Now that the NFL Season is underway, it’s that time of the year where I give my picks for the Superbowl. This year, Superbowl XLIX (49) will be played in Glendale, Arizona on February 1st 2015. In this article, I’ll be giving you my 6 playoff teams in each conference, my conference championship games, as well as my Superbowl picks. With how much parity in the NFL, it’s so hard to stay good for multiple years, as well as stay healthy, so it goes without saying that while I’ve been pretty good with these over the past couple years, I wouldn’t bet the house on it. So without further ado, let’s get right into the predictions.
NFC
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles – As much as everyone will talk about Chip Kelly and his offense, it may be the defense that helps the Eagles fly, as they are in a division where everyone can score, but they have the best defense of the group.
NFC North: Green Bay Packers – This team has been my Superbowl pick for three of the last four years, so obviously I think they’re for real. The problem is their defense has not been good and I’m a believer in old school football. Defense wins championships.
NFC South: New Orleans Saints (Bye) – They showed a lot of heart winning a playoff game in Philadelphia’s cold weather last year. They are a sneaky top 10 caliber defense and there is never a question about offense when Drew Brees is your QB.
NFC West: Seattle Seahawks (Bye) – The defending Superbowl champs should squeak out on top of the best division in football, but it may wear them down for the playoffs. Lynch is their workhorse and he’s got a few more threads on his tires.
Wildcard 1: Carolina Panthers – I’m a sucker for a team with a great defense and this team has it. I fell in love with their defense so much last year that I coined the term on twitter #TheDefenseIsReal whenever they played. Who knows how they will score points with that offense, but I like Kelvin Benjamin and with Cam Newton aka Superman, anything is possible.
Wildcard 2: Arizona Cardinals – If you look at the 2nd half of the year for the Cardinals, there offense was one of the best in the league. Palmer would be on pace to throw for 4700 yards and almost 30 TDs. They have a top 10 defense. Their offensive line will be their biggest question..
NFC Shocker: San Francisco 49ers – I’ve been very outspoken about this on social media. I feel that the loss of A.Smith for 9 games, Bowman for at least that same amount, to go with the losses of Dorsey, Rogers, and Whitner is too much for them to recover from in the tough NFC, much less the NFC West.
AFC
AFC East: New England Patriots – Brady is still Brady, so as long as he is healthy, the Patriots will win 10-11 games and win the division. Miami will at least give them a run for their money, Buffalo is in disarray, and who knows about the Jets right now.
AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals (Bye) – Their defense is top 5 in the league and if Marvin Jones can comeback and play like he did last year, along with a progressing Dalton, this team is a legitimate Superbowl contender.
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts – The Colts will get an easy run at the division this year. The AFC South is a young rising division, but currently, it is probably the weakest division in football. However, the Colts are a streaky team so they have to get hot at the right time.
AFC West: Denver Broncos (Bye) – Barring a Peyton Manning injury, the Broncos should hold off the Chiefs once again. The Chargers are still up and down, while the Raiders will be starting a rookie QB. That is not normally the recipe for immediate success.
Wildcard 1: Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs almost stole the division from the Broncos last year. This will be their 2nd year under Andy Reid and their defense, despite getting worn down at the end of the year last year, is for real.
Wildcard 2: Miami Dolphins – Last year I said the Dolphins were 1 year away. They almost went out there and got a playoff spot last year. This year, they will be running an offense similar to the Eagles and they have so good solid talent on both sides of the ball.
AFC Shocker: Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers are not your parent’s Steelers anymore. They plan to play faster this year, but I just don’t like their offense. Their defense is getting younger, but they don’t seem to fit the scheme that Dick Lebeau wants. Game one will tell a lot against a bad Browns team.
NFC Championship Game: Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints
It will be tough for you to find an NFC Championship Game prediction without either the Seahawks or the 49ers included, but here we go. I have the Saints having a bye and as most people know, they rarely lose at home. I think the Eagles will figure out a way to knock Seattle off with their mental matchup of Chip Kelly vs. Pete Carroll. As I said earlier, all the tough battles in the NFC West, plus the wear and tear on Marshawn Lynch, will eventually catch up to them. Can you remember the last time a team won the Superbowl back to back years?
AFC Championship Game: Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals
I’m pretty confident that you will not see this prediction for the AFC Championship Games anywhere but here. Heavy money will be on the Broncos and/or Patriots being back in there, but I’m going with some of the younger blood. Andrew Luck is probably the best young future franchise QB in the league and the Bengals maybe the best offense/defense combination in the league. With both of these teams getting here by beating the Patriots and/or the Colts, they will both be worthy of representing the AFC Conference in Superbowl 49.
Superbowl XLIX: New Orleans Saints vs. Cincinnati Bengals
One of the most understated things about getting to the Superbowl is staying healthy. It’s very rare that you will find a team like Green Bay a few years back that was decimated by injuries and still found a way to win it all. Also, if you go through every Superbowl winner, they got a break. Whether it’s an injury to another team’s top player or the Bears lying down to let the Packers in the playoffs the year they won the Superbowl. Or even if it’s just avoiding the team that seems to “own” you. In the Superbowl, it’s normally “who’s best that day, not who’s the best team overall”, but my pick for Superbowl XLIX is that the New Orleans Saints will be holding the Lombardi trophy when it’s all said and done.
No matter what happens, it should be a great exciting season and if you’re as big of a fan as me, you don’t want to miss a minute of it. So right now, there nothing much else to say, but let the season begin and enjoy the games.
