Nine weeks officially in the books, nine weeks left to go. We’ve reached the half way point in the NFL season, so it’s time to look back at our pre-season BOLD predictions and see if any are on track.
1. The Detroit Lions will win a playoff game – looking good
2. The Buffalo Bills will miss the playoffs – very much in play
3. Aaron Rodgers throws for 50+ TDs – the man took 4 snaps – this one doesn’t count
4. Jordan Love receives an MVP vote – swing and a miss
5. Trevor Lawrence wins MVP – still theoretically possible – but certainly a longshot
6. Bijon Robinson leads the NFL in rushing – I should have known better… the Falcons had no idea how to use Kyle Pitts at TE, and they have no idea how to use Bijon at RB.
7. The Vikings finish last in the NFC North – This looked like a legitimate possibility until they decided to win four straight.
8. The 49ers finish with as many wins as the rest of the division combined – Not gonna happen, but would have been interesting had they not lost 3 straight
9. Baker Mayfield finishes as a Top 10 QB – I’m sure he’ll be top 10 in something. Completion percentage, maybe?
10. The Steelers win the AFC North – Certainly not out of the question, but not sure I’d put money on it.
All in all, most of those BOLD predictions are at least within the ballpark. We’ll check back in at the end of the season to see if any of them actually came to fruition.
The Prime Time Pick’em had another good week, going 2-1 and pushing the season record to 20-9. The slate of prime-time games this week is a bit lackluster to say the least. There’s a chance Justin Fields returns from injury to face the Panthers on Thursday night. Give me the Bears, regardless of who plays quarterback. Sunday night gives us the Jets at the Raiders. I just took the Jets last week and they never got off the plane, so give me the Raiders this week. And finally, on Monday night the Broncos visit the Bills in a matchup of teams currently heading opposite directions. Denver has finally started to play well while Buffalo is really struggling. Nonetheless, I can’t get myself to actually pick the Broncos; I like the Bills to get back on track. And frankly, if they want to make the playoffs this season, this feels like a game they absolutely have to have.
Here are the rankings as we head to Week 10. Teams’ previous ranking in ( ).
1. Philadelphia Eagles (1): Philly now has a stranglehold on the division as they head into the bye and try to get as healthy as possible for the second half of the season.
2. Baltimore Ravens (3): The offense and defense are both clicking right now, as evidenced by blowout wins over Detroit and Seattle in the last three weeks. Suddenly this team looks like the heavy favorite in the AFC.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (5): The Chiefs defense is the real deal. I imagine Aaron Rodgers is secretly telling Patrick Mahomes to enjoy the hell out of having a top tier defense.
4. Dallas Cowboys (4): Despite being 5-3, the Cowboys have all the tools needed to make a deep run. They arguably should have beaten Philly but despite the loss, it’s clear they are going to be a threat to make a deep run in the NFC.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (7): The Bengals still sit in last in their own division, but cracked the top 5 in the power rankings. They’ve won three straight against the Bills, 49ers and Seahawks which is more than enough to justify their ranking.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (6): The Jags will face the 49ers this week (both teams are coming off a bye) that is surely ready to explode after losing three straight games. This could be the toughest test of the season for the Jags, and I expect them to win or be in the game right up to the very end.
7. Cleveland Browns (12): The defense bounced back, albeit against a 3rd string quarterback. Nonetheless, with Deshaun Watson back under center, this team can finally try to gain some continuity moving forward.
8. Detroit Lions (8): The Lions come off the bye holding the #2 seed in the NFC and look to strengthen that seeding as five of their next six games come against teams at or below .500.
9. Miami Dolphins (2): The beat bad teams and lose to good teams. That’s a good formula to make the playoffs but a bad formula if you want to win in the playoffs.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (14): The Chargers are back in the thick of things at 4-4, but let’s not forget their first three losses came by eight total points. We’d be talking about this team as a Super Bowl favorite if they were sitting at 7-1.
11. San Francisco 49ers (11): The 49ers added Chase Young during the bye week, as if they didn’t already have the scariest defense in the NFL. The only question at this point is if Brock Purdy can overcome his recent struggles.
