AFC NORTH
Ravens (11-5)
Steelers (11-5)
Bengals (10-5-1)
Browns (7-9)
The AFC North is an interesting division because it features three playoff teams. At season’s end, there will be three AFC North teams in the playoffs. The Ravens take the division after beating Pittsburgh on Sunday night in week 16, but a relentless Steeler offense lifts the team to a wild card berth. The Bengals snatch a wild card berth, too, as Andy Dalton manages his team out of the divisional hunt around week 11, when they tie against the Cardinals. The Browns will spend most of the season praying Johnny Manziel leads them to a competitive season, and that’s as far as they get.
NFC NORTH
Packers (13-3)
Lions (10-6)
Vikings (9-7)
Bears (6-10)
The Pack will run away with the division like they have for the past five years. The Lions fight their way to 10 wins behind eventual all-pro quarterback Matthew Stafford and stave off a young, but hungry Vikings squad that’s a year away from unseating the Packers. The only way you’ll find the Bears is if you go down in the deep cellar of the NFC North division. There, you’ll find John Fox tirelessly struggling to bring Chicago out. However, it’ll be a better year than last with veteran head coach Fox at the helm.
AFC SOUTH
Colts (12-4)
Texans (9-7)
Jaguars (6-10)
Titans (4-12)
The Colts are by far the best team in this divison. It may lose one game to the Texans in Houston because JJ Watt is a freak and could wreak havoc on that offense. The Colts will roll in it’s division otherwise, and also play the NFC South this season, which is at least another guaranteed three wins. Houston doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to compete this year, but it will be flirting with a Wild Card berth for most of the season because of the aforementioned Watt and his defense. Blake Bortles will take a small step forward this year, and the Jaguars will sneakily start out hot but sputter out as winter approaches. Tennessee will go as Marcus Mariota goes; don’t expect much from them.
NFC SOUTH
Panthers (10-6)
Atlanta (9-7)
New Orleans (8-8)
Tampa Bay (3-13)
This will be one of the most competitve divisions in all of football this year, but it won’t be anywhere near the best. Carolina should win the division, but losing Kelvin Benjamin really takes a toll on that offense. The defense will be as solid as ever, but Cam Newton needs to mature a bit more. It’s hard to believe that Matt Ryan will have another bad year; he’s too good and has too many weapons to underachieve. Unless New Orleans miraculously find defense this year, Drew Brees will have to carry them. It might be time to start rebuilding soon. Speaking of rebuilding, the Bucs still have a long way to go. Jameis Winston will pull a few wins out of nowhere, but they’re just a bad team.
AFC EAST
Patriots (13-3)
Bills (8-8)
Dolphins (7-9)
Jets (1-15)
Now that Tom Brady will have a full season, there’s no reason to suggest they won’t mop the floor with the rest of the AFC. It also helps that all Bill Belichik does is win. He may cheat, but he wins. Some people have really high hopes for other teams in this division, but something tells me that Bufallo and Miami just won’t step up. The Bills won’t be able to score, which really stinks because its defense is really fun to watch. Miami’s Ryan Tannehill may take a step forward and impress some this year, but I don’t know how they’re going to defend most teams. The Jets are the Jets. The team has literally nothing going for them. Honestly, it might experience something worse than the butt fumble this year.
NFC EAST
Cowboys (11-5)
Eagles (10-6)
Giants (8-8)
Redskins (3-13)
As it often is, this might be the most fun division to watch because of the drama each team brings. Dallas got a little worse by losing Demarco Murray, but with that offensive line, it really doesn’t matter who’s running the ball. That also makes Tony Romo’s job easier, and it’ll be why he puts up top-10 numbers again this year. The Chip Kelly experiment will continue to draw headlines in Philly, and they’ll vie for a Wild Card spot. The Thanksgiving game against Detroit will ultimately decide whether it makes the playoffs or not. This New York prediction is honestly a huge question mark, so this is a conservative guess. The offense could take a step forward and battle for a division title or they can fall flat on their faces again. Washington will be a soap opera again, and I think that’s really all it’s good for at this point.
AFC WEST
San Diego Chargers (11-5)
Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
Denver Broncos (9-7)
Oakland Radiers (7-9)
This division is coming down to one game. Calling it here. San Diego will take the crown on the final day of the season, defeating the Broncos while the Chiefs lose to the Raiders. This is written in stone since the Chiefs cannot beat anyone on the last day of the season when it counts for a playoff spot, except when it plays the Raiders. Still, Alex Smith rides a resurgent defense and manages the Kansas City offense to a 10-6 record, but Rivers is the better quarterback and, regardless if he has a defense or not, will get into the postseason on sheer will alone. But what happens to Denver? Peyton Manning, meet father time. Father time, Peyton.
NFC WEST
Seattle Seahawks (12-4)
Arizona Cardinals (10-5-1)
St. Louis Rams (9-7)
San Francisco 49ers (4-12)
Seattle still owns the west and the Niners will stink; that’s not up for debate. Where the real question lies is who will finish second. It’ll be Arizona who finishes the season with a healthy Carson Palmer and grabs one of the NFC wild card spots. The Cardinals mix a good defense with a good offense and get ten wins as a result. However, it’ll tie with the Bengals since at least once a year the Cardinals forget how to football and I’m willing to bet it happens against Cincinnati (Sorry Garth). The Rams will show vast improvement on both sides of the ball, but Nick Foles will result in St. Louie’s doom, as Jeff Fisher enters year 10 in looking for a franchise quarterback since Steve McNair.
