An Early Look at Who is Headed to the Playoffs this Year (Those who make it, those who might, and those who won’t.)

By Jacob Sanders

Training Camps are just starting. Preseason tickets are being bought and regular season tickets are selling out already. Yep. The NFL season is close and coming but we still have 43 days to go. In the meantime while everything else is happening, I would like to take an early look at what teams are going to make the playoffs (as of now barring major injuries), who has got a shot at the playoffs, and which ones are going to see some growing pains for the future.

As usual, these are NOT professional opinions and simply my own. I conducted my own research and time to write this. Feel free to share your opinions or any criticism is welcome. Enjoy!

*Teams are not in any specific order

The Instant Locks

Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers

Both teams have the best rosters, if not in the NFL, in the NFC hands down.  When both of these rosters are fully healthy, both are unstoppable and neither is really beatable thus why the NFC Division game last year between the Packers and Cardinals was one of the most explosive playoff games we have seen in years. When a team has Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Julius Peppers, and Clay Matthews or when a team has Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Tyrann Mathieu, and Patrick Peterson, you can’t count either out as both teams have savvy veteran players with the knack for game changing (or game ending) plays.

Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers

The Seahawks and Steelers are equals but in very different ways. Seattle will win through a dominant defense with good offensive play while Pittsburgh will do the exact opposite and win through an explosive offense with solid defensive plays. What really makes these teams good is that their coaches are smart and are great at rallying their players to max out their potential. They’ll both be tough teams this year.

New England Patriots

There isn’t much to say about the Patriots. They haven’t changed at all from last year’s roster and injuries are a big reason they didn’t go undefeated.  If not for a historic Denver defense, the Patriots would probably have been the ones in the Super Bowl and had a real chance of beating the Panthers as well. Until Brady and Bellichick retire from the NFL, the Patriots will never be out of the playoffs. Period.

Carolina Panthers

This team won’t go 15-1 again. Believe it or not, their schedule wasn’t the hardest last year. If anything, the Panthers will have a harder schedule than last year and regress. This team still has talent though and Kelvin Benjamin will be returning to make the offense multi-dimensional. In a division such as the NFC South right now, the Panthers can rack up 10 wins to take the division.

The Playoff fighters

Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens

As a Ravens fan, I must admit that the Steelers look like the best team in the AFC North but with the Leveon Bell suspension, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will really take the division but I’m still thinking they will. Anyway, the Bengals and Baltimore teams are in the same division as the Steelers. Two years ago, the AFC North brought all 3 of these aforementioned teams to the playoffs. The Bengals roster is loaded. The Ravens roster is loaded. If Andy Dalton can prove he can play without Hue Jackson and the Ravens can stay healthy, methinks that both teams take the AFC Wildcards this year and the AFC North will repeat their “3 playoff team” feat again.

The NY Jets

Fitzmagic is back! The Jets look very exciting. They have the best WR duo in the NFL right now and Matt Forte will now be leading the backfield. The Jets are tied with the Rams for the best defensive line in the NFL and if Revis can keep up his production, this team can improve on their 10 win campaign last season. BUT, there is one caveat. Fitzpatrick must remember he is Fitzpatrick and can’t force plays or make stupid mistakes like he did in the last game of last season…..yikes. That’s something we can’t count on and the Jets front office knew that thus why his contract took so long to get completed.

Buffalo Bills

I like the Bills. They are definitely a competitive team but probably one of the weaker playoff fighters. Their roster is fine. The major issue is that the defense doesn’t synergize well and the offense is hit or miss (usually hit). If the players can develop more synergy and have some major faith in each other, we could see the next AFC East champi…. I mean an AFC East team not named the Patriots take a playoff spot.

Detroit Lions

This may sound ridiculous, but the Lions are fighters. They finished last season 6-2 after starting 2-6! That is nothing to sneeze at. Stafford made major steps to being less of a gambler and more of a decisive quarterback and that should continue this year. I don’t believe the Lions can compete for the division but I do believe they can give the Vikings a run for their money on that second wildcard spot.

Minnesota Vikings

What can you say? They are the defending champions of the NFC North. The thing is, they won the NFC North against a Packers team that was considered to have a “disappointing” season. Really? 10-6 is disappointing? For the Packers, yes. I don’t believe the Vikings will have the fireworks that the Packers will have but they have a very solid team led by Bridgewater, Peterson, and Mike Zimmer’s defense. 10 wins again is an EXPECTATION for this team. Anything less would be a disappointment.

The ENTIRE NFC East (excluding the Eagles)

It’s very hard to predict who will win this division. The Redskins are the defenders but were they just beneficiaries of a bad division last year? The Cowboys are probably the best team in the division when Romo is healthy but when is he ever healthy? And the Giants just loaded their defense in free agency and Eli Manning has quietly played his best football the past two years. Who wins this division is anyone’s guess right now.

The ENTIRE AFC West (excluding the Chargers)

The Broncos are defending champions who don’t know what their QB will look like week 1. But they still have their core offensive playmakers and almost their entire historic defense that won them a Super Bowl. This team will win games despite many naysayers who believe otherwise. The Chiefs made an incredible 9-0 run after starting 1-5 last season. Alex Smith is very under-rated and Jamaal Charles will be back. The Chiefs are primed to grab the division. The Raiders are on the same boat as the chiefs. A heavily improved defense and more experience on offense will make them contenders for their division.