12. Seattle Seahawks (10): The Seahawks aren’t the only NFC team to lay an egg against the Ravens this year. I expect them to bounce back this week against the Commanders.
13. Buffalo Bills (9): Buffalo is a missed Pi penalty against the Giants and a near-miss hail mary against the Bucs from being 3-6 on the season. They have a get-right game this week against Denver, but after that the schedule gets absolutely brutal.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (15): They’ve been outscored by 30 points this year, but sit at 5-3 and firmly in a playoff spot. The defense continues to shine and should have another big day this week when they host Jordan Love and the Packers.
15. Minnesota Vikings (18): Joshua Dobbs leading the Vikings to victory over the Falcons is one of the most improbable and impressive wins of all time in the NFL. Imagine what he will be capable of when he actually takes reps in practice. I may have to eat my words from last week about the Vikings’ season being over.
16. New Orleans Saints (16): The beat the Bears but not in the fashion I would have expected. They currently lead the NFC South and if the end the season that way, could certainly pose a problem to whomever they face in the playoffs as they would have a distinct home field advantage in round 1.
17. New York Jets (13): It feels like they really needed a win against the Chargers if they wanted to stay afloat while Aaron Rodgers attempts to make a comeback. They’ve got some tough games over the next six weeks including the Bills, Texans and Dolphins (twice).
18. Houston Texans (22): This week’s performance makes last week’s performance (a loss to the only winless team in the NFL) truly head scratching. But, Houston is a young team and all young teams have growing pains. At the end of the day, it seems like CJ Stroud has made it clear he is the quarterback of the future that the Texans can build around.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (17): The good news is the offense finally came to life, the bad news is the defense had their worst game in years. If they can ever put it all together, I still think they’re the best team in the division, but at 3-5, they better get it figured out quick.
20. Los Angeles Rams (19): Nobody views the Rams as a major threat this season, but if Matt Stafford misses additional time you can comfortably write this team off.
21. Washington Commanders (23): Washington is 4-5 and three of those losses were tightly contested within the division. No such thing as a moral victory in the NFL, but Washington is a team that is certainly better than their record indicates.
22. Indianapolis Colts (24): The Colts ended their three-game losing streak and look to get back to .500 this week as they travel to Germany to face the Patriots.
23. Tennessee Titans (20): Will Levis came back down to earth, but that is to be expected against a defense like the Steelers.
24. Atlanta Falcons (21): Can’t lose at home to a team using a quarterback that doesn’t even know the names of his teammates. I expect the Falcons to bounce back this week against Arizona, but nonetheless they continue to be a team that I don’t have any belief in.
25. Green Bay Packers (30): Green Bay is 3-5 and continues to sputter on offense and be undisciplined as they lead the league in penalties. Yet somehow, they’re three plays away from being 6-2 and tied for the NFC North lead.
26. Denver Broncos (26): Denver comes off the bye having won two straight, and will put their mini winning streak on the line as they travel to face a struggling Bills team.
27. Las Vegas Raiders (28): The Raiders get the win in Antonio Pierce’s first game as interim head coach. Things should be a bit tougher next week as they host the Jets.
28. New England Patriots (25): Other than their win against the Bills, the Patriots have not scored more than 20 points all season. In fact, they’ve scored 17 or fewer in seven of their nine games.
29. New York Giants (27): Daniel Jones is now out for the season with an ACL tear and the Giants are in prime position for a top 3 pick.
30. Chicago Bears (29): The Bears have been surprisingly competitive with Tyson Bagent at quarterback, but don’t expect there to be a quarterback controversy when Justin Fields is ready to return.
31. Carolina Panthers (31): Carolina should be happy they got a win last week against the Texans, because this week against the Bears would have been their last legitimate chance for a win the rest of the season.
32. Arizona Cardinals (32): The Cardinals must decide if they want to active Kyler Murray from IR this week. I expect that they will activate him, but whether or not he plays is still TBD. At 1-8, I personally can’t justify putting him out there and potentially ruining their chances at the #1 overall pick.
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