How I expect the 2022-2023 NFL Season to go (In other words, the road to Super Bowl LVII) (1 Viewer)

[Yogibear]

I'm going to go ahead and forecast the road to Super Bowl LVII. My computer still doesn't recognize the 17-game schedule (and probably never will), but for the sake of everyone that wants to post on this thread, I will also hand out my postseason awards for this year. Here we go:

AFC Playoff Teams
1. Bills: AFC East Champs; Bye in AFC Playoffs (13 Wins)
2. Colts: AFC South Champs (12 Wins)
3. Ravens: AFC North Champs (11 Wins)
4. Chiefs: AFC West Champs (11 Wins)
5. Chargers: Wild Card (11 Wins)
6. Bengals: Wild Card (11 Wins)
7. Broncos: Wild Card (10 Wins)
Outside looking in: Patriots (10 Wins)
Outside looking in: Titans (9 Wins)
Outside looking in: Raiders (9 Wins)

NFC Playoff Teams
1. Buccaneers: NFC South Champs; Bye in NFC Playoffs (13 Wins)
2. 49ers: NFC West Champs (12 Wins)
3. Packers: NFC North Champs (11 Wins)
4. Cowboys: NFC East Champs (11 Wins)
5. Rams: Wild Card (11 Wins)
6. Eagles: Wild Card (10 Wins)
7. Lions: Wild Card (9 Wins)
Outside looking in: Saints (9 Wins)
Outside looking in: Cardinals (9 Wins)

AFC Wild Card Playoffs
Chiefs over Chargers
Ravens over Bengals
Colts over Broncos

NFC Wild Card Playoffs
Cowboys over Rams
Packers over Eagles
49ers over Lions

AFC Divisional Playoffs
Colts over Ravens
Bills over Chiefs

NFC Divisional Playoffs
49ers over Packers
Buccaneers over Cowboys

AFC Championship Game
Bills over Colts

NFC Championship Game
Buccaneers over 49ers

Super Bowl LVII
Bills over Buccaneers

Regular Season Awards

MVP: Josh Allen (Runners-Up: Justin Herbert; Tom Brady; Joe Burrow)

Offensive Player of the Year: Justin Jefferson (Runners-Up: Jonathan Taylor; Ja'Marr Chase; Cooper Kupp)

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Chris Olave (Runners-Up: Treylon Burks; Breece Hall; Drake London)

Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Donald (Runners-Up: Myles Garrett; T.J. Watt; Micah Parsons)

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Kayvon Thibodeaux (Runners-Up: Derek Stingley Jr.; Aidan Hutchinson; Sauce Gardner)

Coach of the Year: Brandon Staley (Runners-Up: Brian Daboll; Nathaniel Hackett; Dan Campbell)

Comeback Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley (Runners-Up: Baker Mayfield; Daniel Jones; Christian McCaffrey)

 

[travdogg]

I'm mostly with you on these with just a few differences, I'm much lower on Indy and Detroit, and much higher on Arizona and Jacksonville. Still, we agree way more than we disagree.

I see it as:

AFC:
1. Buffalo=13-4, running game and defense improve and they have the depth to overcome any injury short of Allen.
2. Baltimore=12-5, were fighting for the #1 seed when Jackson went down a year ago, the secondary should be greatly improved.
3. LA Chargers=12-5, defense adding Mack and Jackson turns some close losses into wins.
4. Jacksonville=9-8, infinitely better coaching, and a big step forward from Lawrence is enough in the league's worst division.
5. Kansas City=12-5, Tyreek is missed a lot early in the year, before things get figured out down the stretch.
6. Cincinnati=11-6, OL takes a step forward, but harder schedule prevents major record difference.
7. Denver=10-7, Russ helps a ton at creating big plays, but its still mostly running game/defense leading the charge.

NFC:
1. Arizona=13-4, Murray takes yet another step forward, and Kingsbury figures out how to stay the course in the 2nd half of the season. Watt has one last monster year.
2. Philadelphia=12-5, AJ Brown proves to be worth every penny, and he does for Hurts what Diggs did for Allen. Defense is better too.
3. Tampa Bay=10-7, offense takes a slight step back with OL injuries, lack of Gronk.
4. Green Bay=10-7, they miss Adams a lot, and further transition to a running game/defense team.
5. San Francisco=11-6, Lance makes the offense much more dangerous, but has some major errors in big spots.
6. Dallas=10-7, passing game takes a step back, but NY and Was are sweeps, so they sneak in.
7. LA Rams=10-7, OL is a major issue with no Whitworth or Corbett and losing a starter already.

