Bills Crash Out? Lions Win A Playoff Game? Our Bold Predictions For The 2023/24 NFL Season

The wait is finally over. The NFL season is officially less than a week away. We will see booms, busts, injuries, and triumphant wins. We are so excited to see what this season has in store for us and without further ado, here are our six boldest picks for the upcoming season.

Jets Go On a Regular Season Run and Make the Playoffs:

The New York Jets have had quite the playoff drought over the last ten-plus years. The last time that the franchise made the playoffs was in 2010, so it’s safe to say that they are due for a shot at the playoffs. The past couple of seasons they had the former second pick of the 2021 draft leading their offense, but it didn’t work their way, so they started their mission to do a full rebuild. They made some fantastic draft picks over the past two seasons such as Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, along with others and even better trades. This offseason, the Jets also added the seasoned veteran Aaron Rodgers to their roster. They have the star power to make a push for the playoffs; they just need to put it all together. They also have a relatively easy schedule, so the playoffs are well in reach if all goes as planned. 

Lions Win Their First Playoff Game in Almost 32 years:

The Lions have had the longest playoff drought out of any active NFL franchise. They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991. This year, they are looking to turn it all around and finally make a playoff run for the first time in 32 years. They have been rebuilding over the past few years and have grown a strong core. They have been rebuilding over the past few years and have grown a strong core, concocting a team with the perfect balance of veterans and young star power. Jared Goff is the veteran at the helm running their offense. He has been passed around the league, but he offers the team years of experience and a reliable quarterback who can make the throws needed. In addition to Goff on the offensive side, they have Marvin Jones Jr., who has had a very solid career and consistently has put up 800 yards and roughly five touchdowns per season. Having him is a huge asset for this team, and having a balance between young talents such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmry Gibbs, Penei Sewell, and Aidan Hutchinson and veterans is crucial for success. All this talent is bound to lead to success and they were just a game short of making the playoffs last season. They have a lot to build off of and it helps that they have one of the easiest regular season schedules, so there is no doubt in my mind that they’ll make the playoffs this upcoming season.

Buccaneers and Cardinals Both Have Less Than 4 Wins:

One of the things that I’m looking forward to most this season is seeing how the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers perform. The Buccaneers have found recent success with Tom Brady running their offense for the last three seasons. The franchise decided that short-term success was very important and it ended up paying off because Brady won the franchise their first Super Bowl since 2002. Now, Brady is retired and the Buccaneers are left with a below-par offensive line and defense. When a team has the likes of Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield fighting for the QB1 position they are in big trouble. The Buccaneers still have a good receiving core, but they have Baker Mayfield passing to them, which will prove to be a problem considering his poor track record in the NFL. Their defense consists of a bunch of players that are past their prime. The biggest problem that the Buccaneers will have to navigate is the bad offensive line. They already have a sub-par quarterback and rushing him to make a pass isn’t going to do the team any favors. They also have one of the most difficult schedules in the league. If you add up all of these variables it’s looking like they would be lucky to finish the season with four wins.

The second team that we are predicting to have an atrocious season is the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have one of the worst offenses and defenses in the league. Kyler Murray, who was supposed to be the franchise's savior, has ended up being a disappointment. He’s an alright rushing back, but he hasn’t surpassed 4,000 passing yards yet in his career, and he hasn’t thrown for more than 26 touchdowns in a single season. He’s always injured and isn’t very reliable. The Cardinals have a solid at best receiving core, but that’s only if Kyler Murray is able to get them the ball, which is unlikely. They also have a defense made of has-beens. The Cardinals have one of the toughest schedules in the league, so expectations for the franchise this season are as low as can be.

Both the Buccaneers and the Cardinals are fighting not for a Super Bowl or for a chance at the playoffs, but to see which franchise can be worse this season.

