2015 NFL predictions
By Ben Almquist
Author’s note: I am using a game-by-game breakdown to generate my predictions. I acknowledge that we are unlikely to have this many teams finishing with such extreme records. However, predicting upsets and let downs is a guessing game at best. When going through each game, I didn’t see many places where I could predict bad teams would win.
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The 2015 NFL season is upon us. And that means it is time for every professional journalist, amateur analyst, talking head, and yes, you the fans and readers to be completely wrong about our thoughts on the upcoming year. I love it. NFL predictions are really a shot in the dark. There’s almost no chance of being completely right. And you can view hours of tape, break down every roster, analyze every single possible weather prediction…and it just won’t matter. Somewhere along the way, something is going to happen that just blows it all up.
For this season, I’ve got a lot of the top teams staying in place. Nobody is unseating teams like the Patriots, Colts, Packers, and Seahawks. On the other side of that coin, many bad teams are still bad. The Redskins, Jets, Browns, and Titans are all still a mess. But there are also some interesting changes that I think will happen. So here you go…
AFC East
I expect the Patriots players and coaches to be pissed off this year…and to take it out on everyone. This team will be a steam roller. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
New England Patriots (15-1; 1st Place AFC East)
Story of the season – The Patriots quickly shake off any of the potential residue from “Deflategate” and come out the gate hard charging. A focused and almost vindictive New England franchise runs roughshod over the rest of the league. If you don’t have them as one of the top teams for the Super Bowl this year, go back to your crocheting.
Buffalo Bills (11-5; 2nd Place AFC East – Wild Card)
Story of the season – Rex Ryan has been here before. An insanely talented team, especially on defense, headed by a questionable quarterback. From top to bottom, the Bills roster is the absolute best in the NFL. Yes, you read that correctly. They are stacked. The only question mark? Quarterback. Ultimately that’s what ends up costing them in the postseason.
Miami Dolphins: (7-9; 3rd Place AFC East)
Story of the season – The Dolphins come out the gate with guns blazing. But as the season goes on, the offensive line gets exposed for the glaring weakness it is. Tannehill continues to get beat up and the wheels fall off. Rather than upgrading positions that didn’t need it, the Dolphins should have looked to fix what was an obvious issue from the beginning.
New York Jets (2-14; 4th Place AFC East)
Story of the season – The quarterback controversy in New York doesn’t end when Geno returns and the Jets spend the rest of the year embarrassing their fans. The Jets become an instant lock to draft the top quarterback in the 2016 NFL draft.
Next: AFC North...