With NFL training camp upon us, it’s a good time for football fans and analysts to start locking in their NFL predictions for the new year.
NFL predictions are always enjoyable because they cause good debates, and it’s fun to reflect on such projections after the season ends. For example, who had the Houston Texans winning the AFC South over the Jacksonville Jaguars a year ago?
Nate Davis of USA Today locked in his annual NFL season predictions, featuring every team’s record, the entire playoff field and the Super Bowl victor. Davis has Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets defeating his old team, the Green Bay Packers, in Super Bowl 59:
With the #NFL preseason just around the corner, and all 32 rosters about as optimized as they’re going to be, it’s time to delve into our annual exercise of projecting each club’s record. ⤵
🔗: https://t.co/MmzUOW8UQU pic.twitter.com/tKh6ZSJ9ia
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) July 22, 2024
Davis’ predictions, as always, led to some strong disagreements from fans on social media:
Click baits “experts” love to troll😂! Every year.
— JD🇩🇴 (@dominican_554) July 22, 2024
@zander4161 jets vs Packers super bowl?!?
— Mark Caswell, Jr. (@MarkCaswellJr) July 22, 2024
he’s picking the jets to make the super bowl again lol pic.twitter.com/4CqIgCirNw
— CJ (@cj_a_yy) July 22, 2024
Why are people so high on the Packers?? I really don’t get it.
— NanaYaijirushi (@NanaYajirushi) July 22, 2024
This is the worst thing I have ever seen
— Lebronin1 (@Lebronin1) July 22, 2024
Jets💀💀💀
— NKY Bracket Guy (@BracketNky) July 22, 2024
This might be one of the worst predictions we’ve seen so far
— The Boys Do Sports – Podcast (@TheBoysDoSports) July 22, 2024
Davis’ biggest surprise might be the AFC South winner. He has the Indianapolis Colts taking the division with a record of 11-6, with the defending champion Texans finishing 9-8 despite the offseason additions of Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon and Danielle Hunter.
Interestingly, he’s also picking the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys to finish below .500 even though they went 11-6 and 12-5 last season, respectively. The Cowboys are especially a bold pick since they’ve gone 12-5 in the last three years.
The 2024 NFL season will kick off on Sept. 5 at Arrowhead Stadium, when the Baltimore Ravens visit the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
As Always, This NFL Season Will Be Full Of Surprises
Multiple teams exceed or fall short of expectations in any NFL season. No team was a bigger surprise a year ago than the Texans, though they wouldn’t have won the AFC South if the Jaguars weren’t a considerable disappointment.
Also, who saw the Eagles collapsing late in the year after a 10-1 start, including a road win over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs? Who envisioned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the NFC South behind a career year from Baker Mayfield?
It’s easy to ridicule any pre-season NFL projections now, but don’t forget that everyone will get some seemingly “obvious” predictions wrong.
