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Predictions For NFL Teams This Season

Published on September 5 2017 6:19 am
Last Updated on September 5 2017 6:20 am

By ESPN

A 2,000-yard season for Julio Jones? An MVP award for David Johnson (or Russell Wilson)? A loss in Week 2 (!) for the Patriots?

Our NFL Nation reporters make bold predictions for the teams they cover.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

LeSean McCoy will exceed his career high of 1,607 rushing yards in 2013 with the Eagles.

Who else will provide offense for the Bills? With Sammy Watkins and former No. 2 running back Mike Gillislee gone, McCoy will be the focal point both of the Bills' backfield and their offense as a whole. -- Mike Rodak

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins won't get their $10 million worth out of Jay Cutler.

He has a below-.500 record as a starter, including a 6-9 record in Adam Gase's offense with the Bears in 2015. Gase will prevent this from being a total disaster, but Miami will not make the playoffs. -- James Walker

New England Patriots

Talk of a potential undefeated season will end early.

The Patriots will lose one of their early-season games, potentially as soon as Week 2 at New Orleans. Issues at defensive end and depth at left tackle will show up early before the team finds its groove. -- Mike Reiss

New York Jets

The Jets will challenge the franchise record for fewest points scored in a season.

The 16-game mark is 220 points (13.8 per game) in 1992, when they were doomed by bad quarterback play. Their current quarterback situation (Josh McCown and Christian Hackenberg) isn't much better, and the receiving corps is comprised of Jermaine Kearse, former late-round draft picks and college free agents. The Jets scored only 275 points last year, so, yes, 220 is frighteningly within reach. -- Rich Cimini

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens will finish with the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

Baltimore put most of its offseason resources into a defense that was the best in the NFL for the first 13 weeks of 2016. The Ravens spent $56.75 million in guaranteed money on defense, bringing in Tony Jefferson. Baltimore used its first four draft picks on defensive players, including Marlon Humphrey with the No. 16 overall selection. Defense has always been the Ravens' calling card, and this one is fast, aggressive and confident. Jefferson said this group has the potential to be "legendary." -- Jamison Hensley

Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Mixon will end the season as the Bengals' starting running back.

The Bengals like to lean on their veterans, so Jeremy Hill likely will be the go-to guy at first. But Mixon's talent, which has been evident in the preseason, eventually will win out. -- Katherine Terrell

Cleveland Browns

This will be the fifth consecutive season the Browns have three different starters at the most important position.

Quarterbacks DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan should all start games. -- Pat McManamon

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers' defense will vault into the top five for the first time since 2012, when it ranked No. 1 overall in yards allowed.

Since then, the Steelers haven't ranked higher than 12th. But the team has poured high draft picks into this side of the ball and the return on investment should pay out now. -- Jeremy Fowler

AFC South

Houston Texans

J.J. Watt will lead the NFL in sacks.

The Texans don't know what they're going to get from the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year after his recovery from a pair of back surgeries in 2016. But even in limited action during training camp, Watt has shown flashes of his old self. The Texans' defense stepped up last year in his absence, and now Watt will benefit from playing alongside Whitney Mercilus and a healthy Jadeveon Clowney, who is coming off the best season of his career. -- Sarah Barshop

Indianapolis Colts

Andrew Luck will suffer his first losing season in his six-year NFL career.

The Colts are in rebuilding mode, especially on defense, with new general manager Chris Ballard parting ways with a number of aging veterans in the offseason and using six of his eight draft picks on defensive players. -- Mike Wells

Jacksonville Jaguars

Leonard Fournette won't surpass 1,000 yards.

The rookie RB might get 250-plus carries, but the Jaguars didn't do much to address an offensive line that has not been very good in the run game over the past two seasons (22nd in rushing in 2016). As good as Fournette might be, he won't have success if the line struggles. -- Mike DiRocco

Tennessee Titans

The Titans will not only make the playoffs and win the AFC South for the first time since 2008, but they'll also win a playoff game for the first time since 2003.

A strong offensive line and powerful run game has the Titans built to win close games and ugly winter matchups in January. -- Cameron Wolfe

AFC West

Denver Broncos

Von Miller will be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

This is assuming the Broncos' run defense is more than average and that Miller will get the pass-rush opportunities he needs to finally break through. -- Jeff Legwold

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs will lose again in the divisional round at New England as they did two years ago.

Kansas City will hold the Patriots to 20 points but will continue its playoff struggles on offense. That will convince the Chiefs it's time to move on from Alex Smith and begin the Patrick Mahomes II era. -- Adam Teicher

Los Angeles Chargers

Jason Verrett finally will play to his potential, leading the league in interceptions and playing a 16-game season.

A first-round selection for the Chargers in the 2014 draft, the TCU product has missed 24 games during his three seasons. But with teammate Casey Hayward leading the NFL in interceptions last year, Verrett will follow suit in 2017 and finally put a top-notch season together. -- Eric D. Williams

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders will win the AFC West.

With Marshawn Lynch bringing a certain attitude and toughness to Oakland, Derek Carr will improve upon his 1-5 career mark against the Chiefs and lead the team to a division title ... even if the Raiders finish with a worse record than last season's 12-4. -- Paul Gutierrez

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant will lead the league in touchdown catches after going through a full offseason program.

He made it through training camp unscathed, with the coaches not working him in pads three consecutive days. The last time Bryant entered a season healthy and in peak condition was in 2014, and he led the NFL in touchdown catches with 16. -- Todd Archer

New York Giants

The Giants will finish as the league's top defense in yards and points.

