Predicting every NFL team’s record in 2020

Tonight, the National Football League returns! Despite a global pandemic somehow still present, the NFL is gearing up to have a season that may or may not play out in its entirety. Honestly, the fact that we’ve made it through training camp without any outbreaks is promising.

The reigning Super Bowl champ Chiefs will take on the Texans tonight before a full slate of games kick off Sunday. That means it’s time for my prediction of every team’s record. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens 13–3
Pittsburgh Steelers 9–7
Cleveland Browns 8–8
Cincinnati Bengals 5–11

This shouldn’t be a surprise, as reigning MVP Lamar Jackson’s Ravens figure to be one of the league’s very best teams. Their offense may see some minimal regression towards the mean, but the defense looks to be better out of the gate. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh gets a boost from Big Ben’s return and a full year of Minkah Fitzpatrick, powering them to a Wild Card spot.

The Browns, on the other hand, fall just short but still post their best season since 2007. New head coach Kevin Stefanski gets off to a rough start, losing four of the first seven games, but the team begins to gel and finishes strong with an eye towards the future. Cincinnati falls far below, but they’ll see some really promising performances from top pick Joe Burrow despite the growing pains that come with such a below average roster.

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts 9–7
Tennessee Titans 9–7
Houston Texans 8–8
Jacksonville Jaguars 6–10

The Colts are a trendy pick to return to the postseason, and it’s obvious why. Frank Reich won 10 games and a playoff contest in 2018 despite low expectations, and nearly made the postseason last year with Jacoby Brissett at QB. Now Philip Rivers inherits a stout offensive line and some decent weapons alongside an underrated defense, and this team should easily make it back to the playoffs.

Their main competition is the Titans, last year’s surprise team. Destined for a slight regression from both Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry, the Titans finish 9–7 for the fifth consecutive year. Houston, after trading away Deshaun Watson’s favorite receiver, predictably struggles. Watson will carry this team to victory enough to prevent them from being terrible, but there’s only so much he can do. But it’s the Jaguars, whom everyone assumes is tanking, that will surprise us. Their young talent on defense will mature quickly with playing time, while Gardner Minshew is an ideal fit for Jay Gruden’s West Coast offense. They won’t be good, but this Jaguars team isn’t about to just roll over.

AFC East

New England Patriots 10–6
Buffalo Bills 9–7
Miami Dolphins 7–9
New York Jets 2–14

Remember when we thought the Patriots were finally going to be bad? All it took was a million dollars to bring Cam Newton on board and turn Bill Belichick’s team into contenders again. A healthy Newton makes this offense dangerous, and earns them their 12th consecutive division title. The Bills suffer a bit of regression defensively but get enough from Stefon Diggs on offense to make the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time this century.

Miami, after a busy offseason, shows the improvement everyone expects from them. Tua Tagovailoa takes over in Week 6 and only gains more confidence each week, setting the Dolphins up for a big 2021 season. The same can’t be said for the Jets. Their offense gets worse as the friction between Adam Gase and his players deepens. They lose the first ten games of the season and may even flirt with the idea of interim head coach Gregg Williams.

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs 13–3
Denver Broncos 8–8
Las Vegas Raiders 8–8
Los Angeles Chargers 4–12

The Chiefs return almost all of their key players from last year’s Super Bowl run, and added a few extra pieces. Picking them to win the division is a no-brainer.

Both the Broncos and Raiders will make a push for the playoffs but come up just short. Losing Von Miller for the year hurts what would’ve been a very good Broncos defense, while the Raiders make up for a slow start by winning five of their final six games, but it’s just not enough. The Chargers fall to the cellar, a result of both playing in a strong division and trying to break in rookie quarterback Justin Herbert.

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings 11–5
Green Bay Packers 7–9
Chicago Bears 7–9
Detroit Lions 5–11

This division is hard to nail down. Theoretically, any of these teams could win, but it’s likely that only the division champion will make the playoffs. The Vikings saw a lot of change on defense and will start out 3–3 as a result, but things start clicking into place to go on a six-game winning streak, taking command of the division in the process.

Green Bay refused to give Aaron Rodgers any more weapons this year and instead opted to pivot towards a run first offense, which will hurt them in a big way. Chicago continues to suffer from average-at-best quarterback play, whether it’s Trubisky or Foles. Detroit just has too many problems with their culture, specifically Matt Patricia, to capitalize on their talented roster.

NFC South

New Orleans Saints 11–5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10–6
Atlanta Falcons 6–10
Carolina Panthers 4–12

The Saints will do what they do every year: jump out to a hot start and then slow down as the postseason approaches. But this time he’ll have to face Tom Brady twice, as the Buccaneers replaced the high volume Jameis Winston with the high efficiency Brady. That, combined with an underrated defense, is more than enough to secure a Wild Card berth.

The Falcons figure to be a good team that ultimately suffers from a tough schedule. In their final seven games, they face the Saints and Buccaneers twice each, as well as the Chiefs. Not surprisingly, they lose five of those seven games to miss the playoffs. Carolina enters the first year of a rebuild under new head coach Matt Rhule, who will grind out some surprise wins here and there. But these Panthers are playing the long game.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys 12–4
Philadelphia Eagles 8–8
Washington Football Team 6–10
New York Giants 4–12

The NFC East hasn’t had a back-to-back division champ since the 2003–2004 seasons, and that isn’t about to change. Mike McCarthy proves to be exactly what the Cowboys needed, jumping out to a 5–0 start and securing the top seed in the NFC.

Philadelphia has to endure a few serious injuries along their offensive line, which further impacts Carson Wentz’s ability to grow, and the Eagles miss the playoffs for the first time since Doug Pederson’s inaugural season as head coach. Washington starts out with a respectable 4–4 record before a brutal second half of their schedule sinks their season; nevertheless, it’s a sign that Ron Rivera has the franchise headed in the right direction. Then there’s the Giants, who are just bad. Saquon Barkley will produce some highlights, but this Giants team is in for a rude awakening.

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers 11–5
Seattle Seahawks 10–6
Arizona Cardinals 9–7
Los Angeles Rams 7–9

Whereas the NFC North is a very wide open divisional race, the NFC West is more a question of which order their playoff teams will be in. San Francisco follows up their Super Bowl loss with another strong season, while Russell Wilson once again carries the Seahawks to the playoffs.

Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray see some major improvements in Year 2 and blast their way into the postseason thanks to the playoff expansion. The Rams, after losing Todd Gurley and half their defensive starters from last year, struggle to recapture the magic of that 2018 season and give Sean McVay his first losing season as a head coach.

Bonus Super Bowl pick:

Cowboys vs. Ravens | Cowboys win