Looking at this upcoming season, and who the most successful teams are likely to be, there were many factors that had to be taken into consideration. Of course, how teams fared last season was more than a small factor here, and you have to look at the success of three teams in particular - the San Francisco 49ers and the two participants in last year's Super bowl, the Denver Broncos and the champion Seattle Seahawks - as very talented teams that have to be considered among the most talented and, thus, among the most likely to succeed this season. I call these three teams the "big three", because quite frankly, it is kind of difficult to foresee any single other team as likely to overshadow any, let alone all, of those teams. Not impossible, mind you. And the 49ers, specifically, look like they have their fair share of problems, with a key suspension on their defense days ago, and an offense that looked subpar at best during the preseason. Of course, the preseason is not the regular season, and it's hard to imagine the 49ers not getting plenty of wins this season. Ditto for the Broncos and the Seahawks, both of whom looked quite solid during the preseason.
There are other teams out there that could challenge the "big three". You always have to consider two top NFC contenders, and recent Super Bowl champions, in Green Bay and New Orleans. The Saints, for quite some time last season, looked like they were almost keeping pace with Seahawks and 49ers as ranking among the elite teams. In the AFC, you have to always consider the Patriots a legitimate threat, as well. And their are a host of other good teams that could feasibly contend, although they seem so far behind the true elites, that it is difficult to imagine these teams overtaking them. I'm thinking of teams like the Cincinnati Bengals, the Indianapolis Colts, the Philadelphia Eagles, and possibly even the Arizona Cardinals, even though they did not qualify for the postseason last year. Out of those teams, if pressed, I would likely consider the Colts as the most dangerous team, and most capable of improving by leaps and bounds to truly challenge the Broncos for supremacy in the AFC.
So here again were my predictions for each division, sans the details about why I placed each team in that position. I highlighted the division winners in green, and the teams that I figured to be likely playoff qualifiers in yellow. Here goes:
NFC West: AFC West:
1. Seattle Seahawks 1. Denver Broncos
2. San Francisco 49ers 2. San Diego Chargers
3. Arizona Cardinals 3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. St. Louis Rams 4. Oakland Raiders
NFC South: AFC South:
1. New Orleans Saints 1. Indianapolis Colts
2. Atlanta Falcons 2. Houston Texans
3. Carolina Panthers 3. Tennessee Titans
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4. Jacksonville Jaguars
NFC North: AFC North:
1. Green Bay Packers 1. Cincinnati Bengals
2. Chicago Bears 2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Detroit Lions 3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Minnesota Vikings 4. Cleveland Browns
NFC East: AFC East:
1. New York Giants 1. New England Patriots
2. Philadelphia Eagles 2. New York Jets
3. Washington 3. Miami Dolphins
4. Dallas Cowboys 4. Buffalo Bills
Okay, so now, let me give a ridiculously early prediction for the playoff scenario, that obviously cannot take into account the injuries, suspensions, and other things that happen during the course of the season that could alter this scenario greatly:
NFC Wildcard : San Francisco defeats the New York Giants, Green Bay defeats Philadelphia.
AFC Wildcard: Cincinnati defeats Baltimore, Indianapolis defeats San Diego
NFC Divisional Playoffs: New Orleans defeats Green Bay, Seattle defeats San Francisco
AFC Divisional Playoffs: Denver defeats Indianapolis, New England defeats Cincinnati
NFC Championship: Seattle defeats New Orleans
AFC Championship: Denver defeats New England
My projected Super Bowl pits two familiar teams once again:
vs.
Super Bowl IL: Seattle defeats Denver
Wow! Am I really predicting a Super Bowl rematch (that likely, no one wants to see)?
Yes I am. These two teams reminded me a lot of the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills back in the first Super Bowl that those two teams met. You may recall that they met in the next year's Super Bowl, as well. So far, that was the only time that two teams met in consecutive Super Bowls, and it was the same team that wound up winning both games, and titles: The Dallas Cowboys. I predict that this Super Bowl, like that second Super Bowl between Dallas and Buffalo, will be a whole lot closer than the first one was. However, I also do not see Denver, despite the improvements that they made, being able to beat Seattle in a 60 minute game. Again, it should be a lot closer, and Denver will at least put up a fight! But in the end, this Seattle team looks too good, and are emerging as a dynasty. This is the year that they should prove it!
Projected Super Bowl Champs:
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