It may be considered a little foolhardy to try and predict the 2014 NFL season after just 1 preseason game, but at this time there are many division predictions being posted and many people are paying attention to fantasy football, so I thought why not have a go and make my NFL season preview now. I did something similar last year and predicted a Seattle-Denver Super Bowl in New York, so stick with me and maybe you are about to find out who will be playing in Arizona come February 2015. If my season preview is correct, rest assured I will remind people I called it back in August and if I am wrong chances are you will all have long forgotten by then anyway.
AFC East
- New England Patriots
- Miami Dolphins
- New York Jets
- Buffalo Bills
The Patriots run away with this one (no big shock for anyone), with Revis Island in Boston, the return of Gronk, and the collective genius of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Meanwhile the rest of the division are works in progress without a decent quarterback between them, so only one winner here I am afraid.
AFC North
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
I see a return to form from Pittsburgh carrying on from the end of last season together with a younger, faster defense. The Ravens will make strides forward as will the Browns, who will ultimately just fail to overtake Cincinnati this year. The Bengals dominance is coming to an end soon, and no Andy Dalton contract can disguise it.
AFC South
- Indianapolis Colts
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Houston Texans
- Tennessee Titans
The Colts are sitting fairly comfortably here, with the fast improving Jags in second. Houston’s defense showed larger problems than Watt and Clowney can cover up, and Ryan Fitzpatrick or Case Keenum will not cut it when Andrew Luck is in the division. Tough year ahead for the Titans as they adapt to new coach Ken Whisenhunt and Jake Locker I fear will sink rather than swim.
AFC West
- San Diego Chargers
- Denver Broncos
- Oakland Raiders
- Kansas City Chiefs
I feel Oakland will just edge out Kansas City to avoid the basement as San Diego surprises most fans and takes the top spot in this division over Peyton and the Broncos.
NFC East
- Philadelphia Eagles
- New York Giants
- Washington Redskins
- Dallas Cowboys
The Chip Kelly experiment will bring it’s second division title as the Giants bounce back behind a better defense and running game. RG3 will make strides, but I fear the Washington defense will put their ceiling at third place. Coming off of a horrendous defensive year last year, and now losing the two best pieces it had in Sean Lee and DeMarcus Ware, Dallas should struggle mightily. If Romo goes down as his back injury might suggest, Brandon Weeden won’t be able to save them.
NFC North
- Green Bay Packers
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
- Minnesota Vikings
For me, this is a two-horse race with Green Bay just beating out Chicago for the division. The Lions will be much the same at the end of the day, and the Vikings could surprise some people, but it will depend on the quarterback play.
NFC South
- New Orleans Saints
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
I see the Panthers with their receiver issues and possible defensive issues if Hardy is suspended or unavailable going from first to worst here and the Saints taking the title. Tampa under Lovie Smith should be much improved on defense, but may take some time to click offensively to really challenge the Saints. The Falcons will threaten here and improve from last year, but not by that much.
NFC West
- Seattle Seahawks
- Arizona Cardinals
- St Louis Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
Remaining the toughest division, all teams will post a winning record, but I think Seattle will take the title and the Cardinals will make it into the playoffs, along with the Rams, who have a fearsome and aggressive defense. Early injuries may severely hurt the Niners too much this year.
Playoffs
This would leave a Wild Card round of Patriots vs Ravens and Colts vs Broncos in AFC, with Seahawks vs Rams and Saints vs Cardinals in NFC. I pick the Patriots and Colts in the AFC, but these should be tough games. Peyton in Indianapolis in a playoff would be spicy. In the NFC, I cannot see Seattle or New Orleans losing at home, thus they would both advance to the divisional round.
The divisional round would be Steelers vs Colts and Chargers vs Patriots in the AFC, with Packers vs Saints and Eagles vs Seahawks in the NFC. Here I take Pittsburgh at home and New England on the road in the AFC, and the Packers at home and the Eagles at home in the NFC. After an intriguing game in Philly, with Chip taking on Pete Carroll, I have a feeling the fast-paced Eagles will end the Seahawks run here.
The conference games would see New England knocking off the Steelers in Pittsburgh and the Eagles going to Green Bay and advancing, leaving your Super Bowl as New England vs Philadelphia.
There you have it folks. Shady takes the MVP and the Eagles win their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Dallas and Buffalo will be the first teams on the clock for 2015 draft choices.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @robbienewell. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LWOSWorld and @Lastwordonsport and liking our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Football fans…check out our two partnered NFL podcasts – Thursday Night Tailgate Radioand Overtime Ireland. Both shows bring you interesting commentary, critical analysis and fantastic guests including former and current NFL players, coaches and personalities.