Round 1:
Ravens over Broncos, Hackett is outcoached.
Chargers over Bengals, Chargers are able to get a stop when it counts in a shootout
Chiefs over Jaguars, stage is too big for Lawrence yet.
Eagles over Rams, Rams OL is overwhelmed.
Bucs over Cowboys, just can't stop Brady
49ers over Packers, Shanny just has their number.

Round 2:
Bills over Chiefs, doesn't come down to a coin toss this year, as Bills D shows up big
Ravens over Chargers, Ravens keep the Chargers offense of the field, causing too much Staley recklessness
Cardinals over 49ers, Cards have won 3 of last 4 against SF, they force Lance to make a key error.
Eagles over Bucs, Eagles offense fares much better against TB D this year.

Championship Round:
Bills over Ravens, Bills get ahead early, Ravens aren't built to chase against a great D.
Cardinals over Eagles, Murray's mobility is a constant problem, and Cards win a shootout.

Super Bowl:
Bills over Cardinals, Bills D is able to put the clamps on Murray, in a TB/KC like Super Bowl. Von Miller wins his 2nd Super Bowl MVP

Awards:
MVP=Kyler Murray, continues his steady improvement, but stays healthy, and leads Cards to #1 seed, 31+ PPG average, in weekly shootouts.
OPOY=Christian McCaffrey, has a 2,509+ YFS(breaking Chris Johnson's single season record) 20+ TD season, with QB/OL upgrades.
DPOY=Aaron Donald, another ho-hum 12+ sack, 80+ pressure floor from the interior. Donald might be the best defensive player of all-time.
OROY=Skyy Moore, starts slow, but becomes KC's #1 WR in the 2nd half of the year. St.Brown esq. No QBs or big Chase/Jefferson types this year.
DROY=Travon Walker, to the surprise of many, Jags actually get this one right. Walker looks like another Myles Garrett.
CPOY=Khalil Mack, is a force facing single teams, with 15+ sacks and 75+ pressures as teams are trying to keep up with LA.

#1 Overall pick=Seattle.
Bonus draft prediction: Due to the Watson deal, Texans have 2 picks in the top-6.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Outside looking in: Raiders (9 Wins)

I dunno….they’ve had the Chiefs’ number recently. That division is a bloodbath. I guess one could project 3 playoff teams from the AFCW, but IMO that would be difficult. I have a hunch they’ll all beat up on each other a lot. But yeah, I give the Raiders an edge over the Broncos until I see Russ cook. I’m not entirely convinced he’s the same QB he used to be, and folks are making an awful lot of assumptions about the Broncos potent offense based on the assumption that he’s still an elite NFL QB.

Broncos are a big TBD, IMO. I’m not ready to anoint them as a playoff lock just yet.

 

[Rubi]

I'll summarize. Bills beat Raiders in AFC Championship game.
Rams beat Eagles in NFC Championship game.
Bills beat Rams in Super Bowl.
Josh Allen league MVP and Super Bowl MVP
Busts: Bengals,Dolphins,Cowboys,Bucs
Surprises: Jags,Lions,Giants

 

[VikingFrog]

MVP=Kyler Murray, continues his steady improvement, but stays healthy, and leads Cards to #1 seed, 31+ PPG average, in weekly shootouts.

Kyler burned me last year, but I’m willing to dip the toe again.

 

[Snoopy]

Rams beat Eagles in NFC Championship game.
Bills beat Eagles in Super Bowl.

 

[Rubi]

Rams beat Eagles in NFC Championship game.
Bills beat Eagles in Super Bowl.

Only 1 cup of coffee,better now

 

[DocHolliday]

Outside looking in: Raiders (9 Wins)

I dunno….they’ve had the Chiefs’ number recently. That division is a bloodbath. I guess one could project 3 playoff teams from the AFCW, but IMO that would be difficult. I have a hunch they’ll all beat up on each other a lot. But yeah, I give the Raiders an edge over the Broncos until I see Russ cook. I’m not entirely convinced he’s the same QB he used to be, and folks are making an awful lot of assumptions about the Broncos potent offense based on the assumption that he’s still an elite NFL QB.

Broncos are a big TBD, IMO. I’m not ready to anoint them as a playoff lock just yet.

I only see two teams making the playoffs from the AFC W even though all four teams will have winning seasons. The Chargers and Chiefs make the playoffs and the Chargers lose to the Bills in the AFC championship game.

 

[JAA]

It feels like LII was 5 years ago ...

