NFL 2021 Season Predictions

It's time for the annual ritual in which I project how teams will finish and how the playoffs will go down.

The NFL offseason talk is about to come to an end. Now it's time to talk about the 2021 season itself.

Teams have finalized their rosters, decided upon starting quarterbacks and now we await for the official season opener Thursday between the Cowboys and the Buccaneers, followed by the first full slate of Sunday games on Sept. 12.

I thus give you my 2021 NFL predictions, in which I utilized the NFL Playoff Predictor to select the winners each week, which thus led to my final standings. From there, I projected the playoff winners.

Of course, a lot can change between now and the end of the season, whether it's a player that breaks out, a coach who really makes his mark on a team or a noteworthy player lost for the season to injury.

But that's the thing about predictions. We make them based on the information we know at this time, not the knowledge we'll gain later in the season.

Now let's get to my season predictions (teams qualifying for the playoffs have an asterisk).

AFC East

Buffalo 13-3 *

New England 13-3

Miami 10-7

NY Jets 4-13

If the Bills can get a pass rush going, they could arguably become the most "complete" team in the NFL. I expect the Patriots to do better this year because they got most of their defensive starters back and because they play more winnable games this season. The Dolphins are well coached, so they should win their fair share of games. I think the Jets will be a better team, but they don't have everything in place yet to get a winning record.

AFC North

Baltimore 12-5 *

Pittsburgh 11-6

Cleveland 8-9

Cincinnati 3-14

Lamar Jackson didn't have a good season in 2020, but I think he can bounce back and that should be enough to put the Ravens on top. Meanwhile, I don't think Ben Roethlisberger has much left in the tank, and while the Steelers should have a winning record, I see them losing just enough games to miss the playoffs. The Browns should be competitive, but they play a tougher schedule this year. I am not convinced the Bengals take the next step -- they don't have a good offensive line or a good defense.

AFC South

Tennessee 10-7 *

Indianapolis 6-11

Jacksonville 5-12

Houston 1-16

The Titans may regress to the mean in certain areas, but they remain the best team in this division. Given the injuries the Colts have had, I think it's going to be a rough season, but I don't think they'll make any changes to the coaching staff after the season. The Jaguars may have Trevor Lawrence, but they still have too many flaws to push for the playoffs. As for the Texans, they'll likely manage one win, but otherwise, they're going to be bad.

AFC West

Kansas City 15-2 *

LA Chargers 13-4 *

Denver 12-5 *

Las Vegas 6-11

The Chiefs nearly run the table, but the Chargers manage to pull out a win at home, which means the Chiefs rest their starters in Week 18, allowing the Broncos to close out with a win. All three teams play the weakest division in the NFC (the East) and I see them winning most of those games, which explains their overall records. With that said, the Chargers and Chiefs both have defenses that are questionable and Teddy Bridgewater must prove he's the guy to lead the Broncos to wins. The Raiders' biggest problem is how the team is built -- I'm not convinced they make a playoff push this year.

NFC East

Washington 9-8 *

Dallas 8-9

Philadelphia 5-12

NY Giants 2-15

I'm not crazy about any of these teams, but Washington has the best coach and I think that's what gets them the division title. The Cowboys have more offensive talent, but I'm not a fan of Mike McCarthy and his coaching decisions. The Eagles are a team that's been built to win but hasn't been getting it done and I'm not seeing them digging themselves out of the hole they fell into last year. The Giants aren't a well-built team and it won't surprise me if general manager Dave Gettleman is fired after the season.

NFC North

Green Bay 15-2 *

Minnesota 8-9

Chicago 7-10

Detroit 1-16

The Packers get the top seed in the NFC playoff race as Aaron Rodgers forces them to again question their decision to trade up to draft Jordan Love last year. The Vikings get their share of wins, but not enough to save Mike Zimmer's job. The Bears get their share of wins (more when Justin Fields takes over) but not enough to save Ryan Pace's job. The Lions, like the Texans, should be able to win at least one game, but otherwise, this is a bad team.

NFC South

Tampa Bay 15-2 *

New Orleans 8-9 *

Atlanta 7-10

Carolina 4-13

The Buccaneers take the division but lose the No. 1 seed to the Packers on tiebreakers. I've got several teams going 8-9, with the Saints managing to slip into the playoffs on tiebreakers. I think the Saints should be able to do enough with Jameis Winston, and who knows -- he might surprise people and the Saints do better than 8-9. The Falcons will win enough games that they give Matt Ryan another year. The Panthers are a team that I don't think it's built particularly well, and I don't think Christian McCaffrey returning from injury will be enough.

NFC West

Seattle 13-4 *

LA Rams 12-5 *

Arizona 9-8 *

San Francisco 6-11

This is the strongest overall division in the NFC. I have the Seahawks edging out the Rams -- I think the Seahawks to improve their team overall, while the Rams did get a better QB but I don't believe they did the better overall job. The Cardinals will win enough games to make the playoffs. I don't have the Niners making it, and I would suspect Trey Lance doesn't start until late in the season -- with that said, I still believe Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch get another year.

As for the playoffs, here's what I expect

AFC Wild Card round: Patriots over Titans, Ravens over Chargers, Bills over Broncos

NFC Wild Card round: Rams over Washington, Seahawks over Cardinals, Buccaneers over Saints

AFC Divisional round: Bills over Ravens, Chiefs over Patriots

NFC Divisional round: Seahawks over Buccaneers (upset!), Packers over Rams

AFC Championship: Chiefs over Bills, Packers over Seahawks

Super Bowl 56: Packers over Chiefs

I'm expecting Aaron Rodgers to go on a tear and will the Packers to the Vince Lombardi trophy, then force the Packers' front office to figure out a dilemma: How will they keep the team together when they are projected to be $39M over the cap next year with just 37 players under contract?

In other words, if the Packers win the Super Bowl, expect all the talk about "Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love" to become hotter than it ever was this past offseason.