The NFL regular season is set to kick off on Thursday, September 5th when the Baltimore Ravens visit the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead. As the 2024 season approaches, many questions still remain as to how the season will play out.
Can Kansas City win yet another Super Bowl on the back of Patrick Mahomes? Will Lamar Jackson finally live up to expectations and lead his team to a Super Bowl appearance? How far can CJ Stroud and DeMeco Ryans take the Houston Texans? All of these questions will be answered in due time.
We’ll also be watching for the outcomes of teams like the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Jets are in win now mode with 40 year old QB Aaron Rodgers and no viable long term option at quarterback. Cincinnati lost their offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to the Tennessee Titans, where he will be their new head coach. How will Joe Burrow respond to this change in coaching? And more importantly, how will he look coming back from injury?
Where will all these teams be come playoff time? Let’s get into these NFL playoff predictions.
AFC East
The New England Patriots were one of the most successful franchises in all of sports with Bill Belicheck at the helm and Tom Brady under center. But both men have retired from football and the Patriots are, without question, in rebuilding mode. New head coach Jerod Mayo, who was a long time player for the organization, has no NFL head coaching experience.
The Buffalo Bills have one of the best QBs in the league — Josh Allen — but is that enough to get them into the playoffs? They lost star wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, which leaves Allen and the Bills hoping to get that production elsewhere on the roster.
The New York Jets are in win now mode and have the talent to have a deep playoff run this year, given star quarterback Aaron Rodgers can stay healthy. The Jets defense was not only great last year, but good enough to win games for the team when the offense was embarrassingly bad on a week to week basis. It’ll only get better if they can find a way to keep DL Haason Reddick after he requested a trade. With Rodgers back and a young and talented defense, the Jets are in a great position for success.
The Miami Dolphins and their impressive offense are looking to make the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year. Tua Tagovailoa along side receivers Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle are looking to have another successful season, this time with hopes of going deeper into the playoffs.
Prediction
The New York Jets will win the division and be the #2 overall seed in the AFC. And the Miami Dolphins will be the #6 seed, clinching a wild card spot.
The Patriots are in a rebuild and simply don’t have the talent to make a playoff run and might finish with one of the worst records in the league. As for the Bills, Josh Allen can only take them so far and unfortunately there isn’t enough skill players and stand out defensive players for them to make the playoffs this year.
AFC North
This division always seems to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens will yet again be a force to be reckoned with.
Meanwhile, the Bengals are hoping their franchise QB can stay on the field all season. If Joe Burrow can stay healthy, the Bengals have a great chance at not only making the playoffs, but making a deep run like they did in 2022.
While it isn’t ideal to have Justin Fields and Kenny Pickett as your QBs, Mike Tomlin always finds a way to make the best of his situation. The Steelers will finish last in the division, but not without putting up a fight and making their games against these division rivals miserable.
The Cleveland Browns will also be a formidable opponent with an outstanding defense led by Myles Garrett. The Browns will have their Pro Bowl RB Nick Chubb and QB Deshaun Watson back and healthy, which should be a game changer for the Browns.
Prediction
The Ravens will win the division and clinch the overall #1 seed in the AFC. The Browns and Bengals will both make the playoffs, with the Bengals being the #5 seed and the Browns being the #7 seed. Pittsburgh will struggle with below average quarterback play and miss the playoffs.
AFC South
The Houston Texans made an incredible leap last year with rookie standouts CJ Stroud and Tank Dell leading the charge. DeMeco Ryans, head coach for the Texans, showed his value, leading the team to a 10-7 record and a playoff appearance. If someone were to say CJ Stroud performed well last season, that would be an understatement. Stroud had a historic rookie season, breaking multiple records including most pass attempts without an interception to start a career (187), a record previously held by Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. With Stroud under center and Ryans at the helm, it only makes sense for the Houston Texans to be a lock for making the playoffs this upcoming season.
As for the rest of the teams in the AFC South, their playoff hopes aren’t as bright. The Tennessee Titans decided to part ways with former head coach Mike Vrabel after suffering two consecutive losing seasons. Their new head coach, Brian Callahan, was the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati and had success with a healthy Joe Burrow and with Jake Browning. The Titans have undergone many changes on both sides of the ball, leaving their performance this season uncertain.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts are two teams that, at the moment, suffer from the same disease, mediocrity. I do not see Trevor Lawrence performing at a much higher rate than he has so far in his career. And nobody knows what to except from Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson coming off of a season ending injury.
Prediction
Houston Texans make the playoffs and clinch the #4 seed. Tennessee will see success with a new offensive minded coach but will come short of playoff hopes. Jaguars and Colts both miss the playoffs as well.
AFC West
As long as Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are in Kansas City, I expect them to dominate the AFC South just like previous years. The experience and talent that the Kansas City Chiefs posses will once again reign supreme.
The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos are ranked at the bottom of almost every NFL power ranking that has come out and for good reason. Neither team has a reliable quarterback that can push these teams into the playoffs. Gardner Minshew for the Raiders has seen success in the past, but is he considered a top 15 quarterback in the league? The short answer is no. The Denver Broncos barely have a quarterback with Zach Wilson and rookie Bo Nix as their options going into the season. I, along with everybody else, expect the Broncos to struggle all year from poor quarterback play.
The wild card in this division is the Los Angelos Chargers. There have been eyeballs watching this team very closely since the announcement of Jim Harbaugh, former head coach of the University of Michigan and the San Francisco 49ers, as the new head coach for the Chargers. Justin Herbert, quarterback for the Chargers, is going into his 5th season with the team and looking to perform much better this year under new coaching than he did last year. Herbert has an incredible arm, and with the right coaching and roster around him, he can become one of the best QBs in the league.
However, I do not believe the Chargers will make the playoffs this year since this will be the first season Herbert and Harbaugh are together. Learning a new offense and forming this relationship will take time. Look out for LA in the seasons to come.
Prediction
Kansas City continues their domination and clinches the #3 seed going into the playoffs. Broncos, Raiders, and Chargers all miss the playoffs.
Playoff Picture:
- #1 Seed: Baltimore Ravens
- #2 Seed: New York Jets
- #3 Seed: Kansas City Chiefs
- #4 Seed: Houston Texans
- #5 Seed, First Wild Card Spot: Cincinnati Bengals
- #6 Seed, Second Wild Card Spot: Miami Dolphins
- #7 Seed, Third Wild Card Spot: Cleveland Browns
