Welcome to the fourth and final part of a mini-series looking ahead at the NFL season with Week 10 officially in the books.
Team Name / Predicted Record / Predicted No. of Wins Remaining
AFC East
New England Patriots / 15-1 / +7
The Patriots have been playing some of the best football they’ve shown since the start of their dynasty.
Buffalo Bills / 8-8 / +2
I don’t think this Bills team is the real deal. After starting 6-1, they lose seven of their last nine.
Miami Dolphins / 5-11 / +3
Miami isn’t going to turn their season around and find the playoffs, but they’ll manage to win three more.
New York Jets / 3-7 / +1
I don’t have a lot of faith in this team. Not in their quarterback, nor their head coach, nor anyone else.
AFC West
Oakland Raiders / 12-4 / +7
Yes, I have the Raiders winning out. I just simply can’t find a game that they’ll lose the rest of the season.
Kansas City Chiefs / 10-4 / +4
The Chiefs will be able to secure four wins in their final six games. Will it be enough to get them a playoff spot?
Denver Broncos / 5-11 / +2
The Broncos are going to be able to scrape together a couple of wins, but their season is all but done.
Los Angeles Chargers / 4-6 / +0
The AFC West is home to my crazy predictions. I have the Chargers losing all of their final six games this season.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens / 14-2 / +7
The Ravens will be another team to win out, and they’ll be the recipients of a pleasurable playoff spot.
Pittsburgh Steelers / 8-8 / +3
The Steelers will manage to hold their status at .500, but it won’t be enough for this Mason Rudolph-led team to make the playoffs.
Cleveland Browns / 7-9 / +3
I can’t imagine the Browns winning more than four, but it’s also hard to fathom them finishing worse than the Steelers. We’ll see how this plays out.
Cincinnati Bengals / 0-16 / +0
Bungle for Burrow was a success.
AFC South
Houston Texans / 11-5 / +5
The Texans will be able to win five of their final seven and secure the division title despite a poor defense.
Indianapolis Colts / 7-9 / +2
The Colts have been hit with a pair of unfortunate losses lately, and their losing trend will continue for most of the next seven weeks.
Jacksonville Jaguars / 7-9 / +3
The Jaguars will see a trio of wins come their way with Nick Foles at the helm, but it won’t be enough for a playoff spot.
Tennessee Titans / 7-9 / +2
After beating teams like the Chiefs and Chargers, the Titans’ luck will end and they’ll finish last in their division.
NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles / 10-6 / +5
The Eagles will be able to win a handful of their remaining seven games, barely securing a division title.
Dallas Cowboys / 10-6 / +5
The Cowboys will finish in an identical fashion as the Eagles, but poor luck will cause them to settle for a Wild Card spot.
New York Giants / 4-12 / +2
There’s not much to say here. The Giants will keep losing, only being able to earn a pair of victories the rest of the way.
Washington Redskins / 2-14 / +1
The Redskins will get one more win with Dwayne Haskins, bumping their grand total to … two.
NFC West
Seattle Seahawks / 14-2 / +6
The Seahawks will win out and lock up the West. This is the best team in the NFC.
San Francisco 49ers / 12-4 / +4
The Niners’ tremendous run will crumble as they lose four of their last eight. However, they’ll still make the playoffs.
Los Angeles Rams / 8-8 / +3
After steamrolling the NFC last year, the Rams finish .500 this year. Sean McVay has been figured out.
Arizona Cardinals / 5-11 / +2
The Cardinals improved in comparison to last season, but their position in the West remained the same.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers / 14-2 / +6
The Green Bay Packers will be another team to win out, but I’m skeptical of how far they’ll advance in the playoffs.
Minnesota Vikings / 11-5 / +4
Quite unexpected to me, the Vikings are having a great season. Kirk Cousins will lead this team to a Wild Card playoff spot.
Detroit Lions / 7-9 / +4
I am expecting Matthew Stafford to return soon. If not, this prediction may backfire.
Chicago Bears / 5-11 / +1
What a difference a year makes. This team has struggled to do anything right as of late. Could a personnel change be brewing?
NFC South
New Orleans Saints / 12-4 / +5
The Saints won’t win out, but they’ll still be recipients of the NFC South title, en route to a pleasurable playoff spot.
Carolina Panthers / 10-6 / +5
What a start to Kyle Allen’s young career! However, they’ll come up short of the playoffs due to a dominant NFC.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 5-11 / +2
The Buccaneers will ride their current pace and finish with five wins. Things are looking up for the Bucs, but they need a new quarterback.
Atlanta Falcons / 2-14 / +0
The Atlanta Falcons will lose the rest of their games, finishing with the inverse of the 14-2 record I predicted would take them to the Super Bowl.
Playoffs? Playoffs?!
AFC
1. Patriots
2. Ravens
3. Raiders
4. Texans
5. Chiefs
6. Bills
NFC
1. Seahawks
2. Packers
3. Saints
4. Eagles
5. 49ers
6. Vikings
Wild Card Round
(6) Minnesota Vikings over (3) New Orleans Saints
This game feels familiar. Remember when Stefon Diggs caught that massive game-winning touchdown? Anyways, Minnesota will upset the Saints in this one.
(5) San Francisco 49ers over (4) Philadelphia Eagles
It’s hard for me to pick two upsets in one round, but I have no faith in the Eagles (or any NFC East team). If the 49ers are healthy, they win.
(3) Oakland Raiders over (6) Buffalo Bills
This is an extremely easy decision. The Raiders will dominate in this one.
(5) Kansas City Chiefs over (4) Houston Texans
The Chiefs choked away the division title, but the Texans’ weak defense will allow them to advance in the playoffs this time.
Divisional Round
(1) Seattle Seahawks over (6) Minnesota Vikings
This is where Minnesota’s luck runs out. Seattle will dominate in this one.
(5) San Francisco 49ers over (2) New Orleans Saints
The 49ers have had a surprisingly good regular season and their playoffs will be much of the same as they advance to the third round.
(1) New England Patriots over (5) Kansas City Chiefs
And so they meet again. However, this time it’s clear the Patriots are vastly superior, and they should defeat Kansas City quite handily.
(2) Baltimore Ravens over (3) Oakland Raiders
I was tempted to pick the Raiders here, but I can’t imagine a Derek Carr-led team knocking off a dominant Ravens club.
Conference Championship
(1) Seattle Seahawks over (5) San Francisco 49ers
After sweeping them in the regular season, the Seahawks will further assert their dominance over the 49ers and advance to the Super Bowl.
(1) New England Patriots over (2) Baltimore Ravens
The majority of those in the football community want to see the Patriots lose but know the outcome of their second shot at the Ravens will be much different than the first (Week 9).
Super Bowl
(1) New England Patriots over (1) Seattle Seahawks
These two teams will meet again in another Super Bowl. After this game, they will have met more in the Super Bowl than in the regular season over the past six years. New England will emerge victorious, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl and third in four years while appearing in their fourth consecutive title game.
