We’ve reached the official end of the NFL preseason with the Playoff and Super Bowl LI predictions. Before we get into that, let’s get a recap of how I feel each division will go down.
To see all the extended NFL previews, click here.
Before we get into it, here’s your code key for this year’s 2016-17 GMS NFL Football Preview : Z = Clinches home field advantage, Y = Clinches division, X = Clinches wild card spot
American Football Conference
AFC East
Y – New England Patriots 11-5
Miami Dolphins 9-7
New York Jets 8-8
Buffalo Bills 6-10
AFC North
Z – Pittsburgh Steelers 13-3
X – Cincinnati Bengals 11-5
X – Baltimore Ravens 10-6
Cleveland Browns 5-11
AFC South
Y – Indianapolis Colts 10-6
Houston Texans 9-7
Tennessee Titans 7-9
Jacksonville Jaguars 6-10
AFC West
Y – Kansas City Chiefs 11-5
Oakland Raiders 8-8
Denver Broncos 7-9
San Diego Chargers 4-12
National Football Conference
NFC East
Y – New York Giants 12-4
X – Dallas Cowboys 10-6
Washington Redskins 8-8
Philadelphia Eagles 6-10
NFC North
Y – Green Bay Packers 12-4
Minnesota Vikings 8-8
Chicago Bears 7-9
Detroit Lions 5-11
NFC South
Z – Carolina Panthers 13-3
X – Atlanta Falcons 10-6
New Orleans Saints 9-7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8-8
NFC West
Y – Seattle Seahawks 12-4
Arizona Cardinals 9-7
Los Angeles Rams 7-9
San Francisco 49ers 3-13
So there you have it all put together. Now that we can take a good look at it, here’s how I think the playoffs will pan out.
WILD CARD ROUND
AFC
Ravens 34, Patriots 21
Joe Flacco is the Patriot killer in the playoffs and, if anything, plays better on the road. The Patriots nightmare ends early in 2017.
Bengals 31, Colts 30
Andrew Luck makes it exciting, but the Bengals finally get the job done for Marvin Lewis.
NFC
Giants 38, Falcons 34
Eli Manning’s return to the playoffs spells doom for pretty much anyone the Giants will face. He and Flacco are the best, most clutch postseason passers of their generation without the help of clandestine video cheating operations.
Seaahawks 27, Cowboys 17
The magical Dak Prescott rookie tour ends, but don’t cry Cowboys fans. The future is very bright.
DIVISIONAL ROUND
AFC
Steelers 34, Ravens 31
Ben Roethlisberger and Flacco duel it out, but in the end the Steelers have too much talent on both sides of the ball.
Bengals 38, Chiefs 27
Cincinnati earns the shot at the Super Bowl they had in their sites in 2015-16 before Andy Dalton broke his thumb.
NFC
Panthers 42, Seahawks 23
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will keep it tight for a while, but this is the same team, in the same stadium, that nearly ran them out of the building in last year’s divisional round.
Packers 28, Giants 27
Eli has a chance to make history again in Lambeau, but this time Aaron Rodgers finds a way to get it done, setting up the rendevous in the NFC Championship with the Panthers we were denied a year ago.
AFC Championship
Steelers 23, Bengals 20
Two teams that will probably average 30 points a game in the regular season will find themselves in a defensive struggle just like their last playoff match up. In the end, Pittsburgh will come out on top like they often do.
NFC Championship
Panthers 48, Packers 42
It comes down to the final play, but Rodgers won’t find the magic this time. Cam Newton secures a return trip to the Super Bowl.
SUPER BOWL LI
It’s one of the best games, and best match-ups of the ages but, in the end, Cam Newton’s coronation is complete with a Super Bowl MVP trophy award too.
AWARDS
League MVP: Cam Newton
Offensive Player of the Year: Odell Beckham Jr.
Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Donald
Coach of the Year: Jason Garrett
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Dak Prescott
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jalen Ramsey
Breakout Player: Tavon Austin
Comeback Player of the Year: Andrew Luck
2017 Way too early Top 10 Mock Draft
1. San Francisco 49ers: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
2. San Diego Chargers : Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
3. Cleveland Browns: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
4. Detroit Lions: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
5. Cleveland Browns (trade with Eagles): Mikes Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
6. Buffalo Bills: Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss
7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Derick Barnett, DT, Tennessee
8. Chicago Bears: Jabril Peppers, LB, Notre Dame
9. Tennessee Titans: Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
10. Tennessee Titans (trade with Rams): Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
And that’s it. You’re loaded up and ready for the 2016-17 NFL season.
