Fall is approaching. What does that mean? For everyone else, it means that summer has come to an end and the colder days have come. For us football fans, it means that our beloved sport is finally starting up again. After a little waiting, players are tackling each other with full force, announcers are back on the job, the intensity has finally kicked in, and fans are back to either staring at their TV screens or filling up football stadiums. And of course, the journalists are making early-season predictions. Right now, I will be a journalist, and I will make some predictions for this year’s NFL (National Football League) season. As football comes back at full force, I will show you what to expect.
1. The Bills will not win it all this year
When it comes to the regular season, Buffalo does great. They usually only drop about a few games and win the rest of them. However, when it comes to the playoffs, the Bills end up losing in heartbreak. This process seems to repeat itself over and over again every year, and you find the Bills fans always saying, “there’s always next year.”
If Buffalo still can’t find its footing in the playoffs this year, they will probably crumble in the big and close games and find themselves saying that same line again. The heartbreak just doesn’t stop. They lost an instant classic where they scored a touchdown to take the lead with thirteen seconds on the clock…and still crumbled in overtime to the Chiefs. They lost another close one to the same team last year in the AFC (American Football Conference) Championship, losing by three points and failing to hold the Chiefs on downs.
The heartbreak for the Bills Mafia just won’t stop, and even though Allen has so many weapons to work with, he can’t shine under pressure. Until the Bills can adapt to the pressure of big games and the heat of the moment (and being able to beat Mahomes in the playoffs), I’m expecting another playoff loss this year.
2. The Commanders will be able to make the playoffs again
On the flip side, I am expecting another team to be able to have enough potential to make the playoffs again: the Commanders. This team can be unstoppable. Jayden Daniels was an amazing rookie last season.
Despite being seeded number six in the playoffs, he managed to thread the needle against the Buccaneers. At that time, though, the Commanders still couldn’t celebrate because they had to deal with the Lions. The Lions had been hot all season. They had the first seed and thus had an extra week to rest, and they had the home-field advantage. Surely the Lions would win, right? That’s what many people thought that night. But the Commanders shocked everyone. The Lions fought hard, but the Commanders fought back harder. Right under the spotlight as the main character for a play, Daniels was able to shimmer. That night, the Commanders held the Lions on defense, and it wasn’t even a close margin. The Commanders won with a comfortable lead, 45-31. Jared Goff, the Lions, and their fanbase were stunned. This just showcases how well the Commanders can play under pressure, and being a rookie quarterback and making it to the NFC (National Football Conference) Championship in your first year is amazing.
If Daniels can keep everything up, throw to his Pro Bowl receivers like he used to last year, and throw another Hail Mary in the middle of the season (sorry Bears fans), this young team has some potential. They used to be pretenders, but now they seem to be contenders. Later in the season, I may be curious about the Commanders and see where their quarterback can take them. The Super Bowl is still a long shot, but I’m expecting at least a playoff appearance.
3. New England will have another sad season
The Patriots used to be a great team: they would make the playoffs nearly every year and would win most of the Super Bowls. They had amazing records every single season. However, we probably all know who was behind all of that. It was Tom Brady who was single-handedly winning all the Super Bowls and all the games. He always placed the ball perfectly and always shone under pressure.
Once he left, the Patriots have been just one sad team. After they lost to the Bills in an embarrassing 47-17 Wild Card game where the Bills scored a touchdown on every possession (except for the last one when they kneeled, of course), the Patriots could not find their footing. The recipe for success seemed to be Tom Brady. Every year, the Patriots weren’t even close to clinching playoff spots, and they instead lost nearly every single game, sometimes by blowouts, while Tom Brady was playing for the Buccaneers and won another Super Bowl with them. It finally came to Patriots fans: Tom Brady was the reason why they had six Super Bowls. He was the only reason. It was no one else. All of the coaches that were on the same team as Tom Brady were not exceptional; they just looked like it with Tom Brady on their side. The Patriots started dropping games to the Bills, a team they were known for always beating. And even after the Patriots got rid of Bill Belichick and replaced him with Jerod Mayo, that coach couldn’t find his footing either, and the Patriots had another season where they not only fell short, but practically suffered.
Since Tom Brady left, the Patriots have just crashed, and there isn’t much left to save them. It would be a while until the Patriots would be able to claw their way back to the Super Bowl. I don’t know how long that exactly is, but I know it’s not going to be within the next ten years at least.
4. The Lions will again have a winning record
The Lions used to be the laughing stock of the NFL. They had winless seasons and never had hope. It was rare to see them in the playoffs. Now, with nobody sure what happened to them, just two years ago, they made it to the playoffs with a decent seed and nearly got to the Super Bowl. They were beating the 49ers by a comfortable margin in the NFC Championship game before eventually crumbling in the second half and losing 34-31. Even though this loss disappointed many people from Detroit, they were also optimistic: finally, their team was not a pretender, but rather a contender.
The Lions carried that spirit into the next season. I remember them going against the Buffalo Bills toward the middle of the season, having only dropped a couple of games, and even though they lost to them, they still put 42 points on the board. Again, they made the playoffs with the one seed and probably would even have had a chance to win it all if it weren’t for that young Commanders team.
The Lions have finally proved that they have potential in football and that they should become a contender within the next ten years. It’s an amazing transition for this team. Just a little while ago, they missed the playoffs for the billionth time, and no one was surprised. But now, everyone is surprised since they’ve gone on a rampage and somehow have beaten everyone’s expectations (including mine) to make it to the Super Bowl. That season when they made the NFC Championship, I became curious about the Lions and started watching them closely. They exploded in progress, playing every game and holding on until the very end. And I will, if the Lions can continue playing with the fire in their bellies and maintain a fiery offense. We’ll see how Jared Goff plays in the regular season and see where he goes eventually.
5. Aaron Rodgers won’t find his footing in Pittsburgh
Something has been up with Aaron Rodgers lately. Despite him being a Super Bowl champion and having led the Packers to multiple playoff appearances, ever since he left that team, he hasn’t been able to find success wherever he goes.
He first went to the Jets. All the Jets fans were hopeful, and they thought that they would have a great season. Unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers wound up with an injured Achilles on the kickoff week before he even completed a single pass and was out for the entire season. The Jets suffered without him, but that season, they didn’t have that chosen one. You would think they would be able to make things great again next season, right? Nope. The Jets missed the playoffs again, despite having Aaron Rodgers as their starter. Rodgers didn’t look like Rodgers that season. I don’t remember him playing very badly, but I also do not remember hearing about him on the internet for some great things he did on the field. This is saying something: Aaron Rodgers has not exactly improved ever since he left the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers, this season, decided to move his business to the Steelers, and even though the Steelers are much better than the New York Jets in terms of records (meaning that they probably have better players) it doesn’t look like Rodgers is going to be supernatural this year. I haven’t heard many things about Aaron Rodgers and the amazing things he has done on the field, and I still won’t expect that until he surprises everybody. I feel that he won’t win another Super Bowl before he retires.
Those are my predictions for this season. I know a lot of you are probably wondering what my Super Bowl pick is, but that is a tough decision. I feel that it is too soon to tell, and maybe I will make a separate article on this when the time gets closer. Now, remember that these predictions are not guaranteed to be correct. Maybe the Lions and Commanders would flop and become laughing stocks again. Maybe the Bills will win the Super Bowl this year, beating Aaron Rodgers in the AFC Championship. Maybe the Patriots will somehow indeed have a great season. I’m not sure what will happen, but we will see if my predictions are correct or not. It’s time to gear up for another season of football, action, intensity, drama, and everything else in between. And if you made your own predictions, good luck!