2017 NFL Predictions

Having gone through my full Bears prediction for the season, here's a look at my expectations for individual team records and the postseason.

NFC West
Seattle Seahawks (11-5) - Malik McDowell's injury is a real bummer, but they'll still be darn good
Arizona Cardinals (7-9) - Free agency gutted the defense and the offense is old/fragile.
Los Angeles Rams (4-12) - Goff looks bad and they're inexplicably shifting to a 3-4 - why?
San Francisco 49ers (4-12) - I love their D-line but the offense is abysmal

NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4) - Jameis+Howard+Jackson+Godwin --> lots of wins
Carolina Panthers (10-6) - Cam finally has some toys and the defense should be average-plus.
Atlanta Falcons (9-7) - They're loaded...but Super Bowl losers always underperform. Almost always.
New Orleans Saints (6-10) - Floor is higher this year, but they're the weakest team in tough division.

NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) - Jim Schwartz owns the D and Wentz now has toys.
Washington Redskins (9-7) - High floor with Cousins+strong O-Line. Defense looks solid.
Dallas Cowboys (8-8) - Tough schedule, natural regression from Dak, and lots of defensive losses.
New York Giants (5-11) - Eli got old and O-Line looks real bad. Nothing special on defense either.

NFC North
Green Bay Packers (13-3) - North is average but Packers aren't. Tons of cheap, awesome vets, too.
Minnesota Vikings (9-7) - Defense is loaded, but Bradford murders the ceiling (again).
Detroit Lions (8-8) - Solid across the board. Lots of moves in offseason but talent level similar.
Chicago Bears (5-11) - A year of growing pains. Ceiling is low in 2017.

AFC West
Oakland Raiders (13-3) - Elite passing offense + above-average defense. Watch out!
Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) - Front seven is arguably NFL's best + secondary solid. Offense: bad.
Kansas City Chiefs (7-9) - Defense looks great but offense will sink the ship.
Denver Broncos (4-12) - Defense has been gutted via free agency and QB play should stink.

AFC South
Tennessee Titans (11-5) - Mariota has tackles and toys; top-five offense. D is good.
Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) - D dripping with talent: Jackson+Ramsey+Jack+Campbell+Bouye
Houston Texans (6-10) - I love Bill O'Brien and have hope for Watson. But not in Y1. FA losses hurt.
Indianapolis Colts (5-11) - Andrew Luck is awesome but hurt. The rest of this roster is bad.

AFC East
New England Patriots (12-4) - The Patriots just win.
Miami Dolphins (8-8) - Jay keeps the floor high. Ceiling isn't terribly high, though.
Buffalo Bills (4-12) - They must be tanking. At least, I hope they're tanking.
New York Jets (3-13) - The Jets are definitely tanking.

AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3) - Completely loaded across the board as long as Ben is locked in.
Baltimore Ravens (7-9) - Safeties are elite. Rest of the roster is below-average with low ceiling.
Cincinnati Bengals (6-10) - Lost a ton of talent and didn't do near enough to replace it.
Cleveland Browns (5-11) - No QB, but defense is loaded with talent now.

NFC Playoff Tree
#5 Carolina over #4 Philadelphia
#3 Seattle over #6 Washington

#1 Green Bay over Carolina
#3 Seattle over #2 Tampa Bay

#1 Green Bay over #3 Seattle

AFC Playoff Tree
#4 Tennessee over #5 Jacksonville
#3 New England over #6 Los Angeles Chargers

#1 Pittsburgh over #4 Tennessee
#2 Oakland over #3 New England

#2 Oakland over #1 Pittsburgh

Super Bowl
#1 Green Bay over #2 Oakland