By Lourence Alturino
The NFL's biggest season to date is coming. An 18 week schedule ready to be played in the 2021-22 season. The NFC will be a very tough conference this year. Which teams make the playoffs? Which teams fall just short? Which players play the best? Let's go over division by division and predict the final records for each NFC team.
* = Playoff Clinch
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: 9-8*
Washington Football Team: 9-8
Philadelphia Eagles: 6-11
New York Giants: 5-12
Cowboys - Another team, another stacked offense. Dak Prescott's injury last year showed how valuable he is to Dallas. The entire team suffered with his absence. If Dak can stay healthy, this team wins. Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup as the pass catchers, Prescott should be able to throw a whole bunch of touchdowns. Dallas' success also heavily relies on Ezekiel Elliott. Zeke struggled a lot last year with the unhealthiness of his offensive line. With a fully healthy line, Elliott could return back to prime form. If newly signed defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn can get this defense back into shape, Dallas will win plenty of games. Adding rookie Micah Parsons to Demarcus Lawrence, Leighton Vander Esch, and Trevon Diggs makes a promising defense.
Washington - "Defense wins championships." And while this team won't be winning a championship anytime soon, their top-tier defense will lead them to succession. Chase Young proved he has all the potential to be a premier EDGE rusher and I expect another big season out of him. Washington also added veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, which isn't a big upgrade, but still a good pickup. Throwing to Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Logan Thomas will make for some more "Fitzmagic". I also assume Antonio Gibson and Logan Thomas will have huge breakout seasons.
Eagles - Is Jalen Hurts the franchise guy? I believe so, but Philadelphia seems to differ. The Eagles management has treated Hurts very badly so far. Adding in quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Gardner Minshew is one of those occasions. They are clearly not sold on Hurts just yet, but he has this season to change their minds. Devonta Smith could very well be this year's offensive rookie of the year and will have a great first season in the NFL. Philly's defense is not something that I am excited for, but it is respectable on paper.
Giants - Saquon Barkley being 100% is what New York desperately needs. After an ACL injury in 2020, many have wondered if Barkley will be the same. His health affects the entire team's chance at winning. Daniel Jones' play is also a key factor. I am not a believer of Jones, so I don't expect much from him this season. Though, with the acquisition of Kenny Golladay, Danny could finally throw some dimes. The Giants' defense shouldn't be too bad with Leonard Williams, James Bradberry, and Blake Martinez, but it won't be anything special either.
NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4*
New Orleans Saints: 7-10
Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
Carolina Panthers: 5-12
Buccaneers - The reigning Super Bowl champions look to repeat this season. And the fact that they realistically could is scary. Tampa kept every single one of their starters that played in last year's Super Bowl and that's a recipe for success. The greatest QB of all time, Tom Brady, has not missed a beat and is as good as previous seasons. Once again, throwing to Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, and Rob Gronkowski makes an outstanding offense. On the defensive side of the ball, their pass rush is unmatched. The Buccaneers have arguably the best defense in football with their only real weakness being their secondary.
Saints - This is an interesting team to predict what will happen for them. Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees retired after last season and now it is up to former #1 overall pick, Jameis Winston to pick up the slack. It is not an easy job whatsoever to fill the shoes of one of the greatest to ever play under center. Though, if there is any coach to help a QB reach his potential, it is Sean Payton. I don't see Winston having an unbelievable season, but a respectable one that will contribute to some wins. Michael Thomas' absence is huge for New Orleans, but that only means more targets for Alvin Kamara. Without Thomas and now Latavius Murray, Kamara is the #1 target and he's going to be amazing this season. The Saints defense doesn't look all too bad as well. Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, Trey Hendrickson, and Marshon Lattimore should be enough for them to have a solid defense.
Falcons - What is life like without Julio Jones? Atlanta has to answer that tough question, but they do have some answers. Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts. Ridley is one of the league's best receivers and pairing him with the best tight end prospect ever in Pitts, only means Matt Ryan is going to have a fun year throwing the ball. That is though if the Falcons' offensive line could hold up. If so, Atlanta's offense is set for a while. Defense has always been a problem for Atlanta, but AJ Terrell's potential breakout season is something to watch out for.