It's the second year in the system for Janoris Jenkins, Damon Harrison and Olivier Vernon, Jason Pierre-Paul is another year removed from the fireworks accident, and safety Darian Thompson and B.J. Goodson are upgrades from last year. Led by Landon Collins, this unit takes it to another level. -- Jordan Raanan

Philadelphia Eagles

Carson Wentz will outplay Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Year 1 went to Prescott, who far exceeded expectations and helped guide Dallas to a 13-3 record. With Ezekiel Elliott facing a lengthy suspension, Prescott becomes more of a focal point for defenses and will face greater resistance. Wentz will experience the opposite effect now that he has more playmakers. -- Tim McManus

Washington Redskins

The Redskins will finish with two receivers surpassing 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season.

One year after it was Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, it'll be Terrelle Pryor Sr. and Jamison Crowder. Pryor topped that mark in Cleveland last season, while Crowder was 153 yards shy in 2016. The Redskins accomplished this three times between 1986 and 1991, but only twice since then (including 1999). -- John Keim

NFC North

Chicago Bears

The smart money is on Chicago scrapping its plan of redshirting Mitch Trubisky by mid- to late season.

He's a better all-around athlete than Mike Glennon, but Trubisky is still learning the nuances of playing quarterback in the NFL. Once Trubisky figures it out -- and the Bears believe he eventually will -- there's no point having him on the bench. -- Jeff Dickerson

Detroit Lions

Ameer Abdullah will stay healthy, play 16 games and eclipse the 1,000-yard mark.

It doesn't mean the Lions will be more successful, but the upgrades on the right side of the offensive line and the small sample size he showed last season before his foot injury are positive barometers. -- Michael Rothstein

Green Bay Packers

Jordy Nelson will top the 100-catch mark for the first time in his career.

In his past two healthy seasons (2014 and 2016), Nelson caught 98 and 97 passes, respectively. And last year, Nelson didn't even hit his stride until the second half of the season after coming back from his 2015 knee injury. -- Rob Demovsky

Minnesota Vikings

Michael Floyd will be the most skilled receiver on the team this season, the one who makes the most difficult catches and probably the one who is targeted most in the red zone.

Floyd is suspended for the first four games of the season, and you won't find him on many preseason lists for Comeback Player of the Year. But he looked great in training camp and will resurrect his career in his home state. -- Kevin Seifert

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

Julio Jones becomes the first receiver in NFL history to top 2,000 yards and surpass Calvin Johnson's 1,964 (2012).

Opposing defensive coordinators won't be able to focus as much attention on shutting down Jones with receivers Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel, TE Austin Hooper, and RBs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman also viable options for Matt Ryan. -- Vaughn McClure

Carolina Panthers

Christian McCaffrey will be the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The hype surrounding the former Stanford running back/wide receiver/kick returner is legitimate. He will rush for more than 800 yards, catch more than 50 passes and return Carolina near the top of the league in scoring as it was in 2015. -- David Newton

New Orleans Saints

Adrian Peterson won't run for 1,000 yards, and Mark Ingram will lead the Saints in total yards from scrimmage.

But AD will generate some buzz with a breakout performance in Week 1 on Monday Night Football against his former team in Minnesota. Peterson, 32, has been healthy and motivated all summer -- and Sean Payton should figure out a way to make creative use of his newest toy in a game that means a lot to him. -- Mike Triplett

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs will win the NFC South for the first time since 2007.

They've beaten the Falcons three out of the last four times and they get them on Nov. 26 with Atlanta fresh off a Monday night game at Seattle. Their bid for an NFC South title will be put to the test when they play three consecutive divisional opponents to close out the season. -- Jenna Laine

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

David Johnson will be named NFL MVP.

He took the NFL by storm last season, finishing with 1,239 rushing yards and 879 receiving yards. Johnson will this season become the third player in NFL history to hit 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in a season. -- Josh Weinfuss

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams' offense will finish somewhere within the top 20 in defense-adjusted value over average.

Not bold enough? Well, the Rams have finished outside the top 20 in this popular, all-encompassing metric every season over the past decade and ranked 32nd here in 2016. Sean McVay will get more out of this offense. The receivers are better, the offensive line is better, and Todd Gurley should bounce back. I'm also counting on the natural Year 2 leap from Jared Goff. -- Alden Gonzalez

San Francisco 49ers

The Niners not only will improve against the run but finish in the top half of the league a season after giving up 166 rushing yards per game.

The 49ers made sweeping changes to the scheme and added a pair of impact rookies in defensive end Solomon Thomas and linebacker Reuben Foster. -- Nick Wagoner

Seattle Seahawks

Russell Wilson will be the league's MVP.

He has slimmed down to 208 pounds and has regained the mobility he lost last season while dealing with ankle and knee sprains. Doug Baldwin, Jimmy Graham, Tyler Lockett and C.J. Prosise give him what might be his best group of pass-catching weapons, and an improved running game should -- in theory -- open things up for Wilson down the field. Wilson played at an MVP level during the second half of the 2015 season, when he threw for 25 touchdowns and two interceptions over the final eight games. That production would be difficult to sustain over a full season, but Wilson has that level of efficiency in him, especially now that he's healthy and has a strong group of skill players around him. -- Brady Henderson

Thursday, September 7 Schedule (Time Central)

Kansas City at New England, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 10 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Jets at Buffalo, noon

Atlanta at Chicago, noon

Baltimore at Cincinnati, noon

Pittsburgh at Cleveland, noon

Arizona at Detroit, noon

Jacksonville at Houston, noon

Tampa Bay at Miami, noon

Oakland at Tennessee, noon

Philadelphia at Washington, noon