Bills Crash Out 

Now, this may seem a bit insane, but the Bills are going to be the flops of the 2023/24 NFL season. While everyone may think that they are going all the way this year, there are simply too many things wrong with the Bills for them to be a competent team, let alone a Super Bowl-bound team this upcoming season. The departure of Defensive Coordinator, Leslie Frazier, in February was the start of the decline for the Bills, as he almost single-handedly kept the defense a cohesive unit last season. Apart from giving Josh Allen another decent weapon in rookie tight-end Dalton Kincaid, the Bills really haven’t done much this off-season to improve their Super Bowl hopes. With key players such as Steffon Diggs becoming “unhappy” due to their lack of usage on the offensive side of the ball, head coach Sean McDermott’s quality is being called into question as well due to his more defensive-minded game plan not getting the best out of the Buffalo offense. Those in their division have also gotten stronger, for the most part, as the Dolphins added star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and the Jets added Aaron Rodgers, who they hope is the missing piece they need to push their squad into the playoffs. If they are lucky enough to make the playoffs, they will probably crash out in the Wildcard, as there are plenty of stronger teams in the AFC who could knock them out with ease. When all these factors combine, it makes the situation in Buffalo look like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to burst at the nearest sight of trouble. 

Todd Bowles Is Sacked Before The End Of The Season 

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being dreadful this season may not come as a surprise, the eventual sacking of Todd Bowles will be. Between his ineptitude to coach an offense without Tom Brady and his deteriorating defense, Bowles will look like a fish out of water in his second season as Buccaneers head coach. This offseason has only harmed Bowles, as he fired offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, largely credited with creating the harmonious offense around Tom Brady that led them to a Super Bowl ring in 2021. In his place is Seahawks quarterback coach Dave Canales, the man who helped revive Geno Smith’s career in Seattle. He will have another massive task to combat, with Tampa having one of the worst quarterback rooms in the league. With Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time retiring, the team's quality of quarterback has greatly declined. The spot was filled by the twin evils of former Florida Gators quarterback, Kyle Trask, and Baker Mayfield, who the Buccaneers saw firsthand in their division, as he struggled with the Carolina Panthers early last season. This lack of quality at quarterback, coupled with the departures of key players, such as Sean Murphy-Bunting and Mike Edwards, leaves Buccaneers fans with a dire outlook on the upcoming season. Their schedule doesn’t do them any favors either. Starting off with a tough away game in Minneapolis against the Vikings, it won’t get much easier for the Bucs, as all of their opponents, except the Falcons and Panthers, are chasing the playoff spots with teams far superior to theirs. I can see Bowles starting off the season with just two wins from his first twelve games of the season, with a pitiful loss against the Carolina Panthers in week twelve being the final straw for the Buccaneers hierarchy. 

Texans Will Make The Playoffs 

The Houston Texans have historically been one of the worst teams in the NFL. With just eleven from a possible fifty-one wins over the last three seasons, the Texans needed to rip apart the foundations this offseason and rebuild entirely. To the relief of their fans, they have done exactly that. Starting with the sacking of head coach Lovie Smith, and the appointment of his replacement, San Francisco 49ers Defensive Coordinator DeMeco Ryans, the Texans began to look toward the future with an overhaul in the onfield and off-field staff. With the arrivals of the experienced Shaq Mason, Devin Singletary, and Dalton Schultz, along with the draft additions of new star quarterback CJ Stroud and defensive anchor Will Anderson Jr., Ryans has quickly made the Texans a somewhat formidable team for the NFL to look out for. With this catalog of new arrivals, the Texans, in an incredibly weak AFC South, have a phenomenal chance of challenging for a wildcard spot under the leadership of DeMeco Ryans. I can see the Texans struggling slightly at the beginning of the season, as their rookies and new head coach acclimate to their new roles in the NFL. However, after their week nine encounter with the Cincinnati Bengals, we can see the Texans going on a run through the end of the season with their very weak schedule giving them a great chance of doing so. After losing only twice in their last eight games, they will push, potentially even reach, the playoffs at the end of the season. No matter if they reach the playoffs or not, expect the Texans to be significantly more difficult to play against, and a dark horse to keep an eye on throughout the entire season. 

With the new season just around the corner, this NFL season is set to be one of the best in recent history. Between the stars being born on the field, to the organizations collapsing off of it, the NFL’s reputation of being one of the most entertaining leagues to watch in the world will only be emphasized this upcoming season. The question is whether or not you’ll be tuning in to watch it all unfold.

By Avner Belsky and Luke Birch