The last two seasons have seen a whopping seven new playoff teams each time, which means for those less inclined to indulge in introductory calculation– seven playoff teams ended up missing the postseason the ensuing time. The NFL Playoff predictions:
Indeed with the epidemic time creating extreme circumstances (Washington and Cleveland both made the playoffs, if you do not believe me) and the league expanding the type by one platoon per side, that is a wild quantum of friction. For times it’s been an average north of four teams per time. It will be delightful to see whether or not the small sample size becomes the norm.
We preliminarily broke down a list of seven teams who could make the jump into the playoffs. Naturally, we have got to come back on the other side. This should produce a lot further consternation, considering the lack of pessimism current with NFL fanbases in the off-season months.
A lot can be between now and August and whatever happens is generally going to be negative for the NFL team. It’s just the nature of the league. Lamar Jackson subscribing to his contract is the rare exception– the Ravens were an egregious choice for this list before locking up their quarterback.
NFL playoff predictions:
Los Angeles Chargers
After going 10- 7, the Dishes looked poised for a postseason advance and instantly pulled off a Full Chargering, coughing up a 27- 0 road playoff lead against the Spikes in a grand collapse that would lead to a massive change at the obnoxious fellow, as Kellen Moore replaced Joe Lombardi behind the wheel of an offense that nearly can not fail, thanks to the presence of Justin Herbert.
And yet. the Dishes set up a way to fail at the end of the day. Los Angeles went 7- 5 in one-score games last time and penciled as an 8.7 palm platoon grounded on their point discriminational. Those are nicely” normal” figures for how the Dishes played and how the season ended up.
And there is reason to anticipate Herbert to take a step forward, but yet another change at obnoxious fellow is not exactly healthy for a youthful quarterback. There is a massive group of talented brigades in the AFC and the AFC West could be a real problem with Kansas City and a conceivably resurgent Denver platoon, and the Dishes have the 12th hardest schedule in football as a whole. There is no important room for error.
New York Giants
This isn’t me saying the titans WON’T make the playoffs, this is simply me saying the Titans have enough questions girding the canon and with the platoon where it would be insane not to include them. Daniel Jones was on the way out in New York before Brian Daboll’s appearance changed the line of his career.
Saquon Barkley remains down from the platoon unhappy with his contract after entering the ballot label; it’s not probably a huge problem but it’s not nothing given how important the running reverse is to this offense. The Titans have one of the hardest schedules in the NFL just a time after having one of the easiest; they are also heavily featured in primetime competitions and draw the 49ers on the road for their Thursday tourney. New York went 7-3-1 in one-score games last time.
The NFC is clearly wide open and with seven available spots, the Titans taking one of them wouldn’t be surprising at all given the culture being erected by Daboll and the new governance. But the division is tough and any kind of retrogression from Danny Peanuts could beget the Titans’ ascent to wobble.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings, despite winning the NFC North last season, are a surprising 300 to repeat as division titleholders, running the Lions by a large periphery. The largest reason for that has to be Minnesota’s literal performance in one-score games last time, with the Vikings going a stunning 11- 0 in the regular season in one-score games.
One-score games generally regress to the mean for NFL brigades and the Vikings suffered some of that luck retrogression in the playoffs with a loss to the Titans. They are nearly clearly due for a step back in performance in close games this season; it’s not about” knowing how to win” it’s just simply the nature of football.Za’Darius Smith was traded this offseason, weakening the Viking’s pass rush, and they are likely to lose Dalvin Cook, either in a trade or as a post-June 1 release in the coming days and weeks.
Adam Thielen left in the offseason as well. There is still, many gifts on offense, but if Cook is gone and commodity happens to Justin Jefferson/ Alexander Mattison, there is a lot of fragility with the skill position players in Minnesota. novitiate Jordan Addison would be the new No. 1, ahead ofK.J. Osborn and Jalen Reagor. Defensively, Minnesota upgraded at fellow from Ed Donatell to Brian Flores, which is big, but that side of the ball lacks elite playmakers. The Vikings do not face an inescapably tough schedule( 19th overall) and are helped by Aaron Rodgers leaving the division. But the launch could be rough the Eagles, Dishes, Chiefs, and 49ers are each on the schedule in the first seven weeks of the season, including a Week 2 trip to Philly.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Two words Tom Brady. The scapegoat is gone in Tampa and indeed if you allowed his 2022 season was not a success and he looked like he demanded to walk down( both reasonable arguments), it’s a clear downgrade for the Bucs to move to Baker Mayfield. Tampa has a lot of gifts on both sides of the ball but profiles as a platoon that could struggle for the short term as they figure out life after Brady.
There are major questions about the obnoxious line and how the offense as a total will look with Todd Bowles coaching; the loss of Bruce Arians was dramatically understated before last season. All three of the other brigades in the division have dramatically better this off-season. Tampa gets a fairly easy schedule( 22nd overall) but it’s an important harder schedule than the rest of the division. I suppose the Rovers are a sneaky platoon to” contend” for a top pick in the draft and chase one of Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks did a really nice job this offseason of shoring up a canon that helped them push for the postseason last time, inking Geno Smith to a contract and lading up Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith- Njigba in the first round of the draft. But to make another playoff run, they need Geno to be the Joe again after an eschewal-of-nowhere Pro Bowl season that saw him transubstantiate into a top-10 quarterback in the NFL.
Losing Rashaad Penny is a bigger blow than people realize. Indeed if adding Zach Charbonnet in the alternate round is a nice boost, this rush attack would be in trouble if Kenneth Walker missed time again. The end game has munitions for days, but it’ll bear Geno to play at a high position again or could stagnate.
The struggles down the stretch for the Seahawks to close the season in 2022 have to be considered kindly of a concern. The pass rush for Seattle remains a concern as well, although Jamal Adams coming back from injury could help that. Seattle was below.500 in one-score games last time so might be due to some positive retrogression there. Seattle draws the 12th-hardest schedule in the NFL in 2023 which features both the AFC North and the NFC East, two potentially deep divisions to match up against.