I should note that when I did my win-loss projections for the year, Teddy Bridgewater and Tony Romo were still alive and well and projected to take their teams to a respectable 9 – 7 on the wild card bubble this year. If I had a mulligan, I think I might actually take a chance on the Chicago Bears given the Josh Sitton acquisition and John Fox’s penchant for drastically improving his previous teams in his second year as head coach. But I’ll play out the string on this one as originally designed:
AFC Playoffs
Seeding
1. (bye) New England Patriots
No Brady, no problem. The Patriots weather their star quarterback's absence with relative ease before he comes back to strike down upon the rest of the AFC with great vengeance and furious anger.
2. (bye) Pittsburgh Steelers
Considering how far the Steelers have gotten these past couple of years despite major injuries and suspensions, imagine what they could do if they stay healthy for a change. With the AFC South being a major question mark and the AFC West looking highly competitive, I like the ruler of the North landing the second seed here.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
This is as good a year as any for the Chiefs to take the AFC West crown from the Broncos. Considering they ended the last regular season on a 10-game winning streak without Jamaal Charles, there's still plenty of meat on the bone for KC to make another playoff run.
4. Indianapolis Colts
It's quite possible that the Texans will come away with the top spot in the AFC South again when the dust settles, but they've only done that once when Andrew Luck has played all 16 games. A great quarterback can make up for a lot of holes elsewhere on a roster, and this one happens to be real good at fourth-quarter comebacks.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
Try as I might to underestimate them, the Bengals still look like an incredibly well-balanced, stable team that was thisclose to finally overcoming its woeful playoff drought last season. Maybe that epic collapse will serve as the motivation they need to get over the hump this time. Hey look, Lucy's holding the football!
6. Oakland Raiders
In perhaps my boldest (and dumbest) prognostication, I say the Broncos are out and the Raiders are in when the playoff bracket is drawn. There's so much young, top-level talent on this team, I'm willing to take a chance on them as the power dynamics shift in the AFC.
Chiefs over Raiders, Bengals over Colts (yes, it's finally going to happen, haters)
Divisional Round
Steelers over Chiefs, Patriots over Bengals
Steelers over Patriots - Finally, Pittsburgh has the healthiest roster in the league in January and rides a hot offensive hand with Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell past the Patriots, who sorely miss Chandler Jones anchoring the defensive line.
Seeding
1. (bye) Green Bay Packers
With one of the easiest projected schedules in 2016 and the quarterback with the highest ceiling in the league, the Packers go on a tear this season to edge out other popular top seed picks in the NFC like the Seahawks, Panthers and Cardinals.
2. (bye) Seattle Seahawks
Seattle's offensive line is still a mess, but that hasn't stopped Russell Wilson from becoming a terrifying passer to complement the Seahawks' evolving running game. Plus, the 'Hawks defense continues to be one of the most consistently dominant in the league.
3. Carolina Panthers
Although the Panthers should be just fine in the NFC South again this year, it's just plain hard to repeat a 15-win season, especially with some questions in this secondary and offensive line. Still, Carolina is a very good football team with a quarterback who grew by leaps and bounds in 2015. They've got more fuel in the tank for a while.
4. New York Giants
Seeing as the NFC East hasn't had a repeat division winner since 2004, the Giants look like the team with the most stability and star power to take the crown this time around. If New York can get out of the cellar on defense and limit turnovers, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham can take care of the rest.
5. Arizona Cardinals
Like the Bengals, the Cardinals have too much talent up and down their roster to be taken out of playoff contention. They've certainly got a shot at edging out the Seahawks for another NFC West title, but I'm still real wary about how Carson Palmer has looked under center lately. He could cost this team a couple wins if he forgets what color jerseys his receivers are wearing.
6. Dallas Cowboys
I know, I know - did you even read what I wrote at the top of this post? But let's have some fun here. Let's say Dak Prescott is good enough to get Dallas to 0.500 or better through seven games and then Tony Romo rounds things out with a fairly easy back-half schedule. Stranger things have happened. ::Cue 80s synth score::
Panthers over Cowboys, Cardinals over Giants
Divisional Round
Cardinals over Packers, Seahawks over Panthers
Cardinals over Seahawks - Wait, Carson Palmer goes to a Super Bowl? Well, he might just take a page from the elderly Peyton Manning last year and play cautiously behind a defense that can absolutely annihilate the Seahawks' offensive line and generate turnovers in key moments. And if David Johnson's as good as he was last year, there might not be a lot of passing involved anyway.
The 2017 Super Bowl
Steelers over Cardinals - Hmm, I think we've seen this one before, and it could be one heckuva track meet if these two loaded offenses get going early. Believe you me, I don't want this Yinzer "Stairway to Seven" garbage any more than you do, but I can't find a good reason why the Steelers couldn't add to their ring collection if they're still healthy and in the running in February. Jinx!
More Season Previews!
Win-Loss PredictionsReasons to Love and Hate Every NFL Team This Year
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