No drawn out intro this time.
I gotta keep this project going, right?
Right. Mark the tape.
1. Montez Sweat and Chase Young will be the #1 pass rush duo in the NFL. I had actually forgotten this fact, but the Washington Football Team are reigning NFC East champions. Their defense under Ron Rivera will keep improving this year as Sweat and Young emerge as the premiere pass rush duo in the entire league, leading everyone else in sack totals for the season. Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio knows how to maximize rushing the passer since he's coached the likes of Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller during their best days in Denver together. Sweat and Young will become even better than that pair since Sweat is 25 years old and Young is only 22.
2. The Pittsburgh Steelers will go first to worst in the AFC North. It's always fun to pick a team going worst to first in a division since the NFL sees faster turnarounds than any other sports league. It's not often when a team goes the other direction, but that's what will happen with the Steelers this year. They still have playmakers on both sides of the ball, but I do not like their offensive line at all. More than that though is the rest of the division is either on the rise or close to peaking. Joe Burrow will show why he was the #1 overall pick last year with his young receivers while the Browns and Ravens fight it out for the division title. The Steelers will be left at the bottom of the division and have to figure out what their future at QB will look like.
It's going to be a long, dark season for the Steelers and their fans this year.
3. Matthew Stafford will throw for his most yards and touchdowns since 2011. Matthew Stafford will have a career renaissance now that he's on the Rams. In 2011 he set career highs for himself by throwing for just over 5000 yards and 41 TDs. His passing yards have mostly declined every year since then (with a couple small upticks here and there), and he hasn't thrown for more than 32 TDs in a season since. He'll be a great late-round grab for fantasy players on his new team. And he'll have a whole lot more to celebrate than just personal career stats (more on that later).
4. The Tampa Bay Buccanneers will be the only team in the NFC South to finish over .500. This is just as much about how much better the Bucs are than their divisional rivals as it is who their opponents are this season. The NFC South will face the AFC East and NFC East divisions this year, both of which are filled with teams better than the Saints, Panthers, and Falcons. The Saints are arguably the best of those three teams, but still will take a huge step backwards without Drew Brees at QB.
5. Derrick Henry will be the first running back to lead the NFL in rushing yards for three straight years since Emmitt Smith from 1991 to 1993. Not so bold, really. Next.
6. Josh Allen will be the league MVP. Allen took agiant leap forward last year, improving his completion percentage, passing yards, and total touchdowns from the year prior. The Bills got all the way to the AFC title game with him under center, and he'll keep rocketing up the points to put himself toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes as the best QB in the AFC (which is somewhat painful for me to say as a Ravens fan). It'll be bittersweet for Bills fans though, because....
7. The Los Angeles Rams will defeat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 56. The Rams came oh so close to winning a championship a couple years ago but couldn't get anything going against the Patriots offensively. Matthew Stafford will finally get a taste of not only winning a playoff game, but he'll be hoisting the Lombardi trophy as Super Bowl MVP. Meanwhile, Bills fans will be left hoping this game isn't the start of a repeat of the early 90s when they got to the big game for four straight years and came up short every time.
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