NFL – Final Bold Predictions Of The Preseason
Now that the final preseason game has been played, we’re only a few short days from the start of the NFL’s regular season. What are our bold predictions for the 2021 season?
Miami Dolphins Make Playoffs but Lose in Wild Card
Win the improvement of the Miami Dolphins as of late, it’s not hard to believe they could sneak into the NFL Playoffs in 2021. While they have the talent to get there, this is still a young team from the head coach right on through the rest of the roster. Brian Flores has coached in the playoffs in his time with New England so he checks the experience box, but not too many of these Dolphins players have the playoff mojo. The Flores-lead Dolphins are usually mistake-free, but inexperience and pressure might change that
Tennessee Titans Also Exit Early
Many people are already picking the Tennessee Titans as the surprise for the AFC. They added another weapon on offense in Julio Jones and can add a new wrinkle to their attack. However, Tennessee has to be the team that switches into attack mode and they might not be able to. When you have the league’s best rusher it’s easy to lean on him to carry the offense. Ryan Tannehill has stepped up big since becoming a Titan but they need each unit firing at 100% at the same time. There’s limited room for mistakes and teams have figured out how to limit their attack in the playoffs.
AFC South Only Sends One Team
Last year saw the AFC South send 3 teams to the NFL Playoffs, but the rest of the AFC was on their tails. There are plenty of teams that could stun opponents this year as well as division rivals who will upset. With Joe Burrow back, the Bengals won’t be a pushover. Cleveland has looked good for the first time in who knows how long but can they sustain in long term? And which Lamar Jackson will we get? In a very tough division, wins will be hard to come by and plenty of teams will be looking to cut down the AFC South’s playoff numbers.
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The Patriots Miss 10 Wins
The Mac Jones hype train keeps on rolling. He’s got the talent and the coaching to get him to the next level. However, the AFC East will have the numbers to slow him down. Their division could be the toughest to win in 2021 and each team will be sending the house to throw the rookie off his game. The Patriots might not regress this season, but a 9 win season is more likely in the cards.
Washington Football Team Wins 10
Ryan Fitzpatrick elevates a team’s chances of winning. Unfortunately for that team, it’s never into the playoffs. With that being said, his professionalism and demeanor will be exactly the leadership Washington needs. The division is still up for grabs but ultimately Washington will end up barely missing out.
Jets Are Most Improved In Wins
It would be easy to pick the Jacksonville Jaguars as the team with the most improved win total in 2021. Having only won 1 game, there’s not much room to get worse and with Trevor Lawrence at the helm, that’s a pretty big upgrade. However, a new coach with a rookie QB and a whole lot of wholes to fill might not be a cakewalk. However, the New York Jets on the other hand have more room to grow. They won just two games last year but have hidden talent that was under-coached. They’re in a tough division so it might not be a 10-win year just yet, but they could easily get to 8 wins to improve by 6 which probably is the win ceiling for the Jaguars.
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Tampa Bay Doesn’t Repeat
Talk about their returning starters all day long, the Bucs won’t repeat as champs. That’s not to say they won’t make a strong playoff push, but while Brady has consistently won Super Bowls, it’s rarely been in repeats. He can find ways to win, but the rest of the NFL will find ways as well. There’s plenty of room for the rest of the NFC to regress as well, but look for Tampa to have an uphill battle.
Bills Lose In Super Bowl
There’s a good chance the Buffalo Bills shock the NFL and finally make it back to the Super Bowl. However, there’s also a good chance they don’t walk away champs. That’s not to say there’s a ton of NFC teams that will challenge Buffalo this year, but with the Super Bowl being in California this year, the challenge of playing across the entire country will test their endurance. Playing in cold weather late in the year means injuries are destined to happen. Add fatigue and injuries together and Buffalo could face more challenges than they can handle.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
