Predicting Every NFL Team’s Record in 2022

The title says it all: I’m predicting every team’s record for the 2022 NFL season, and I’ll definitely be right on all of them!

AFC East

Buffalo Bills 12–5
New England Patriots 9–8
Miami Dolphins 6–11
New York Jets 5–12

The Bills may very well be the best team in the NFL this year, and as such I have them going on to claim the top seed in the AFC. They’ll also be the only playoff team from their division, as the Patriots fall short as the offense struggles under new playcaller Matt Patricia.

The Dolphins are a popular dark horse playoff pick this year, but I don’t see it. Their offense looks to be significantly better, but the line is still abysmal and the defense is due for a major regression. How rookie head coach Mike McDaniel handles the adversity, especially with sky high expectations, will make or break the season. Meanwhile, the Jets are still in rebuild mode, and Zach Wilson likely missing the season opener won’t help them overcome a brutal first half of a schedule.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens 11–6
Cincinnati Bengals 9–8
Pittsburgh Steelers 9–8
Cleveland Browns 7–10

The Ravens stand to make significant improvements from last year just by virtue of being healthy again. Only the Giants had more players on injured reserve last year, but Baltimore is a top team when not missing half their starters.

The Bengals were in the Super Bowl last year, but they benefitted in large part from a division full of teams all having terrible injury luck. Cincinnati improved their roster from last year, but they won’t have as easy a road this time, leading them to miss the postseason entirely. The Steelers are going through a transitional phase at quarterback, but their defense is good enough to keep them in every game. The Browns will stumble out to a 3–8 start until their quarterback returns from suspension, effectively killing their hopes of returning to the playoffs this year.

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs 12–5
Las Vegas Raiders 11–6
Los Angeles Chargers 10–7
Denver Broncos 10–7

If there were ever a division with the best odds of sending all four teams to the playoffs, it’s this year’s AFC West. The Chiefs will be contenders for as long as Patrick Mahomes is wearing their uniform. The Raiders made the playoffs last year and significantly upgraded their coaching staff and roster.

The Chargers narrowly missed the playoffs last year, but Justin Herbert figures to take another step forward in his rapid development. Meanwhile, the Broncos became immediate contenders when they traded for Russell Wilson, giving them enough firepower to legitimately contend in this stacked division.

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts 11–6
Jacksonville Jaguars 9–8
Tennessee Titans 8–9
Houston Texans 3–14

The Colts shipped Carson Wentz out of town after just one year in Indianapolis, in which he failed to lead the team to the playoffs. In comes Matt Ryan, who represents an immediate upgrade under center for an offense that all too often was trying to overcome its quarterback’s mistakes last year.

The Jaguars under Doug Pederson are suddenly a professional football team again, and it’ll result in Trevor Lawrence looking more like the guy we all saw at Clemson. The Titans were arguably the worst number one seed in NFL history last year, making them due for a sharp regression this year, especially as their division got stronger. The Texans, on the other hand, don’t really seem to be trying these days.

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles 10–7
Dallas Cowboys 9–8
Washington Commanders 7–10
New York Giants 5–12

Last year’s Eagles were a bad team that beat other bad teams but couldn’t beat good teams. They were lucky enough to play a lot of bad teams and made the playoffs because of it. This year, they have a similarly easy schedule, so a modest influx of talent should result in a division title.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, did just about everything in their power to avoid improving their roster. They’re still good enough to make the playoffs, especially in a pretty weak division, but don’t expect this team to have much staying power in the playoffs. The Commanders, like last year’s Colts, will only go as far as Carson Wentz can take them; that is to say, close enough to think playoffs are a possibility, but not close enough to actually happen. Finally, the Giants seem to have competence back in the front office and coaching staff, but it’ll take time to undo the errors of previous regimes.

NFC North

Green Bay Packers 12–5
Detroit Lions 8–9
Minnesota Vikings 8–9
Chicago Bears 5–12

As has been the case in previous years, the North will be dominated by Aaron Rodgers. They may no longer be capable of competing for a Super Bowl without Rodgers’ favorite wide receiver, but they’re good enough to win a struggling division.

The Lions were 11–6 against the spread last year, which means that even though they lost 13 games they rarely got blown out. With an influx of talent this offseason, Detroit makes a jump in wins but still falls short of a playoff appearance. The Vikings match their record, as Minnesota is caught between still trying to win now and embracing the rebuild they so desperately need. Meanwhile, the Bears are embracing the rebuild; seeing growth from Justin Fields is the only real objective this year in Chicago.

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers 10–7
Los Angeles Rams 9–8
Arizona Cardinals 9–8
Seattle Seahawks 7–10

All four of these teams have made the playoffs in the last two years, and the Rams and 49ers reached the NFC Championship Game last year. Both those teams return to the postseason, albeit with some regression in their records. The 49ers will endure some growing pains with Trey Lance becoming the starting quarterback, while the Rams will inevitably suffer some level of Super Bowl hangover.

The Cardinals signed Kyler Murray to a long term deal, but all is still not well behind the scenes in the desert. Between that tension, mounting pressure to perform, and the suspension of star wideout DeAndre Hopkins, the Cardinals have a tough road ahead. The Seahawks enter the first year of their post-Russell Wilson life and while they won’t be good without their franchise quarterback, Seattle still has enough talent and experience to score a few upset victories here and there.

NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13–4
New Orleans Saints 10–7
Carolina Panthers 4–13
Atlanta Falcons 4–13

The Buccaneers are entering their first season under new head coach Todd Bowles, but they still have plenty of continuity from last year’s team, even if Tom Brady took off time for mysterious reasons this preseason. The Saints figure to be better than last year with Jameis Winston healthy again; remember, New Orleans started out 5–2 last year before Winston got hurt. Like the Bucs, they also have a new head coach in Dennis Allen, but the continuity bodes well for them.

The two other teams in this division come in with very low expectations. Baker Mayfield will put up some big games for the Panthers, but this team doesn’t have the coaching staff in place to succeed. The Falcons, on the other hand, are entering their first year without Matt Ryan at quarterback. They weren’t especially good with him last year, and figure to be even worse this year without him.