We are now eight weeks in to the 2019 NFL season, right at the midpoint of the season with some teams who have played seven games and some who have played eight games. Throughout the season so far, we have seen some big surprises and we have seen some major disappointments.
Some of the biggest surprises have come from team performance, teams that are overperforming based off what we would think they would do and teams who are failing to live up to expectations placed upon them before the season started.
Eight weeks into the season we can get a true gauge of what teams truly look like and what we can expect throughout the remainder of the season. These midseason predictions will be very different from the preseason predictions, but that is to be expected as we always find something that surprises us during the season; hopefully this time we can be more accurate in our predictions.
AFC East
1. Patriots
Before the season started the Patriots were the easy choice to take the AFC East division, through eight weeks things have not changed. The Patriots are 8-0 to start the season, but the biggest surprise to everyone is that it is due to their defense. With Tom Brady at the helm we all know that the offense will be great, this is no different this season as the Patriots lead the league in points per game (31.2). But their defense is historically good and has a chance to break numerous records if they keep up the kind of play that they are currently doing.
The Patriots defense is currently allowing 7.6 points per game—61 points in eight games. If they keep this pace, then they will demolish the 2000 Ravens record of allowing 10.3 points per game—165 points in 17 games. The Patriots defense has made good teams look very bad, but their next five games are against some of the top offenses in the league. The Patriots will still win the AFC East as they have a 2.5 game lead over the Bills, but whether or not they will set the all-time points allowed record is another question.
2. Bills
3. Jets
4. Dolphins
AFC North
1. Ravens
The Ravens sat as major underdogs before the season started, outside of Baltimore almost no one saw this team as a legitimate threat. They have proven the doubters wrong so far and this is in thanks to the play of quarterback Lamar Jackson. It has been said since he entered the league that Jackson would never make it as a quarterback in the league, he would be better suited as a running back. Jackson has proved everyone wrong, he may have beat some weak defenses, but he has significantly improved his passing game.
Add all of this to his running game and the running game of the Ravens than it is almost impossible to deny that the Ravens are the top team in the AFC North. The Ravens rushing game has been too much for teams to handle and it will continue for the remainder of the season. When the Ravens played the Seahawks, the defense finally started to look like the Ravens defense again, with a great offense and a great defense the Ravens will make the playoffs as the division winner.
2. Browns
3. Steelers
4. Bengals
AFC South
1. Texans
The Texans season so far has been one of ups and downs, they have had some really good wins and some heartbreaking losses. However, it is only a matter of time before they turn it around and become a consistent team on both the offensive and defensive end. The Texans also have a favorable schedule to finish off the season, these next three weeks though will decide whether or not they will be the division champion.
They are still working with that offensive line which was the largest target for them in the offseason, after allowing the most sacks in the league last season. With a future cornerstone in Deshaun Watson at quarterback they need to have the ability to keep him safe in the pocket. They have allowed 24 sacks so far this season, which is a better pace than last year, but still something they will need to fix if they hope to win the division.
2. Colts
3. Titans
4. Jaguars
AFC West
1. Chiefs
Losing Patrick Mahomes for a couple of weeks would have hurt a lot more if the other teams in the division were putting up a legitimate fight to win the division. The Chargers are severely underwhelming this season and the next closest team to the Chiefs 5-3, is the Raiders at 3-4. Mahomes is expected to be back soon and because no other team is a threat in the upcoming weeks, the Chiefs will not look back on the division lead they have.
With Mahomes in the lineup, the Chiefs are one of the most dangerous teams in the entire NFL. Due to this, they can rest him to make sure he is completely healthy with no fear that they will not make the playoffs. The Chiefs were a team that everyone expected to make the postseason at the beginning of the season and now that we are halfway nothing has changed.
2. Raiders
3. Chargers
4. Broncos
AFC Wild Cards
1. Colts
The Colts have outperformed almost everyone’s projections for them this season. After Andrew Luck retired before the season it was thought, how far can Jacoby Brissett take them? Well, so far Brissett has led the Colts to a division lead, currently sitting at 5-2. Brissett has led the Colts to some very impressive wins this season over teams that were thought to be much better, including the Chiefs and the Texans. But, at the same time they have pulled out some close wins against teams that playoff teams should handily win, including the Falcons and the Broncos.
However, this is the reason I cannot choose them to be the division winner, they are a little too inconsistent against the teams that they should beat. They have a favorable schedule against teams that are not looking to make the playoffs, but this could be their downfall. Brissett will have to take control of this team if he wants to lead them to a division win. It may not happen, but they should still be making the playoffs with how they started this season.
2. Bills
The Bills are a very good young team with a very strong defense, they currently sit at 5-2, good for second place in the East. This should be enough to make the playoffs as a wildcard team; they will not be able to surpass the Patriots in first place as the Patriots are a historic team this season. The biggest question as to whether or not the offense can sustain success to make them a playoff team.
