NFL 2018 Season Predictions

[Zzzptm]

In late breaking news... CLEVELAND WON!

Bud Light opened up the free beer fridges to celebrate.

Browns play Raiders next week, and I'm thinking they might just win that game, as well.

[Zzzptm]

What in the world is going on...?

The Bills and the Lions, two teams going supposedly nowhere, up and beat the favorite teams of all the football touts! Bills over Vikings and Lions over Patriots are bets that few were willing to take before yesterday.

I'm also thinking that the Texans aren't going to make this their comeback year. And that the Cowboys are not going to beat any truly competitive teams.

No idea why Jax lost out to the Titans... maybe they can only beat good teams? I dunno...

[discman69]

Early in the season and already craziness is upon us. I agree my Cowboys look....well like at best 8 and 8 type of team. Which we have done many times now. I have a feeling this is going to be a long season for this Cowboy fan who lives in Eagles area.

[Zzzptm]

Meanwhile, it's still a great time to be a KC fan.

I'm picking Tampa to edge the Steelers tonight. I think the Steelers will come back to winning, just not against Tampa.

[Typhon]

What in the world is going on...?

No idea why Jax lost out to the Titans... maybe they can only beat good teams? I dunno...

Tenn beat Jack twice last year.

[Zzzptm]

What in the world is going on...?

No idea why Jax lost out to the Titans... maybe they can only beat good teams? I dunno...

Tenn beat Jack twice last year.

That's true... maybe that coach is just inside the head of Jax's coach.

Now to make sense of a world in which the Bears are on top of the NFC North...

[Typhon]

What in the world is going on...?

No idea why Jax lost out to the Titans... maybe they can only beat good teams? I dunno...

Tenn beat Jack twice last year.

That's true... maybe that coach is just inside the head of Jax's coach.

Now to make sense of a world in which the Bears are on top of the NFC North...

That will be temporary.

[Zzzptm]

^ One hopes, or we may be doing a Refrigerator Shuffle again! The horror!

[Zzzptm]

Now to make sense of a world in which the Bears are on top of the NFC North...

That will be temporary.

DECEMBER 2018 UPDATE:

No, it is not.

And the Cowboys are also on top of their division, thanks to Amari Cooper!

[Vyn]

Week 14 in the NFL = best week of the season. The Chiefs had to actually work to get the win against Baltimore, and Mahomes continues to prove he's actually Dan Marino, but better.

Pats? lol

Steelers? lol

Rams? wtf

The wheel continues to turn. If KC can overcome themselves they might be contenders, maybe for this season's superbowl they can just have Mahomes and Cooper arm wrestle

[Zzzptm]

I'm rooting hard for KC to make it because:

1. Friends here rooting for them
2. They're not the friggin' Patriots



But seriously, it's shaping up to be an awesome playoff bracket, lots of great games after they rest their starters in Week 17.

[Vyn]

I'm definitely cheering on the Chiefs. Their success is undeniable, but I just don't feel that - as a team - they are solid. Maybe I'm just beat-down with the Reid/Schottenheimer effect: make it to the playoffs and lose the first game.

I don't know that the team is good enough to overcome that.

I hope I'm wrong!

[Zzzptm]

Well, let's engage in some meaningless and potentially misleading speculation!

KC is likely to play the lowest-ranked seed in their match. They'll be at their home field, and that is a huge advantage. In the round after wild card games, 3 of the 4 home teams typically win. One could make an argument for all 4 winning, if they're the Chiefs, Pats, Saints, and Rams.

The championship games, however, are harder to pick. Teams go all out for those. But, I think the Patriots have shown more than a few wobbles in their game of late, and smart teams know how to burn 'em on those. Mahomes can introduce a flexibility that Belichik can't pin down like he does the Steelers. And if the Texans take care of the Pats, I think KC can answer their call.

On the NFC side, it's hard to come up with an argument against a Saints-Rams shootout for the NFC title. Who wins that? Maybe the Rams? For sure, the Saints are motivated to make this year Brees' year, so my crystal ball is real cloudy on that outcome.

But back to earth, I don't see KC's losses as having left them without direction. They took them in stride and then some.

[Vyn]

You make good meaningless points

I think the Rams have an edge on Nawlins, but not much. And regardless, if KC can tone up their defense and stop being a (albeit devastating) glass cannon, they'll go all the way.

Traditional wisdom has always been that defense wins games. Some folks are saying that Mahomes is ushering in a new paradigm in the NFL. That may be, but I think when you score over 50 points in a game and still lose, traditional wisdom is still worth considering.

[Typhon]

Now to make sense of a world in which the Bears are on top of the NFC North...

That will be temporary.

DECEMBER 2018 UPDATE:

No, it is not.

Only took you 11 weeks to rebut.  Gutsy.