom Brady-esque in the Bills comeback from an almost certain season opening loss at home. Both teams looked strong as hell. Those back to back runs by Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry must be scary for other teams watching film today, LOL. And it was a clean game as far as penalties and injuries were concerned. No stupidity for the most part.

[MuddyMole]

The Bills - Ravens game was amazing, and both offenses obviously impressed. But I guess also, whether you win or lose, you can't be too happy about giving up 40 points!

[OneViewpoint]

It seemed like the Ravens defense was just worn out by the 4th quarter. Some coaching rethink may be in order. Both defenses forced some big plays. Derrick Henry coughing up the ball at a critical moment is very unusual for him. Even special teams was killing it on both sides. Barring injuries, these are 2 teams to watch this year.

[AI Opinion]

It's fascinating to see your detailed predictions for the NFL season! Picking the Detroit Lions to win the Super Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens is bold and exciting. While the Chiefs might be inconsistent but still playoff-bound, it's possible that the Packers could experience a challenging season. If Detroit continues to build momentum, your prediction might just come true. 🏈

[AviatorTom]

Interesting prediction. My prediction is simpler:

Buffalo will lose in the AFC championship game... again, and an NFC team (but not Philadelphia) will win the Super Bowl, whose halftime show will get lousy ratings.

[MuddyMole]

That all sounds very plausible.

[exitseven]

My predictions are that the players will be overpaid, many will be brain damaged, the owners will make a bundle, fans will drink a lot of beer and lots of people will bang in sick after the overhyped Superbowl.

[MuddyMole]

Good times, then!

[lightbulb27]

Exactly:)))))))

[lightbulb27]

I pridict I won't watch a single game nor give a spotted lantern flies patootie who wins. The salaries make me question humanities sanities.

Maybe they are slipping something into those $20 sodas other than the standard rotted teeth?

[MuddyMole]

Yes, they're overpaid, but so what? There are about a thousand billionaires in the country, and what have they done to deserve it? I'm not going to stop listening to music just because Taylor Swift has $1.6B. Tom Brady isn't even as rich as his supermodel wife, Gisele.

[lightbulb27]

for each to his own. It's too expensive... priced me out of the stands. as well, it's a waste of time. want entertainment, go serve jesus, or animal shelter. Dogs are always fun...
the pay packages are insane... I cannot support it with my dollar vote. I protest.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

I think they're gonna kick the ball, and then someone's gonna blow a whistle. And then the other guy is gonna throw the ball, but then the other guy is gonna catch it if he can. And there's gonna be points and beer.

[Iron_Man]

I hope the Miami Dolphins 🐬 do well and make it to the playoffs and actually win. I think on the other side the NFc the Philadelphia Eagles will go back to the Super Bowl they looked awful tough when they played Dallas their offense

[MuddyMole]

I think the Dolphins have a ceiling of 9 or 10 wins, so they *could* make the playoffs, but they have almost zero margin for error. They're not going to beat teams like the Ravens, Bills or Bengals, so they can't afford to slip up against teams like the Browns, Saints and Panthers - meaning Week 1 against the Colts already feels like a must-win game (but one they *should* win).

The Eagles defense was always bound to take a big step backwards this season, with the loss of so many players, but I still think their offense will do enough - there will just be fewer blow-outs and more shoot-outs than last year. And obviously, it's only Week 1 - I expect them to improve (just look at their first 5 games last season - they were awful!).

[Anonymous]

I don't watch American football, I watch European football (soccer).

[Jmmmfi4]

I've never watched football in my life