Real Football Predictions for 2015

Even if he's in street clothes for 4 games, the Pats will be fine.

I was about to update my rankings to version 4.0, but with my draft this Saturday I decided against it.  I'm moving a lot of guys around, and I thought it best to leave a little mystery to my rankings this year.  We'll see if it makes any sort of difference one way or another. But what I thought I would go ahead and do is predict the winner of every NFL game on the schedule.  Seems simple enough, right?  I've been doing this little exercise for a few years now, and it's pretty fun.

Let's take a look at my simulation for 2015...

NE	BUF	NYJ	MIA
11-5	7-9	6-10	10-6
BAL	PIT	CIN	CLE
8-8	9-7	11-5	5-11
HOU	TEN	JAC	IND
9-7	3-13	2-14	13-3
SD	KC	DEN	OAK
7-9	10-6	13-3	5-11
NYG	PHI	DAL	WAS
7-9	10-6	9-7	7-9
GB	CHI	DET	MIN
11-5	5-11	8-8	7-9
ATL	NO	CAR	TB
9-7	9-7	8-8	4-12
SF	SEA	STL	ARI
4-12	12-4	8-7-1	9-6-1

In 2012, I predicted 6 of the 8 division winners.  In 2013 & 2014, I only got half of them right.  This year I'll try to at least get back to 6 out of 8, but we'll have to wait and see.  Here is some commentary on my predicted standings:

AFC East: Even if Tom Brady misses 4 games, I still like New England this year.  The Patriots will continue to dominate this division, but I could see Miami making strides to close the gap.  The Jets and Bills don't have a QB who can get them to the playoffs, but I think the Dolphins do.

I have the Bengals winning the division, but not a playoff game

AFC North: This is always a tough division winner to pick, but I got it right with the Steelers last year.  This year I think Cincy will find a way to win it again.  I also think Flacco could struggle to get the Ravens into the playoffs unless he has some receiving options emerge.  It would be strange to go from having 3 playoff teams in 2014 to just 1 this year, but I think that'll happen.

AFC South: I don't have this division looking much different than it did last year, except I have the Colts winning it by even more.  They only got better on the offensive side of the ball, and I think their defense will do just fine with their soft schedule.  I have the Texans finishing 9-7, but I could see that easily being 7-9 or even 6-10. 

AFC West: I'm not betting against Peyton Manning, so I'm picking Denver to win this division again. Like last year, once again I think the Chiefs will make the playoffs.  They didn't last year, but they were the first team out at 9-7.  This year I think they'll get to 10 wins and get a Wild Card spot.

NFC East: Last year, Dallas won this division at 12-4 and the Eagles missed the playoffs at 10-6.  This year I think the Cowboys struggle a bit and Philly will take the division with that same 10-6 record as last year (and the year before).

NFC North: Even minus Jordy Nelson, I think Green Bay will win this division for the 5th year in a row.  But I just don't see anyone else in this division making the playoffs in 2015, including Detroit.  It seems Minnesota is everyone's dark horse to get a Wild Card spot, but I think they'll be another year away from putting it together in the Teddy Bridgewater era.

Yeah I'm picking the Saints again...

NFC South: Carolina won this division last year with only 7 wins, but I think a couple of teams will get 9 Ws this year.  I'm going to say the Saints will have the tiebreaker over the Falcons and win the NFC South in 2015.

NFC West: A lot of people are picking the Cardinals to overtake Seattle in this division, but I'm sticking with the Seahawks until Russell Wilson proves me wrong.  But I will take Arizona to grab a Wild Card spot, and I think they'll get it because of (LITERALLY) a tiebreaker!

So here's what I'm predicting for 2015:

AFC East: New England Patriots

AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals

AFC South: Indianapolis Colts

AFC West: Denver Broncos

AFC Wild Card1: Kansas City Chiefs

AFC Wild Card2: Miami Dolphins

[Indianapolis over Denver in AFC Championship Game]

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles

NFC North: Green Bay Packers

NFC South: New Orleans Saints

NFC West: Seattle Seahawks

NFC Wild Card1: Arizona Cardinals

NFC Wild Card2: Dallas Cowboys

[Philadelphia over Arizona in NFC Championship Game]

Super Bowl Prediction: Indianapolis over Philadelphia

The Eagles in a SUPER BOWL?!?  Why not?  But I'm not picking them to actually win it...

Cheers,

Bart