NFL Preview 2021

 Last night the 2021 NFL season kicked off. The Cowboys took on the defending champion Bucs. The game was actually very good. It was a shootout which i did not expect. Both Brady and Dak threw for close to 400 yards each and both threw 3 TDs with Brady getting 4 on the night. I must say i did not think the cowboys were going to make that a game but i was shockingly surprised with how well Prescott played. Brady who entered his 22nd NFL season last night looked really bad on the first drive of 3 and out. After that it was if time never moved for him. On the Bucs second drive of the night he took them about 94 yards and boom into the end zone. He spread the ball around to everyone, Gronk got a TD pass, His 100th catch from TB12. Antonio Brown had a TD score as well. Overall Last night gave me zero reason to not think that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wont be the NFC representative in the super bowl this year. Which brings me to the overall point of this post. My 2021 NFL Preview and predictions. Ill go division by division instead of team by team to make the reading a little easier. So without further ado here we go.

AFC EAST

Patriots, Dolphins, Jets, Bills 

For 20 years the Pats dominated this division from start to finish. Last year with out TB12 and with Cam Newton at the helm the pats missed the playoffs. This year they have turned to rookie Mac Jones. I think their time as a dominant team in the division is winding down. However this year could see them as the AFC east champs. As normal the Jets are trash. They let Sam Darnold  go Carolina and have already named Zach Wilson the week 1 starter. Without a decent offense and with no defense to speak of id look to see the jets maybe win 4 games and finish last in the division. The Bills and Dolphins will be the 2 teams that are going to give the pats a run for their money this year. Defending AFC champion Bills are back and ready for another successful season behind QB Josh Allen. Add a healthy Stefon Diggs to his arsenal of weapons and i can see the bills winning 11-12 games and being top in the division for most of the year. Those 2 games against New England might actually have some meaning to it. The Dolphins have decided to go all in on second year QB Tua Tagovailoa. They really are putting all their eggs in his basket too as they let Ryan Fitzpatrick walk away to the Washington Football Team. I don't see the Dolphins winning much more then 6 or 7 games but as i mentioned they could be a thorn in the side of the Bills and Pats. I would say that 2-4 of those wins will come against the Pats and Bills making it much harder to pick whos going to take the division crown.

Prediction- Pats win division

AFC NORTH

Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

This In my opinion will be the most fun division to watch. The Steelers just re signed defensive star TJ Watt and Big Ben came into camp looking much slimmer and much more agile. Keep in mind they did go 11-0 to start the year last season before epically falling off a cliff. Baltimore seems like the favorite to win this division and with the continued success of Lamar Jackson they should have no problem keeping up with Pittsburgh early on. The Browns are the dark horse of this division. 3 years ago the city of Cleveland was just hoping for the team to win a game. My how far they have come. Baker Mayfield who i think most thought was just going to be another cog in the revolving QB door in Cleveland has emerged as one of the premier QB in the league and he will lead the browns to great things but unfortunately for him those great things may be capped off at winning records rather then playoff appearances. That leaves the cross state Bengals left on this list. Coming off an Torn ACL 2nd year QB Joe Burrow is looking to bounce back and led the Bengals back to the 8-8 record they have come to know and love. They improved the O-line a little bit to hopefully keep Burrow off his back as much this year but they forgot to go get him decent targets or even a fraction of a defense. I see them winning about 5 games all year. 

Prediction-Steelers win division

AFC SOUTH

Texans, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

The AFC South is in my opinion the second worst division in the NFL. There is just nothing of value here. The Titans ran away with the division last year behind a career resurgence from Ryan Tannehill. Add to that the freakish strength of Derek Henry and i see no reason why the Titans don't run away early with this one. The Colts are still trying to find a new identity after Andrew Luck retired. They went out this off season and signed Carson Wentz. Knowing his history with injuries i don't see this working as a long term option for them.  Jacksonville is on my crap list simply for bringing in and then cutting Tim Tebow. I'm still bitter. But they have a great future with Trevor Lawrence having let Gardner Minshew walk away this off season. There will be some learning curves and I'm sure some bumps in the road but i think in 2 years the Jags will be competing for the division. Houston is almost not worth mentioning because they are such a train wreck. JJ Watt did all he could on that defense and it still wasn't enough so he had no choice but to leave. Tyrod Taylor was named the starter which seems like a step in the right direction but without Deandre Hopkins or really anyone to throw to this may just be a season long work out for him to show the other NFL teams he can still play.