The Bills currently score more points than their defense allows, but not by much and this could become a problem going down the stretch of the season. The Bills allow 17.4ppg this season and they score 19.1ppg. This shouldn’t be a huge problem for the Bills because in their next nine games they only play three teams who currently sit above .500, however, the Bills will need to get their offense going in order to make a deep run in the playoffs.
NFC
NFC East
1. Eagles
The top teams from the NFC East have been very underwhelming this season, the Eagles sit at 4-4 and the Cowboys sit at 4-3, the worst of any current division winner. With how these two teams are currently playing, only one team looks like they will have a chance to make the playoffs this season. Although the Cowboys have a much better defense, they have a much tougher schedule against great offenses in the upcoming weeks.
This will be the Cowboys downfall for the remainder of the season. The Eagles schedule is much more favorable, and they are about to be on their bye week where they will hopefully get healthier. That is their biggest problem right now, health. When the Eagles are healthy, they have one of the best offenses in the league, we have not been seeing that recently and in order to make it back to the playoffs they will need to have a great offense since their defense is not that reliable.
2. Cowboys
3. Giants
4. Redskins
NFC North
1. Packers
Thanks to a revamped defense and the still dangerous offense, the Packers are not only leading their division, but they are one of the best teams in the league. Usually the Packers are known as an offensive team, behind the leadership of Aaron Rodgers, but this season they have that offense combined with a deadly defense. The Packers added three big name free agents this offseason, two of which have added a much-needed pass rush that has elevated this defense.
Last season the Packers had 44 total sacks, with Kyler Fackrell leading the way with 10.5 sacks. This season they are at 17 sacks with two players, Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith both having over 7 sacks. The offense will always be there when you have one of the best quarterbacks of the decade, but the defense is the reason they are having the success they are having. They are in a tough division but if their defense can keep it up then they should win the division after the position they put themselves in after the first eight games where they went 7-1.
2. Vikings
3. Bears
4. Lions
NFC South
1. Saints
When Drew Brees went down early in the season with a thumb injury many thought that the Saints chance of winning the division went down with him. A postseason effort was still possible, but a division win was out of question. Then, Teddy Bridgewater led them to an undefeated stint when Brees was out which kept the Saints in the division and helped them get the lead at 7-1.
Brees is back now and the Saints look like they could run the NFC. Their toughest matchup will be against the current leader of the NFC, the undefeated 49ers. Like the Packers, the Saints have always been known to have a great offense with Brees, but not a great defense. This defense is one of the best that the Saints have had with Brees and now that they are back at full strength, they should easily make the playoffs by winning the NFC South.
2. Panthers
3. Buccaneers
4. Falcons
NFC West
1. Seahawks
The Seahawks currently sit two games out of first place behind the undefeated 49ers, so coming back to win the division may be tough. The reason I have them coming back to win the division is because their offense is stronger than that of the 49ers. The 49ers gathered this division lead by having a great defense and a good offense. The Seahawks on the other hand have a great offense to go with a good defense.
This could be what decides this division, the 49ers have a great defense, but they will need to rely on that defense in order to win games because the offense will not score a lot against the better defenses. With the Seahawks behind the possible MVP Russell Wilson, they will score in very creative ways and the defense will be the key part to their success. We know that they will be able to score but they need to be able to hold teams to a reasonable amount of points, something that they have struggled with at times this season. This division is one of the toughest in the NFL and could potentially have three playoff teams so winning this division will not be easy.
2. 49ers
3. Rams
4. Cardinals
NFC Wild Cards
1. 49ers
The 49ers have come up as one of the surprise teams in the league this season, as they currently sit undefeated after eight games. When the 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo back in 2017 it was in hopes of good things to come. This season the good is coming, the defense might be the largest reason that they currently sit undefeated, but you cannot discount what Garoppolo has done for them this season.
Garoppolo has not been great this season but he has been good enough with that great defense to lead them to victories. However, Garoppolo needs to step up and play better if they hope to sustain success and continue their division lead until the end of the season. The 49ers have some tough upcoming matchups against great offenses which could lead to some losses. If Garoppolo does not step up it can lead to losses and kick them out of first place in the division. This is what I see happening, but their defense is still good enough to lead them into the wild card slot.
2. Vikings
The Vikings are a very good team when they are on, the problem with them is that they are an inconsistent team. It all starts with their quarterback Kirk Cousins, Cousins has always been a bit of an anomaly in the backfield, he has more good games than bad games, but when he is bad, he is really bad. Luckily, he does have more good games than bad games which has led the Vikings into second place in their division, currently sitting at 6-2.
If it were not for the Packers being in their division than the Vikings could easily be the division winner, but the Packers are in the division and they are playing unreal lately. The Vikings have a great offense led by Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook, who currently has the most rushing yards in the NFL. They also have one of the best defenses in the NFL which should easily take them into the playoffs, the biggest question will be whether or not they will be in as a division winner or a wild card team.
SB Matchup
Patriots vs. Packers