Category: NFL

The 2019 season was one of ups and downs for the Minnesota Vikings as the team dealt with a flurry of injuries on both sides of the ball. In addition to all the injuries, the offense and defense went through stints of poor play. The Vikings have a lot of turnover from last season as they made several big moves this offseason. No move was bigger than trading Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills for several picks, including a 2020 first-round selection. Despite all the turnover, the team has playoff expectations this season. With that in mind, I take a shot at predicting the Vikings’ team award winners for this season.

Tennessee comes in at the 16th spot, ahead of Minnesota in 17th by .03, and behind the 14th spot by .51. The Titans made it to the AFC title game last year behind a revamped Ryan Tannehill and pounding the rock with Derick Henry. Most of the team remains the same besides the loss of Jack Conklin and the trade of Jurrell Casey. Tennessee is still a good team, but it’s unknown if last year’s success will translate to this year.

Last year the Denver Broncos took a big step forward in their “rebuild.” They found their potential franchise quarterback in Drew Lock, their definitive number one receiver in Courtland Sutton, and showed just how much a Vic Fangio defense can do. This offseason was to add to their already solid young core. They gave Lock several new toys in the draft by picking Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler with their two first picks and his former college teammate Albert Okwuegbunam in the fourth round. Defensively they added Jurrell Casey and A.J. Bouye via trade and also drafted Michael Ojemudia. For the first time since 2015, Broncos Country has hope and a team that can make a strong push towards the playoffs. 

Minnesota comes in as the 17th ranked team in my power rankings, meaning we are halfway through these rankings. Minnesota comes in .014 ahead of Arizona at 18, and .405 ahead of Houston at 19. Teams 19-14 are separated by .945 points, so these are the closest batches of teams, and they can be ordered really anyway. Minnesota had an awkward offseason, stripping most of their secondary and their star receiver is now in Buffalo. The Vikings retooled their roster, making an astronomical 15 selections in April’s draft, taking a player at almost every spot other than running back and tight end, two of their best positions.

The San Francisco 49ers were on the cusp of greatness, after one of the most surprising seasons ever. The 49ers went 13-3 and made the Super Bowl where they faced the Kansas City Chiefs. They had a lead all the way until the fourth quarter, where the Chiefs led one last championship push and won the game. But all was not lost for the 49ers, for the first time since the Jim Harbaugh era, the Niners have a concrete identity. Their identity is to run the ball, play great defense, and keep the ball for the majority of the game. If they want to have success this year, they have to play bully ball like last year. Moving onto this year, it’s time to predict the team’s awards.

The Kyler Murray/Kliff Kingsbury experiment got off to a rocking start last year. Now in year two, Steve Keim decided to help Murray out by giving him the best receiver in the league, while also improving the offensive line. Keim also managed to add some pieces on defense as well. Arizona plays in potentially the toughest division in the league but could compete for a playoff spot.

The Houston Texans were able to get themselves out of the wild card round for the first time in three years, knocking off the Buffalo Bills 22-19 in overtime. However, they still would not be able to get over that divisional round hump, losing out to the eventual Super Bowl winner Kansas City Chiefs 51-31. The Texans in fact would have a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter but gave up 28 unanswered points before half-time. With the 2019 season in the past, it’s now time to focus on the 2020 season. Here are my team award predictions for the Texans.