The NFL’s centennial celebrations get underway Thursday night with one of the league’s most storied rivalries as the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers.
The NFC North clash kicks off a 2019 season that, upon first glance, looks wide open in both conferences. And that makes this year’s predictions a lot harder than most.
But we’re going to give it our best.
Here are our NFL panel’s picks for who will win MVP, make the playoffs, and etch their names on the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Craig Battle, Editor
MVP: Carson Wentz, Eagles
AFC playoff teams: 1) Chiefs, 2) Patriots, 3) Texans, 4) Ravens, 5) Browns, 6) Chargers
NFC playoff teams: 1) Bears, 2) Eagles, 3) Rams, 4) Saints, 5) Cowboys, 6) Vikings
AFC champion: Patriots
NFC champion: Bears
Super Bowl champion: Bears
Storyline to watch: The end of the Patriots. HAHAHA. No. That’s never going to happen. Football will someday be played by androids, and still people will be like “New England is only 2-2; is this the end of BOTichick and Touchdown Tom 2000?” That column comes out every year at one point or another, and every year the Pats steamroll to the AFC East title and at least the conference championship game. This season will be no different. The storyline to watch is whether the Patriots — on the most dominant Big Four American Sports run any of us will ever see — will win the Super Bowl. Again.
Donnovan Bennett, Staff Writer
MVP: Deshaun Watson, Texans
AFC playoff teams: 1) Chiefs, 2) Patriots, 3) Browns, 4) Texans, 5) Jaguars, 6) Steelers
NFC playoff teams: 1) Saints, 2) Rams, 3) Cowboys, 4) Bears, 5) Vikings, 6) Packers
AFC champion: Chiefs
NFC champion: Saints
Super Bowl champion: Saints
Storyline to watch: The referendum on the running back position. Will Melvin Gordon make it two consecutive years that a starting running back sits out an entire season? Will Ezekiel Elliott becoming the highest-paid running back encourage others at the position to hold out with multiple years on their deal? Will the Rams be punished for paying Todd Gurley earlier than they had to? Will Le’Veon Bell embolden other running backs to preserve their bodies if he plays well after a year off? Will Alvin Kamara demand to be paid like a slot receiver and not like a running back? And what is Saquon Barkley thinking as he watches all of this play out? And will there continue to be zero correlation to having the league’s leading rusher and winning the Super Bowl? The NFL’s talented rushers and how they impact their teams is worth watching.
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Mike Johnston, Staff Writer
MVP: Lamar Jackson, Ravens
AFC playoff teams: 1) Patriots, 2) Ravens 3) Chiefs, 4) Titans, 5) Steelers, 6) Jaguars
NFC playoff teams: 1) Bears, 2) Rams, 3) Cowboys, 4) Saints, 5) Falcons, 6) Eagles
AFC champion: Ravens
NFC champion: Cowboys
Super Bowl champion: Ravens
Storyline to watch: Despite the NFL steadily becoming a pass-first league, it’s the teams able to grind it out in the trenches and run the ball with consistency that end up having the most success … hence the long-shot MVP and Super Bowl picks above.
Geoff Lowe, Editor
MVP: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
AFC playoff teams: 1) Chiefs, 2) Texans, 3) Patriots, 4) Steelers, 5) Browns, 6) Ravens
NFC playoff teams: 1) Rams, 2) Eagles, 3) Saints, 4) Bears, 5) Cowboys, 6) Seahawks
AFC champion: Chiefs
NFC champion: Rams
Super Bowl champion: Chiefs
Storyline to watch: The impact of early retirements. The defending Super Bowl champions start the 2019 season without their second-most important player after Rob Gronkowski he called it a career. An off-season Super Bowl contender in Indianapolis is now preparing for life without its franchise quarterback after Andrew Luck’s shocking retirement. How will these massive losses impact two of the AFC’s pre-season favourites? Talk of a Gronk return is already picking up steam, and many wouldn’t be surprised by a comeback should the Patriots struggle without their talismanic tight end. Meanwhile, can Colts head coach Frank Reich – who helped coach Nick Foles to a Super Bowl MVP with the Eagles – inspire another backup in Jacoby Brissett to lead a talented team in Indy back to the post-season?
Regardless of what happens in New England and Indianapolis, these two retirements will shape life in the AFC this season and throughout the playoffs in the new year.
Emily Sadler, Staff Writer
MVP: Baker Mayfield, Browns
AFC playoff teams: 1) Patriots, 2) Chiefs, 3) Browns, 4) Titans, 5) Chargers, 6) Ravens
NFC playoff teams: 1) Rams, 2) Eagles, 3) Bears, 4) Saints, 5) Vikings, 6) Cowboys
AFC champion: Patriots
NFC champion: Saints
Super Bowl champion: Saints
Storyline to watch: Familiar faces in new places. While not as dramatic as the NBA’s summer, the NFL’s off-season saw some pretty notable names join new clubs in free agency and on the trade market. Now we get to (finally) find out if a summer’s worth of gambles will pay off for all parties.
Will Le’Veon Bell pick up where he left off after a year out of the game? Is Odell Beckham Jr. the final piece to the Browns’ dynamic offence? How many Derek Carr-thrown touchdown passes can Antonio Brown haul in for the Raiders? Can Earl Thomas bring the Seattle swagger to a hard-hitting defence in Baltimore? We’re about to find out.
