If you’ve heard The Preseason Podcast of the Year recently, then you’ve already heard our AFC playoff predictions two weeks ago and our NFC picks last week. But in case you didn’t, allow us to extend an olive branch. We’ll give you a mulligan (just this once) and present to you, in written form, our preseason AFC & NFC picks!
AFC Playoffs
AFC East Champion
New England Patriots- They win at least 10 every year. Who in this division could possibly be better?
AFC North Champion
Pittsburgh Steelers- Tough one to call, but Cincy’s playoff failures catches up to them mentally and Pittsburgh stays healthy for a change.
AFC South Champion
Indianapolis Colts- Best team by default, but does anything on this squad besides Andrew Luck scream “Super Bowl” to you?
AFC West Champion
Denver Broncos- Peyton Manning doesn’t win less than 10 games. Ever. Even with a monster of a schedule, they’ll win the West again.
AFC Wild Card Teams
Kansas City Chiefs- People seem down on this team, but they had six Pro Bowlers as a 2-14 team two years ago and 10 Pro Bowlers as a playoff team last year. They lost some pieces, but none are named Jamaal Charles.
Jacksonville Jaguars- Somebody has to get that sixth slot! The Jags had a great offseason and rookie Blake Bortles wowed in the preseason, when will they name him the starter? A weak AFC South schedule will help too— expect one of those non-Indy teams to take this final spot.
AFC Championship Game
New England Patriots Defeat Denver Broncos in New England- The Pats were without basically everybody last season and still made the AFC title game. They manage to stay healthy enough this year and add Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner to rough up the Bronco receivers in Foxboro and take back the AFC. Plus, ya know, Peyton Manning outdoors in the playoffs? No thanks. There’s a reason why no Super Bowl loser has come back the next season to win it in over 40 years, and why no team has even made it back in 20 years.
NFC Playoffs
NFC East Champion
Philadelphia Eagles- Possibly the worst division in football, the Eagles simply have the most talent. But defensive coordinators got some film on Nick Foles now, so don’t expect him to coast this season.
NFC North Champion
Green Bay Packers- Until further notice, they’re still the big brother to the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions little brother. Why? Because Aaron Rodgers said so.
NFC South Champion
New Orleans Saints- Only two potential bad weather outdoor games on the schedule (and 11 total games in a dome). If they can build on last year’s great defense, they should go pretty far. The Rob Ryan falloff is inevitable, but when does it happen?
NFC West Champion
Seattle Seahawks- The best team in football, bar none. But they play 11 games against teams that were .500 or better last season— can they hang on for home field throughout the playoffs?
NFC Wild Card Teams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers- This team had a solid offseason, capped off by the addition of Lovie Smith, who’s been to two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl.
Chicago Bears- Love this offense, but can a revamped defense get them back to the playoffs?
NFC Championship Game
New Orleans Saints Defeat Seattle Seahawks in New Orleans- Due to scheduling, the Saints edge the Seahawks for the best record in the conference and therefore host the NFC title game. The Big Easy is as tough a place to win as any in the NFL, including Seattle. The Saints were 8-0 in the regular season at home last year (better than Seattle’s 7-1), and won by an average margin of victory of 18.4 points. And basically everything went right for Seattle last year, can that happen again? Even though they’re absolutely good enough to do it, there’s a reason why no team has repeated as champions in 10 years.
Super Bowl XLIX
New England Patriots Defeat New Orleans Saints
In a game that could go either way, the Pats edge the Saints with a little more defense and toughness. Rex Ryan’s defense is unable to hold up and Tom Brady finally wins the elusive fourth Super Bowl he thought he had won when his Patriots held the lead inside the final minute of Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.
There you have it! Let us know what you think we got right and wrong!