The ENTIRE AFC South (excluding the Titans)

Very similar to the NFC East, nobody can really guess who will win this division. The Colts are always in because Andrew Luck is the best quarterback below the age of 30 but the rest of the roster is rather bland and unimpressive. The hype train around the Jaguars improving is real. The offense is explosive but the defense really lacked last year and needs to stop opponents from scoring. Fun fact: The Jaguars had 24.3 points per game average. Their defense gave away 31 points per game away. Let’s not forget about the Texans. They were one good quarterback away from making a run in the playoffs. Enter Brock Osweiler. Laregly untested, this was the best case scenario for Osweiler. He may not be spectacular, but a great receiving core and defense will make up for some of his mistakes he will make early on in the season. My guess is the Texans take this division.

The In-Betweener

New Orleans Saints

I’m giving a special spot for New Orleans.I love the Saints. In fact, I am a believer in Sean Payton and Drew Brees every year despite the fact they have not had much success the past couple years. They aren’t the problem. The defense has always been the issue. If you look back at the past two years, the Saints always score a ton of points but their defense always gives up a ton of points. This team is on the brink of being a playoff spot fighter. But the defense really needs to show improvement before they are considered playoff fighters

The Growing Pain Teams

Miami Dolphins

On paper, the Dolphins look like a 10 win team. The thing is, they have looked like a 10 win team for a 3^rd consecutive season incoming and have been mediocre in their games. Till Tannehill shows more growth, a running game appears to support Tannehill, and Ndamukong Suh shows he is worth the money, this team is stuck in mediocrity of 7 to 9 wins.

Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan is good. Julio Jones is great. There is a running game. But the defense is still a huge question mark and in a division with the Panthers, the Falcons would need a wildcard to make the playoffs. Now answer this question for me. Are the Falcons really good enough to take a wildcard away from the Vikings, or the Seahawks? I need to see it to believe it.

Philadelphia Eagles

I’m not buying the hype around Wentz. I don’t think he is bad. I am rooting for the guy to do well as he comes from a Division II school just like Joe Flacco did (I’m a Ravens fan for those who still don’t know). But the Eagles just got a brand new coach. They’ll probably start Bradford and unless Bradford shows the entire NFL he has been worth all of the drama and talk of potential the past 6 years, I’ll pass on the Eagles. The Eagles are a talented group but are hindered by the ever ending QB mystery. 7-9 looks like this team’s destination.

Tamp Bay Buccaneers

I’ll keep this short. The offense is budding and can become great after one more year of gelling and we’ll see it by the end of this season. The defense is good on paper but really hasn’t shown any sort of synergy in the last two years. Buc’s goals with a new head coach? Win some games through offense and work on synergizing the defense to become a dominant team in the future. Their ceiling looks roughly like 8 wins. Okay, 9 wins if you want to be generous (I am not being generous though).

St. Lou….I mean L.A. Rams (sorry, I had to)

Damn their defense is so good. But damn their offense is so bad (excluding Todd Gurley of course). The WR group is still pretty mediocre and Jared Goff needs to have an RG3 or Andrew Luck-esque rookie season if this team wants to go anywhere this year. This team is building for the future like the Raiders were 3 years ago. Give them and Jared Goff a couple years to get started especially in a tough NFC West.

San Francisco 49ers

Where to begin? I really don’t know to be honest with you. The 49ers have a ceiling as high as 7 wins but have a floor as low as 1 win. The defense isn’t terrible but the offense lacks playmakers. The biggest issue from last year was that the 49ers didn’t have a coach to light a fire under them and seek maximum production. Chip Kelly can light that fire. The question is whether the fire makes them run in a positive or negative direction. I’ll be safe and say they grab some wins here and there. Just enough to look improved from last years awful season but not enough to be playoff bound.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are a very under-rated team. In fact, Philip Rivers makes this team a fighter every game they play. It’s too bad the Chargers never have a defense to back up Rivers and his dynamic offense. The defense for years has been holding Rivers back from joining Manning and Roethlisberger as Super Bowl winners. I don’t expect that to change this year with a few rookies being starters on the defensive side of the ball. They need some NFL experience.

Tennessee Titans

This is a team who started its growing pains last year but is still recovering from the soreness. I’ll bet that this team doubles their win total from last year (3-13) at minimum. I like the Mariota and Murray combo. Plus Mariota feels like one of those QBs who will grow to make talent around him better. Patience Titans fans. Patience.

Chicago Bears

Not being in the playoffs really isn’t the Bears fault. They are just in a division with the Packers, Lions, and Vikings. Compare them to the Rams. There are just too many competitive teams to beat out for a wildcard. On the plus side, let’s see if Cutler can capitalize on his growth from last year.

Cleveland Browns

Let’s keep this simple. The Browns are in rebuilding years. So let them take a couple years to rebuild. But Josh Gordon back on the field and RG3 getting one of his old college receivers should boost on offense that lacked playmakers last year. This team will get exciting over the coming years.