Football is back! The 7 month break between last year’s Superbowl and the opening game of the new NFL season is finally over. With so many legitimate Superbowl contenders this year, it should be a very competitive and exciting season. Below are my predictions of how the teams will finish in the regular season and the team that will win the Superbowl.

AFC

East

1) New England Patriots

2) New York Jets

3) Buffalo Bills

4) Miami Dolphins

Tom Brady is out for the first four games of the season, but Jimmy Garoppolo should be no worst than 2-2 in his absence. Brady will turn into “Psycho Tom” for the remaining 12 games and lead the Patriots to another AFC East title. Some things never change.

North

1) Pittsburgh Steelers

2) Cincinnati Bengals

3) Baltimore Ravens

4) Cleveland Browns

I think the Steelers would have been locks to be Superbowl favourites had Martavis Bryant not gotten suspended for the season. I believe they still have enough offensive firepower to be very dominant and if there defense can bend and not break, they should be the class of their division and the AFC.

South

1) Indianapolis Colts

2) Houston Texans

3) Jacksonville Jaguars

4) Tennessee Titans

The division has gotten a lot better as a whole, but with Andrew Luck coming back presumably 100% healthy, I believe the Colts will return to the top spot.

West

1) Kansas City Chiefs

2) Oakland Raiders

3) Denver Broncos

4) San Diego Chargers

The defending Superbowl champions still have arguably the league’s best defense, but I just can’t imagine Trevor Siemian leading them very far. This is the perfect opportunity for the Chiefs to finally break through as division champions and make a deep run in the playoffs.

NFC

East

1) New York Giants

2) Washington Redskins

3) Dallas Cowboys

4) Philadelphia Eagles

The most wide open division in football. It would not surprise me if any of the four teams won the division. I think the Giants are poised to have a season similar to the ones where the won the Superbowl. They’ll barely win the division to get into the playoffs and then start upsetting some teams.

North

1) Green Bay Packers

2) Minnesota Vikings

3) Chicago Bears

4) Detroit Lions

Jordy Nelson is back for the Packers and no one is happier than Aaron Rodgers who will bounce back nicely from his “down year” and put up MVP type numbers again. The Vikings could have made things interesting had Teddy Bridgewater not torn his ACL.

South

1) Carolina Panthers

2) New Orleans Saints

3) Atlanta Falcons

4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

While I don’t expect the Panthers to go 15-1 again, they should definitely still win this division with ease. I don’t see any of the other three teams improving enough to provide a real threat.

West

1) Seattle Seahawks

2) Arizona Cardinals

3) Los Angeles Rams

4) San Francisco 49ers

The Cardinals and the Seahawks have two of the deepest and most talented rosters in the entire NFL. The battle for the division crown could come down to the final game of the regular season. I think the Seahawks will just edge out the Cardinals because of the continuing ascension of Russell Wilson.

Superbowl Prediction: Seattle Seahawks over the Pittsburgh Steelers

I think this game will be very similar to the Superbowl from two seasons ago between the Seahawks and Patriots. However, this time the Seahawks will get a pivotal stop late in the game to set up Russell Wilson for a Superbowl winning drive and become Superbowl MVP.