Prediction-Tennessee wins division 

AFC WEST

Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers

Rounding out the AFC i think i may have misspoke when i said earlier that the AFC south is the second worst division. This one would give it a run for its money. The Broncos have the feel good story with Teddy Bridgewater assuming duties under center this year. Jon Gruden and the raiders get a new stadium this year and a name change as they have moved the Las Vegas And the chargers are still playing in a converted soccer stadium. The chiefs are the best team in the entire AFC and are going to have this division wrapped up by Thanksgiving. 

Prediction- Kansas City and its not even close. 

NFC EAST

Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Redskins

This is hands down the worst division in all of pro football. Which is sad because i think the Cowboys have at least on paper one of the best teams in football. How they cant string it together is just beyond me. The opening night loss to the Bucs may be an L but damn they took Tampa to the brink. One or two calls the other way and Brady has his first ever loss to Dallas. The Giants only news worthy story of this season is going to be when they retire Strahan's number later in the season. Philadelphia is an interesting story. They have 2 solid Quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts who no doubt will be the starter but he is being backed up by Gardner Minshew. Jalen has a history of injuries so it wouldn't surprise me if  Minshew sees a bit more time then originally planned. Washington Football Team signed journeyman and resident beard god of the NFL Ryan Fitzpatrick in the off season. This makes the 276th NFL team he has played for. Fitzmagic is always good for a fast start and maybe a 4-4 split before the season goes off the rails. Id say look to see something similar. 

Prediction- Cowboys win division

NFC NORTH

Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

For some reason this one has been oddly competitive over the years in terms of second place. The packers are once again set up to win the division seeing as that Aaron Rogers is back and hes got the team to sign some of his favorite people to shut him up. They wont compete for the super bowl by a long shot but they will win the division. Chicago has a very good QB battle on their hands. Do they go with and stick with Andy Dalton? Or do they go to Justin Fields? Fans in Chi-Town seems to have made it clear that they want the rookie. That is gonna be fun to watch. The Lions are...well the Lions. They will play on thanksgiving but that will be the highlight of their season. 

Prediction-Packers win division

NFC SOUTH

Falcons, Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers

Tampa Bay returned all 22 starters from the Super Bowl. They went out on opening night and somehow looked even better then last year. With a full year for Antonio Brown and if Gronk stays healthy i would be shocked if they don't repeat as Super Bowl Champs. Atlanta is once again going to be the train wreck of this division. I said it last year and ill say it again this year. Its time to move on from Matt Ryan. Carolina went out and got a shiny new QB in Sam Darnold. Just kidding he came from the Jets and hes going to be horrible. McCaffrey needs to jump ship fast before he wastes all his talent on a team going no where fast. New Orleans will have to start a season for the first time in almost 20 years without Drew Brees under center. Last year the thinking was that Taysom Hill would fill that role while they looked for someone better. Then they signed Jameis Winston. Once the Bucs got Brady there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that Winston would ever touch the field for Tampa again. He signed on with New Orleans and shocked many by his quick learning of the playbook. He fought and won the starting role this year. He could lead them to a wild card spot but probably no further.

Prediction-Tampa Bay wins it all! 

NFC WEST

Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Rams

Finishing up my 2021 NFL Preview we end with the NFC west. I remember years ago the Seahawks one this division with an 8-8 record. Long gone are those days. Arizona signed JJ Watt and Deandre Hopkins in the off season to give Kyler Murray help on both sides of the ball. Adding Watt to Chandler Jones sounds like a great idea but remember, Houston's defense at one point had JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Vince Wilfork, they still couldn't win. Perhaps this will be different but i think you need more then just really good edge rushers to have a successful season. San Francisco spent most of the off season quashing rumors that it was sending Jimmy G back to New England. They did not do much in terms of upgrading the team and will most likely miss the playoffs this season. Seattle will always be a tough team to determine their season because they are very streaky. If Wilson can string together a few good games in a row they can be a very dangerous team. But that hasn't happened in a while. They will get their home wins as usual because i do believe they have the hardest stadium to play in even when the team isn't doing good. Finally the Rams are the Rams. They caught a little fire the year they made the super bowl but have since fizzled out and will stay that way for a while. Jalen Ramsey thinks hes the best corner in the game but when your team is giving up 25-30-40 points each week it doesn't matter how good you think you are. 

Prediction-Arizona wins division

Hopefully you have stuck with me through this prediction blog. I'm planning on doing one for each sport as they start so look forward to those. If you disagree with any of my predictions or think i hit the nail on the head leave a comment on the blogs Facebook page and let me know. 

As always i appreciate the support. Thanks