FTI Sports prophecy: 2017 NFL Season

Photo Credit: Chris Asbrock/FTI Sports

by Chris Asbrock

The NFL season kicked off Thursday when the Kansas City Chiefs pulled off a big win, on the road, against the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Once again, college football has helped fans get through the preseason. As with every season in the NFL, there will be intriguing story lines throughout the season. If you are a fan of any team, it is fun to watch the season play itself out. Let’s take a look at the divisions and see how things are projected to look by the time the season ends.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

AFC North:

Steelers (13-3)
Bengals (9-7)
Ravens (7-9)
Browns (6-10)

The Steelers are the best team in the AFC North but the toughness and physicality takes its toll. The Ravens and the Bengals will be the biggest question marks in the division, as both teams could go 4-12 or 12-4. The Bengals offensive line is what could be the biggest problem the Bengals team will have to deal with. Cleveland will be one team that could determine how the division plays out. The Browns have a good amount of talent but will once again struggle with quarterback play.

AFC East:

Patriots (14-2)
Dolphins (8-8)
Bills (6-10)
Jets (4-12)

The defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots were stunningly knocked off to start the season at home by the Kansas City Chiefs. Even with the loss to start the season, Tom Brady and the Patriots should have no competition from the rest of the division. With the injury to Ryan Tannehill, the Dolphins looked to Jay Cutler to lead them for the 2017 season. The Dolphins should have a firm grip on second in the division with the Bills and Jets set to struggle.

AFC West:

Raiders (11-5)
Chiefs (10-6)
Broncos (9-7)
Chargers (5-11)

The AFC West is one division that could be very interesting this season. The Oakland Raiders are a team that will be interesting to watch and see if they can continue their upward trajectory. The Broncos and Chiefs are an interesting dynamic in this division because both could certainly rise up and snag the division away from the Raiders. Out of the two teams, Kansas City looks to be more primed to do that more than Denver. Quarterback play is crucial in the NFL and this division has three pretty good quarterbacks. Trevor Siemian will need to have a solid year for the Broncos to make a serious impact on the rest of the AFC. One eye opening move that was made was the fact the Broncos bringing back Brock Osweiler into the fold. The move to Los Angeles will be interesting for the Chargers and whether or not they can adjust to the new location.

AFC South:

Titans (10-6)
Texans (7-9)
Jaguars (7-9)
Colts (6-10)

Another season in a division that is one of the weakest in the NFL. For the last few years it has been the Houston Texans and everyone else. Even with Andrew Luck in the division, the Colts have been a non-factor. Times are certainly changing and the power struggle is shifting to Nashville. The Tennessee Titans are the team to beat in the South. Marcus Mariota has been given some weapons to use and the Titans will certainly look for the third year quarterback to lead this team to the playoffs. Jacksonville will be much better this season but need a lot of help from Blake Bortles. Bortles must step up and play like the player the Jaguars thought they were drafting. The team has some talent on both sides of the ball and could certainly sneak into the playoffs if they can feed off the bottom teams in the division. Unfortunately for their fan bases, the Texans and Colts will be non-factors this year.

Wild Cards: Chiefs and Broncos

The Raiders, Patriots and the Steelers are the class of the AFC this season. The Raiders and Steelers have the unfortunate reality of playing in tough divisions. New England faces every teams best each week so it can make for a very tough regular season. This should look to be a three horse race for who will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this season. While their could be some upsets throughout the playoffs, look for usual suspects to be standing at the end.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

NFC North:

Packers (12-4)
Lions (10-6)
Vikings (8-8)
Bears (6-10)

This will be a two horse race between the Packers and the Lions, with the Vikings coming up short in third. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers so they are an almost automatic lock to win the division. The Lions are going to be there once again as they have Matthew Stafford flinging to ball to some talented receivers. Stafford signed a huge extension before the start of the season so he is stamped in as the guy to lead the Lions. The Vikings should be solid but I don’t see them being able crack into the playoffs. The Chicago Bears are going to once again struggle this season as they are continuing to rebuild from issues in years past.

NFC East:

Cowboys (11-5)
Giants (9-7)
Eagles (7-9)
Redskins (5-11)

This division will be battled out by the Cowboys and Giants. While the Eagles look to finish third in the division, they will have a serious chance to be a big player in this division. On the other side, the Redskins will take a step back this season and should not be a real threat to the other three teams. The loss of some major weapons will hurt Kirk Cousins and the Redskins this season. In this division, it will be tough to look past the Cowboys and their impressive duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. With Eli Manning under center, you can never count the Giants out. As with almost every season, the battle in the NFC East will be an intriguing one.

NFC West:

Seahawks (12-4)
Cardinals (9-7)
Rams (6-10)
49ers (3-13)

Again, just like last year the NFC West is a division that is a two horse race. The Cardinals and Seahawks will battle it out once again for division supremacy. The Seahawks come into this 2017 season loaded and ready to make a run at the Super Bowl again. The Cardinals should be there in the end but will not have enough to take the division away from the Seahawks. The Los Angeles Rams are a team that should be interesting to watch. Lead by Jared Goff and Todd Gurley, the Rams could very well make a big enough run to make the playoffs ahead of the Cardinals. That seems to be a tough task this season as the Seahawks will be too tough. The 49ers will make things easy for most teams in the NFC as they just are not a very good team. The battle for second in the NFC West should be fun to watch this season.

NFC South:

Falcons (13-3)
Panthers (8-8)
Buccaneers (8-8)
Saints (7-9)

As with 2016, there is no doubt this division belongs to the Falcons. Atlanta dominated last season before dropping a heartbreaker to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Once again look for Matt Ryan to step up and show why he is one of the best quarterbacks in football, leading this team back to the playoffs. The Falcons have the offensive weapons and will look to use them to run away with the South. Both the Panthers and Buccaneers have the talent to win a few games and make the playoff picture interesting but this one is certainly up to the Falcons to lose. The Saints, with Drew Brees at the helm, will always win a few games but the tide has certainly turned in favor of the Falcons.

Wild Cards: Cardinals and Lions

Coming off a tough loss in the Super Bowl, the Falcons look to return with a vengeance. The playoff picture in the NFC will be interesting because of the likes of Seattle, Green Bay, Dallas and Atlanta. With three quarterbacks having Super Bowl experience, two of which tasting glory, you can’t count anyone out. The representative out of the NFC will definitely be battle tested throughout this playoffs. The main question is, can Atlanta return to the big game to avenge their devastating loss from last year?

Wild Card Round:
AFC: Chiefs over Titans & Raiders over Broncos
NFC: Cowboys over Cardinals & Seahawks over Lions