NFL Preview

The NFL season is right around the corner, and sports fans are jumping up and down with excitement. A new season means a fresh start for all 32 teams, it means we get to see our favorite players back in action, and most of all we get to enjoy the next seventeen weeks of football. Here are our NFL predictions for the upcoming ‘22-’23 season:

NFC:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have only gotten stronger over the off-season and are once again  looking like genuine contenders to win it all. The question still stands with every year that passes, will father time catch up with the great Tom Brady? Some great moves that the Bucs front office made this off-season was signing Russell Gage, who will be a phenomenal third-string-receiver and a great option for Tom Brady. The Bucs also took a chance on Julio Jones by signing him, but if he has a decent season that will be a huge win for the organization. Finally, they signed Kyle Rudolph to replace Rob Gronkowski. Kyle Rudolph will be another solid player that Brady can throw to, but he won’t be his first option. With all these great moves in the offseason, and with a little luck we expect the Bucs to finish with a 13-4 record and get the first seed. 

Los Angeles Rams 

The current Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams, lost some integral pieces in the offseason, but still, look like a strong outfit heading into the 2022 season. They’ve replaced Odell Beckham with the underrated Allen Robinson from the Chicago Bears and replaced linebacker Von Miller with Bobby Wagner from the Seattle Seahawks. Their division, if anything, has gotten easier with the contract issues surrounding the 49ers and Cardinals, which should allow them to cruise to the number two or three seed in the NFC with a 12-5 record. 

Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota is finally being recognized for its years of hard work with many pundits tipping them to top the NFC North, and we can’t help but agree with them. With Mike Zimmer finally gone, Kevin O’Connell has come in from the LA Rams after leading the offense to the Superbowl last year. It’s already clear how much more of a connection O’Connell and Vikings Quarterback, Kirk Cousins, have during the first few weeks of preseason, which should only help their cause considering the weapons Cousins has around him. Justin Jefferson will have matured in his second season, Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen are experienced players who will be great outlets for Cousins in a more pass-orientated attack this season. With a strong defense on top of that, we think the Vikings will go 11-6, narrowly beating the Packers to the number four seed. 

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are notoriously known for having a great regular season, but making a quick exit in the first round of the playoffs. The Cowboys franchise has been cursed for the past five years with this drought of success. Regardless of this curse, they do have a very solid team. They have Dak Prescott running the offense at the quarterback position. He is a more mobile quarterback, but he is getting older and the Cowboys are wanting him to transition to more of a pocket quarterback and let Ezekiel Elliot do the running. That’s a perfect transition to the next guy, Ezekiel Elliott, who when he is locked in can be a top-seven running back in the league. He has struggled with injury and putting up consistent stats. The Cowboys seem to be in a loop that they can’t get out of. They’ll have another good regular season and choke in the playoffs. They have a strong core, but the curse of the Cowboys is real. They’ll finish with a 10-7 record, and make the first seed.

AFC:

Buffalo Bills

There is only one way to describe the Buffalo Bills and how their roster is looking this season: Dominant. They have Josh Allen, who is currently the best quarterback in the league. They have Stephon Diggs who is a top-five wide receiver and is the type of player to put up 1,000 plus receiving yards per year. They have a solid offensive line and phenomenal defense. They have a ton of young talent ranging from Grabriel Davis to Dawson Knox. They just signed Von Miller, who is a two-time Super Bowl champion and one of the best linebackers the league has to offer. The Bills are coming off of a tough postseason loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and are on a revenge tour. They are coming for the title and want to make their mark on the league. The Bills will go 13-4, and cruise into the number one seed. 

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are a very strong franchise and have built a very strong team around phenom quarterback, Joe Burrow. Last season they made a super bowl appearance against the Los Angeles Rams, but ultimately lost. Losing the super bowl is a crushing thing, and the ten quarterbacks that played and lost in the super bowl over the span of the last ten years didn’t make it back to the big game. As of now, the odds are against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Despite that, the Bengals have a very good team. They have the best receivers in the league by far, with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. They also have one of the most elite running backs in the league, Joe Mixon, who consistently puts up 1,000 plus rushing yards per year. This team has a lot of promise again this year, but we don’t know if they’ll have the same dominance and success as they did last year. we think the Bengals will just make the first seed with an 11-6 record.

Indianapolis Colts 

In the Railroad City, an old train is rolling out and an even older train is rolling into town. Carson Wentz left Indy after a horrific season, where he would eventually cost the teams a playoff place in a shock loss to division rivals Jacksonville. With Wentz now in Washington with the Commanders, the Colts elected to trade for someone eight years his senior: Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons. With a good team already in place, only improved by their positive young draft picks, Ryan should have no problem getting his new team off the ground, topping their division with a 10-7 record, and on a train rolling straight to a Super Bowl ring.

LA Chargers

Brandon Staley and Justin Herbert will look to take the other team from the City of Angels to the top of the most competitive division in the NFL, in just their second year together. The defense hindered the high-quality offense last season, but the team addressed that during the offseason with the additions of defensive superstars JC Jackson, from the New England Patriots, and Khalil Mack, from the Chicago Bears. The Charger's young, yet high-quality squad should allow the team to go out and crush teams every week if Staley is actually the tactical genius everyone thinks he is. For the sake of Justin Herbert, we hope so, and we think they will finish strongly, topping their division with a 12-5 record, but only if Staley isn’t exposed too early. 

After one of the most eventful offseasons in its recent history, the 2022 NFL season will be one of the best in recent history. Between the new big-name stars, the raucous atmospheres, and the drama that the NFL always provides, this will bring tears, yet joy, to fans depending on the team they support. With so many teams with a strong offseason, the door is completely open for a special team to make a special run to a Super Bowl title. Our prediction for the matchup in Arizona this February? Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills versus Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as Brady goes out with his eighth Super Bowl win to end his career.

By Avner Belsky and Luke Birch