Panthers - I am not a believer in Sam Darnold. I have no doubt Darnold will play better with a more improved supporting cast, but he is not the solution for Carolina. If Christian McCaffery can stay healthy, then that could help with some wins because he is still the best running back in the league. The Panthers do have Brian Burns off the edge and Jaycee Horn in the secondary, but I'm sure if that is enough to stop offenses.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers: 12-5*
Minnesota Vikings: 9-8
Chicago Bears: 6-11
Detroit Lions: 3-14
Packers - This is Aaron Rodgers' "last dance" with the Packers. After an insane amount of turmoil and chaos this past offseason, Rodgers is very unhappy in Green Bay, but he is having one last hurrah in Lambeau. Luckily, he still has the best receiver in football in Davante Adams catching most of his passes and Aaron Jones running the ball. Green Bay's defense looks solid being led by Jaire Alexander and Za'Darius Smith. The Packers are stacked and look to be one more Super Bowl run.
Vikings - Minnesota has a real good offense. Kirk Cousins throwing, Dalvin Cook running, and Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen catching. Stacked offense, except their offensive line. Their protection looks a bit rough this year, so we'll see how Cousins and Cook perform with constant pressure. The Vikings' defense does look very good after plenty of additions this offseason. Harrison Smith, Danielle Hunter, and Anthony Barr leading the charge will be enough for Minnesota to have a good defense. The only reason why they don't make the playoffs is because of the NFC West.
Bears - Justin Fields is definitely Chicago's future. When he finally gets the starting job, this team will start winning some games. Allen Robinson should also have a great season with Fields under center. Still, Matt Nagy is just not a good coach in my opinion. Nagy is definitely on the hot seat this season and if Chicago doesn't make a serious push for the playoffs, he's out. The Bears' identity for so long was a defensive heavy team. They still have Khalil Mack, one of the best EDGE rushers, so some of that identity will remain intact.
Lions - This team is a mess and will not be very good. Detroit traded long-time QB, Matthew Stafford, and got Jared Goff in return from the Rams. Goff isn't really a bad QB per say, but not the solution for Detroit. Their first round draft pick, Penei Sewell, had plenty of hype surrounding his name, but he underperformed heavily in the preseason. Keep in mind, that was just preseason, so hopefully he progresses throughout the regular season. Expect TJ Hockenson and D'Andre Swift to break out in that offense as well as the top targets. That defense does not look good either. Well at least Detroit will be getting a high draft pick next year.
NFC West
San Francisco 49ers: 12-5*
Los Angeles Rams: 12-5*
Seattle Seahawks: 11-6*
Arizona Cardinals: 10-7*
Yes all of the NFC West makes the playoffs.
49ers - The potential this team has is through the roof. A super young team with some of the best players in the entire league. Having Fred Warner, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, and Kyle Juszczyk on your team is a massive advantage as those are some of the league's premier players at any position. The big question is who will be the starting quarterback at the end of the season? Jimmy Garapollo is the official starter as of right now, but Trey Lance is most definitely taking the job later down in the season. Lance's rushing ability opens up tons of possibilities for the already amazing San Francisco run game. Lance's deep ball allows Aiyuk and Sherfield to use their deep threat ability to perfect use. The 49ers defense being led by Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and Jason Verrett is just so good. Kyle Shanahan as the head coach is just the cherry on top.
Rams - Adding Matthew Stafford was one hell of a move for Los Angeles. Stafford's name is usually brought up for top 10 QB discussions and placing him in Sean McVay's offense is going to create magic. Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp will have big seasons with Stafford throwing the rock around. And of course the Rams defense will be incredible with the two best defensive players in the NFL, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey.
Seahawks - Russell Wilson will always find a way to make the Seahawks a good team. That's how good of a QB he is. Wilson throwing to DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett creates an unstoppable passing strike. The problem is Seattle's offensive line. Their O-line was atrocious last year and made Russ' job so much harder than it should've been. If the pass protection can't step up, Russ won't play as well as he could. Seattle's defense played very well in the second half of last season and with Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams, that won't change much.
Cardinals - Kyler Murray could put on a MVP level season. The Murray-Deandre Hopkins connection proved to be very difficult to defend. Kyler was having a great year until he suffered a shoulder injury. If he can stay healthy, Murray is bound for one hell of a season. The defense has always been somewhat of a problem for Arizona, but adding in veteran JJ Watt is crucial. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is absolutely on the hot seat and if they don't make the playoffs, Kliff is out. Luckily, I predict he keeps his job for at least one more year.
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