2019 NFL Preview

I did this last year and it was fun so I'm doing it again. Let's go ahead and get the Chiefs out of the way first.

(I wrote this last week before Luck's retirement. I will leave what I had intact and add edits.)


AFC West

The Chiefs have won the division 3 years running. Last year, Mahomes was the MVP of the league in his first year starting. This is a Super Bowl caliber team. But if I was a Chargers fan and this blog was called Fish Taco Central, what would be the argument for LA? Well, the Chargers and Chiefs had the same record last year and beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead. The Chiefs have turnover on the defensive side, while the Chargers...I just can't do it anymore. The Chargers have the worst injury luck in the league and it's already started with Derwin James this year. Melvin Gordon is holding out. They don't have a home field advantage. They printed shirts for beating the Chiefs and they are 1-9 against KC over the last five years. Writers are assuming regression for Mahomes but I think the Chargers are a more likely regression candidate. They've got 9-7 written all over them. The Broncos will be a competitive 6-10 or 7-9 and the Raiders will fade out of Oakland in last place. Earlier this year I thought that a team can't suck so bad with a star like Antonio Brown...and this whole offseason is showing me that Brown and the Raiders are a match made in heaven. This has to be the easiest division in football to predict the order of finish. Chiefs have a tough schedule and might go 11-5 or 12-4 again, but I see them winning the division for the 4th straight time.

Division Winner: Chiefs

AFC East

Let's jump over to the Super Bowl Champs. This division is kind of the same story as last year right? Patriots are just miles ahead of the other teams. Everyone thinks the Dolphins are the worst team in football. I'm not convinced in Darnold/Bell/Gase but they should be better than last year's 4-12 finish. So the Bills are the only hope to end the Pats' AFC East reign. They should be decent, in contention for a wild-card spot. Allen's improvement plus a good defense feels like 9-7 might be in the cards. But the Pats win again. Now one of these years, Brady has to feel the effects of his age. I know I sound like cloud yelling at old man, but it's happened to Manning and Favre and every other player in the history of sports so I don't really see why it will never happen to him. Besides TB12, of course. Like, it's not unreasonable to think that he could get injured this year. But anyways, even without Gronk they'll still win the division and probably get home-field too.

Division Winner: Patriots

AFC South

I've said it ten times by now, but I think Watson vs Mahomes is the next Brady vs Manning. But the Texans don't instill a lot of confidence with their coaching and offensive line. The Jags are about to learn that Nick Foles magic only works when you put him in late in the season, not start the season with him. Seems like this is the last year of Mariota for the Titans. Meanwhile, the Colts are building an awesome team and have Andrew Luck healthy...what's that...Luck is hurt again and may not be ready for week one. Just when it seems clear to pick the Colts to win the division, you don't know what to make of Luck's health. Well, there were injury concerns heading into last year and he was fine so I'm going to assume the same for this year. I'm holding onto all of my Deshaun Watson stock and so I think the Texans are a wild-card team.

Division Winner: Colts

Post-Luck-Retirement Update: Well, shit. Without Luck, it's really hard to pick the Colts here. But I didn't trust the Texans 100%. So is there a chance for Titans to rise up and surprise? Or will the Colts luck into their next great QB? What the hell, I'll trust the Colts system and roster and keep this as-is. 


AFC North

The Bengals suck. So you've got the confident, new look Browns with Mayfield to Beckham...the run-first Ravens with Lamar Jackson trying to scramble on every play...and the Steelers without Bell and Brown, but they still have old Big Ben. The Steelers are still well coached and Juju is a fine #1. These three teams could finish in any order and it wouldn't surprise me. I'll guess Ravens 10-6 and Steelers and Browns both 9-7, but I'm not remotely confident in that. The Bengals suck.

Division Winner: Ravens



NFC West 

The Rams still seem to be the class of the division...except I'm not 100% sold on Goff and I'm wary of a Super Bowl hangover. The Seahawks will be good but not great. And the Cardinals have a new coach and a new QB. There will be flashes, but seems like a 4 or 5 win team. That leaves us with the 49ers. Last year Garoppolo got hurt in Week 3. So we don't really know what he's capable of yet. I'm thinking Cardinals finish 4th and 49ers 3rd. The Rams seem to have too much talent to not win, despite a potential hangover.

Division Winner: Rams

NFC East

So let's see the Giants sucked last year, lost Beckham, and are still starting Eli in week one before eventually handing over the reigns to a noodle-arm. Why aren't they the worst team in football again? Washington is going with a rookie QB which is the right move but seems like a five win team. So it's really down to the Cowboys or Eagles. Which for me is a question of can Wentz stay healthy for a full year. I don't actually think he can, but I'm still picking the Eagles. He's gotta play most of the games and the Cowboys aren't that good (especially with all the contract stuff) to win back to back division titles.

Division Winner: Eagles

NFC South

The Saints have been a Super Bowl caliber team two years in a row and came up short of the game. They still seem like the cream of the crop. None of the other teams had winning records last year, but someone will rise up to contend. The Panthers have a history of being flip-floppy so it wouldn't surprise me if they get back to their 2017 11-win total, while the Falcons still haven't recovered from 28-3. So I'm going Saints, Panthers, Falcons, Bucs.

Division Winner: Saints

NFC North

My perception of a team is always dominated by the quarterback. So every year that the Packers have been mediocre, I'm always shocked. Turns out there's more to a team than a QB. Three teams have a decent chance to fight for the division. The Bears were great last year but apparently are still haunted by the double doink. I don't believe in Cousins but I do believe in Thielen. I'm always tempted to pick the Packers but that hasn't worked out for me lately. And the Vikings are great at shitting the bed. So I guess I'm going to trust in the Bears defense and assume that Coach Nagy really isn't going to let one missed field goal destroy his entire 2019 season even though that's exactly what I actually think is going to happen.

Division Winner: Bears

- - -

AFC Playoff Predictions

1 Patriots
2 Chiefs
3 Colts
4 Ravens
5 Browns
6 Texans

Post-Luck-Retirement Update: I'll move the Ravens up to the 3rd seed and drop the Colts to the 4th seed.

NFC Playoff Predictions

1 Saints
2 Eagles
3 Bears
4 Rams
5 Seahawks
6 Packers

- - -

Super Bowl LIV

Chiefs over Saints