 

[BobbyLayne]

#restoretheroarproject

65th edition

 

[QuizGuy66]

Linky to my annual prediction thread

-QG

 

[BassNBrew]

I'm mostly with you on these with just a few differences, I'm much lower on Indy and Detroit, and much higher on Arizona and Jacksonville. Still, we agree way more than we disagree.

I see it as:

AFC:
1. Buffalo=13-4, running game and defense improve and they have the depth to overcome any injury short of Allen.
2. Baltimore=12-5, were fighting for the #1 seed when Jackson went down a year ago, the secondary should be greatly improved.
3. LA Chargers=12-5, defense adding Mack and Jackson turns some close losses into wins.
4. Jacksonville=9-8, infinitely better coaching, and a big step forward from Lawrence is enough in the league's worst division.
5. Kansas City=12-5, Tyreek is missed a lot early in the year, before things get figured out down the stretch.
6. Cincinnati=11-6, OL takes a step forward, but harder schedule prevents major record difference.
7. Denver=10-7, Russ helps a ton at creating big plays, but its still mostly running game/defense leading the charge.

NFC:
1. Arizona=13-4, Murray takes yet another step forward, and Kingsbury figures out how to stay the course in the 2nd half of the season. Watt has one last monster year.
2. Philadelphia=12-5, AJ Brown proves to be worth every penny, and he does for Hurts what Diggs did for Allen. Defense is better too.
3. Tampa Bay=10-7, offense takes a slight step back with OL injuries, lack of Gronk.
4. Green Bay=10-7, they miss Adams a lot, and further transition to a running game/defense team.
5. San Francisco=11-6, Lance makes the offense much more dangerous, but has some major errors in big spots.
6. Dallas=10-7, passing game takes a step back, but NY and Was are sweeps, so they sneak in.
7. LA Rams=10-7, OL is a major issue with no Whitworth or Corbett and losing a starter already.

Weeks 1-18, Hackett is outcoached.

Round 1:
Ravens over Broncos, Hackett is outcoached.
Chargers over Bengals, Chargers are able to get a stop when it counts in a shootout
Chiefs over Jaguars, stage is too big for Lawrence yet.
Eagles over Rams, Rams OL is overwhelmed.
Bucs over Cowboys, just can't stop Brady
49ers over Packers, Shanny just has their number.

Round 2:
Bills over Chiefs, doesn't come down to a coin toss this year, as Bills D shows up big
Ravens over Chargers, Ravens keep the Chargers offense of the field, causing too much Staley recklessness
Cardinals over 49ers, Cards have won 3 of last 4 against SF, they force Lance to make a key error.
Eagles over Bucs, Eagles offense fares much better against TB D this year.

Championship Round:
Bills over Ravens, Bills get ahead early, Ravens aren't built to chase against a great D.
Cardinals over Eagles, Murray's mobility is a constant problem, and Cards win a shootout.

Super Bowl:
Bills over Cardinals, Bills D is able to put the clamps on Murray, in a TB/KC like Super Bowl. Von Miller wins his 2nd Super Bowl MVP

Awards:
MVP=Kyler Murray, continues his steady improvement, but stays healthy, and leads Cards to #1 seed, 31+ PPG average, in weekly shootouts.
OPOY=Christian McCaffrey, has a 2,509+ YFS(breaking Chris Johnson's single season record) 20+ TD season, with QB/OL upgrades.
DPOY=Aaron Donald, another ho-hum 12+ sack, 80+ pressure floor from the interior. Donald might be the best defensive player of all-time.
OROY=Skyy Moore, starts slow, but becomes KC's #1 WR in the 2nd half of the year. St.Brown esq. No QBs or big Chase/Jefferson types this year.
DROY=Travon Walker, to the surprise of many, Jags actually get this one right. Walker looks like another Myles Garrett.
CPOY=Khalil Mack, is a force facing single teams, with 15+ sacks and 75+ pressures as teams are trying to keep up with LA.

#1 Overall pick=Seattle.
Bonus draft prediction: Due to the Watson deal, Texans have 2 picks in the top-6.

Corrected this for you.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Love this @Yogibear and thank you for taking the time and having the guts to lay it all out like that.

We should do something like this every year in August.

It's also a great illustration that predicting this game is tough.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I'll summarize. Bills beat Raiders in AFC Championship game.
Rams beat Eagles in NFC Championship game.
Bills beat Rams in Super Bowl.
Josh Allen league MVP and Super Bowl MVP
Busts: Bengals,Dolphins,Cowboys,Bucs
Surprises: Jags,Lions,Giants

Great job on the surprises @Rubi