The NFL, a league not just a sport, but a story. Every NFL season has a special
storyline, following many different people, teams, and coaches. Today we will be talking a
little about last years NFL season and storylines, and we will focus on storylines that have
developed over the 3 weeks since the season started.

Last NFL season, after the season had ended, we had some big free agency moves, trades
and extensions. One of the biggest extensions was Josh Allen getting a six year deal worth
330 million dollars. This made him the second highest paid QB in the NFL just behind
Patrick Mahomes. In a big name trade for the Steelers and Dolphins, Minkah Fitzpatrick
was traded from the Steelers to the Miami Dolphins for Jalen Ramsey. Minkah is returning
to the team who drafted him to start his career. Stefon Diggs signed a three year 69 million
dollar deal with the Patriots. Justin Fields signed a two year 40 million dollar deal with the
Jets. DeAndre Hopkins signed a one year deal with the Ravens, his career is slowly coming
to a close and this could be the last year he plays football. The last three big signings were
from the Steelers and a trade from the Green Bay Packers, those being the Steelers trading
for DK Metcalf from the Seahawks and signing Aaron Rodgers out of free agency. The Green Bay Packers made a trade for the best defensive player in the league, Micha Parsons. The Cowboys got Kenny Clark and 2 first round picks out of the deal. (As a Cowboys fan this hurt my soul to write).

Now that you have a base of what went down in NFL free agency let’s get into what we think
will happen this NFL season. This year has some interesting storylines, like the story of
Sheduer Sanders, projected to go in the first round falls all the way to the 6th round.
Matthew Stafford, last year of his career? Can he make another Superbowl push? Lamar,
can he get over the playoff hump he’s been in his entire career. There are many plot lines in
this season, everything from players trying to save their career’s from shambles like
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, or players who had a good year last year and want to
do better like Sam Darnold, players who’ve changed teams and need to see if their team
was the reason they won, or if they were the reason the team won like Micha Parsons.
There are coaches who are going into their first year as a coach like Ben Johnson. These
players, these teams and these coaches all have a journey, they all have a story to tell. The
question is, which of them will be able to tell the story of success and not failures.

Onto the predictions. We will predict every division winner, starting with the AFC
North. This consists of the Ravens, Steelers, Bengals, Browns. I see the Ravens winning,
but both the Ravens and Steelers make the playoffs. Both teams look good through these 3
weeks, but without Burrow the Bengals are nothing and the Browns are just awful. The AFC
East is up next with the Bills, Patriots, Jets, Dolphins. The Bills are the best team here, but
the Jets have a good squad with potential to shock the league. I still think the Bills will win and will be the only team here to make the playoffs. The Jets have too many questions, same with the Patriots and as long as the Dolphins have Tua Tagovialoa they will not win football games consistently. The AFC South is quite the sad division with the Texans, Colts, Jaguars, Titans. I think the Colts will win, upsetting the Texans as the favorites to win, but both the Texans and Colts go to the playoffs. CJ Stroud looks rough and the Colts can capitalize off that, taking the division from the Texans. The Jaguars have struggled and with a first year head coach I think they will continue to struggle. The Titans were the worst team in the league last year, even if Cam Ward plays like prime Tom Brady, this team would still go 9-8. The AFC West is one with many good teams, The Chiefs, Broncos, Raiders, Chargers. The Chiefs are the Superbowl runner ups, being a dynasty in the past couple years. But within the first 3 weeks they are 1-2, I think they fall off this year and either the Broncos or the Chargers win the division. I see the Chargers winning the division with the Broncos making the playoffs.

Now onto the NFC, starting with the NFC North. They have the Packers, Lions, Bears, Vikings. This division is one of the best there is, Packers were good last year and have only gotten better, the Lions have been Superbowl favorites the past two years, the Bears have a good roster if they can put the pieces together and the Vikings also had a great year making the playoffs. I think this year the Packers win with the Lions making the playoffs and the Vikings possibly making the playoffs. The NFC East is my personal favorite because I am a Cowboys fan (unfortunately), the Cowboys, Eagles, Commanders, Giants are in this division. The Eagles are coming off a Superbowl win, the Commanders are coming off a season where rookie Jayden Daniels had a season for the record books, the Cowboys were mediocre, and the Giants were one of the worst teams in the league. I think the Commanders win the division with the Eagles right behind them. The only reason I don’t have the Eagles winning is because they don’t seem to have the best passing attack ever, relying on Saquon Barkley and the Tush Push. The NFC South has the Buc’s, Panthers, Falcons, Saints. The Buc’s have a great QB in Baker Mayfield; they have a good consistent team. The Panthers have potential in Bryce Young if he takes a step forward. The Falcons have a good roster if they can get everything together and the Saints just aren’t very good without a real starting QB and no other real weapons besides aging defensive guys, Chris Olave and Rasheed Saheed at WR’s and Alvin Kamara at RB. I think the Buc’s win this division and no one else makes playoffs. The NFC West has the 49er’s, Rams, Cardinals, Seahawks. The 49er’s aren’t as bad as they were last year, but have struggles with injuries to their starting roster, the Rams are still the same juggernaut they have been, the Cardinals seem to be turning their franchise around slowly and the Seahawks are a middle of the pack team. I think the Rams win the division and the 49er’s and Cardinals make the playoffs this year.