How will the 2021 NFL season shake out?

Heading into the new NFL season, many are asking and speculating who will end up winning the championship in this next season.  They’re asking who will end up winning the Super Bowl, as everyone asks this in ever offseason, but additionally, some are asking how the playoff picture will look, who will represent in the championship games and who will be the fringe playoff teams, the ones who barely make or miss the postseason.  So, today we’ll be doing just that; deciding which teams we would expect to see in the postseason picture come January 2022, and who take home the championship.

To begin, we’ll go through six teams that we think will fight for the last playoff spot in their respective conferences, and why.  In the AFC we think the Chargers, Ravens, and Jaguars.  And conversely, the NFC team will be the Cardinals, Saints, and Vikings.  First, we’ll explain the AFC.  For our top AFC team, we chose the Chargers.  Justin Herbert came in and took the starting quarterback job early in 2020 and flourished with it.  Now, in 2021 he has a new head coach, one who will likely build around him and help compliment his skillset, leading the Chargers to a playoff berth.  We chose the Ravens as our second choice.  In 2020 the Ravens made the playoffs and even won a game, narrowly defeating the Titans in the first round.  Now, the team has more pass catchers for Lamar, but at the same time, there are more competitors in the AFC, pushing the flock down the list.  And lastly, we chose the Jaguars.  This decision is more for shock than anything, but we do believe the team will be good in 2021.  A new head coach, a new quarterback and almost an entirely new team will lead the Jags to a few divisional wins and a chance to make a playoff push, just a chance.  Now for the NFC.  The Arizona Cardinals are an easy pick here.  The Cardinals are in likely the hardest division in all of football, possibly ever and they’ve built their team as such.  With the additions the Cardinals have as well as the ascending talent they have, if the team isn’t in the playoffs or at least close, I would expect head coach Kliff Kingsbury to be jobless come next February.  Next, we chose the Saints, and it comes down to one thing, Drew Brees.  Brees retired this past offseason, leaving the team with Jamies Winston and Taysom Hill.  Both guys are talented yet flawed and their mistakes will push the Saints into the wildcard category.  And lastly, we chose the Vikings.  Another ascending team has claimed this spot. Over the offseason the Vikes have addressed almost all the positions that they struggled with in 2020, leading the team to a better record in 2021.

Now for the conference champions.  Last season we had the Bills and chiefs in the AFC championship game and the Packers and Buccaneers in the NFC championship game.  We predict that the AFC will have the same two teams appear in the championship, as both have gotten much better this offseason, addressing their needs, and progressing extensively, so both will make it back.  However, the outcome will not be the same; Josh Allen will outduel Mahomes, and the Bills will make it back to the Super Bowl after a long hiatus, mainly due to the superb play calling and talent of Josh Allen.  For the NFC, we predict neither team will return to the game.  The two teams representing the NFC will be the Rams and the Cowboys.  We hate saying either of these teams will make it to the championship game, but we’ve got to recognize how good both teams look.  The Rams now have a quarterback they can trust and know will play his heart out on the field.  And for Dallas, if they can keep their core healthy, they will see success in the NFC East.  The two will battle it out in a high scoring matchup but we think the Rams will come out on top for their second Super Bowl appearance in four years, while the Cowboys fall from poor coaching.

So, we’ve got our two teams, the Bills, and the Rams, who will win it all.  To keep it short and sweet, we think the Bills will take the Lombardi home to Buffalo.  The city will erupt when the team wins it all.  The Rams fell short only because of the rocket arm and superb play of Josh Allen, as he proves himself to be one of the best quarterbacks of this era, and now that he’s got a Super Bowl win, he’s paving his way to be the best Bills quarterback ever.