Piece by Andrew Thompson
The NFL football season is finally here after seven months of weighing the uncertainty brought by COVID-19. All NFL teams will be back for Opening Week with a few changes to the NFL playoffs format. Starting the 2020 season, the NFL added 2 more wild card teams for 14 slots during the playoffs, and the #1 seed will have a first-round bye week. Here is a look at which teams will make the 2020 NFL playoffs. There will be some surprises in the upcoming postseason.
NFC Playoff Teams Predictions
NFC Division Champions:
NFC East Division Champions - Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are a strong team when everyone is healthy. Quarterback Carson Wentz, tight end Zach Ertz, and wide receiver DeSean Jackson have recovered from their injuries. After recently recovering from the coronavirus, Offensive Tackle Lane Johnson joins offensive Tackle Jason Peters in providing protection for Wentz. In 2019, the Eagles struggled to have a healthy wide receiver which made it difficult to receive offensive yardage. They fixed that problem by drafting wide receivers Jalen Reager from TCU, John Hightower from Boise State, and Quez Watkins from Southern Mississippi to add to an improved wide receiver group. The Eagles lost running back Jordan Howard, but they have Miles Sanders and Boston Scott ready to rush through opposing defenses. The Eagles also upgraded their defense as they signed cornerback Darius Slay with his 19 career interceptions from the Detroit Lions. With their strong offense and cornerback, the Eagles will be the division champions again.
NFC South Division Champions - New Orleans Saints
The Saints have a strong offense led by franchise quarterback Drew Brees. They have a strong offense that includes wide receiver Michael Thomas and running back Alvin Kamara. The Saints signed 2-time Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders with his 8,052 career scrimmage yards and 13 yards per touch. They also have a strong defense with defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins with his 16 career sacks, defensive end Marcus Davenport, and many players. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers will be a challenge in the NFC South Division, but the Saints should still be able to win the division.
NFC North Division Champions - Green Bay Packers
In 2019, Head Coach Matt LeFleur led the Packers to their first playoff game in 2 seasons and reached the NFC Championship game in his first season in Green Bay. There aren’t a lot of first-year head coaches that can reach that huge accomplishment. The Packers will be training harder after losing the NFC Championship to the San Francisco 49ers. The Packers only had 5,528 total yards on offense, but they drafted many offensive players including tight end Josiah Deguara from the University of Michigan with his career 1,117 scrimmage yards, Guard Jon Runyan Jr. from University of Michigan, and Center Jake Hanson from the University of Oregon. These offensive acquisitions should give quarterback Aaron Rodgers more protection and open up more opportunities for the Packers to score offensive points.
NFC West Division Champions - San Francisco 49ers
In 2019, the 49ers were ranked 4th in team offense with 6,097 total yards, 381.1 yards per game, and over 4,000 passing yards. They were ranked 2nd in 2019 team defense with 19.4 points allowed per game and 281.8 yards per game allowed. The 49ers have a lot of returning members from the 2019 NFC Championship team including quarterback Jimmy Garropolo, cornerback Richard Sherman, tight end George Kittle, and defensive tackle Nick Bosa. They’ll be working hard to come back after a devastating Super Bowl IV loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers want to bring a Super Bowl trophy to San Francisco for the first time since the 1994-1995 season and have the talent to repeat as division champions.
NFC Wild Card Predictions:
Dallas Cowboys
In 2019, the Cowboys just missed the playoffs and are hungry to get to the playoffs. In 2019, they led the NFL in season yardage and had 432.6 yards per game. That’s 4 touchdowns per game. The Cowboys signed Super Bowl Champion Head Coach Mike McCarthy as their new Head Coach who should help them get more wins in 2020 and the future. The Cowboys also drafted wide receiver Ceedee Lamb who ran 3,312 scrimmage yards for the University of Alabama to help wide receiver Amari Cooper get even more offensive yardage. They built their offense and defense by signing cornerback Daryl Worley, defensive end Everson Griffen, Nose Tackle Dontari Poe from the Panthers. The Cowboys can challenge the Eagles, but they will finish with the 2nd-best NFC East division record. All of these additions should help the Cowboys get back to the playoffs.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings added to their offense by drafting wide receiver Justin Jefferson from Louisiana State University with his 1,195 career yards and 14.5 yards per reception. Jefferson can help make up for the loss of wide receiver Stefon Diggs and get more yardage for the offense. The Vikings signed former Super Bowl Champion Head Coach Gary Kubiak as their new offensive coordinator. The Vikings did lose defensive end Everson Griffen, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, and backup edge rusher Stephen Weatherly. However, the Vikings signed nose tackle Michael Pierce. The Vikings drafted cornerback Cameron Dantzler, defensive end D.J. Wonnum from the University of South Carolina, defensive tackle James Lynch from Baylor, safety Brian Cole from Mississippi State, and other rookies who can make a strong impact on the defense. The Vikings still have defensive tackle Ifeadi Odenigbo with 7 career sacks and 24 tackles. Odenigbo can help the new players learn the Vikings defensive playbook. Despite all the new signings, the Vikings will finish with a wild card clinch and behind a loaded Green Bay Packers team in the division standings
Seattle Seahawks
Since quarterback Russell Wilson entered the league in 2012, the Seahawks only missed the playoffs once. Wilson was recently ranked as the #2 player in the 2020 NFL Top 100 players list. The Seahawks signed running back Carlos Hyde from the Houston Texans to add to the Seahawks offense.Seattle still has a strong offense with running back Chris Carson and wide receiver DK Metcalf. Although the Seahawks no longer have defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, they rebuilt their defense as they traded for New York Jets safety Jamal Adams with his 12 career sacks and 273 tackles. The 49ers will still win the division with all of their returning star players, but the Seahawks will have another playoff team.
AFC Playoff Teams
AFC Division Champions:
AFC North Division Champions - Baltimore Ravens
In 2019, the Ravens championship hopes flashed before their eyes when the Titans beat them in the AFC Divisional playoff. In 2019, the Ravens had a top 5 offense and defense with over 3,000 yards of offensive rushing and only allowing 17.6 points per game. The Ravens are training to have a better season and go for a Super Bowl Championship. QB Lamar Jackson and his offensive wing crew are strong and can still push through opposing defenses in order to get many wins and rushing yards for the Ravens. The defense got stronger with the acquisition of defensive end Calais Campbell with his career 88 sacks and 696 tackles. The Ravens should be able to win the AFC North Division title again, but it will be harder to achieve since Steelers quarterback Ben Rotholisberger is back.
AFC West Champions - Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have a strong team that includes most of their players from last years’ championship team including Super MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, running back Kareem Hunt, and wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Players are excited to go after a 2nd straight championship. It should be easy for the Chiefs to win their division with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers rebuilding their rosters. The Raiders will be the team to challenge the Chiefs in the AFC West Division, but the Chiefs should win their division again.
AFC East Division Champions - Buffalo Bills
It’s time for a change in the AFC East! Tom Brady has left the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Patriots have lost a lot of talent with 8 players choosing to sit out the 2020 season. In 2019, the Bills offense was ranked 24th in the league. They improved their offense by signing “Minnesota Miracle” hero wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Minnesota Vikings. Diggs ran 4,623 career yards and 30 touchdowns. The Bills will emerge as division winners. The Bills added defensive ends Mario Addison from the Carolina Panthers, defensive tackle Vernon Butler from free agency, and lots of players to add to the defense. Addison has 55 career sacks and 222 tackles that should add to the Bills defense. For the first time in 10+ years, there will be a new AFC East division leader.
AFC South Division Champions - Tennessee Titans
In 2019, the Titans had 25.1 yards per game. The Titans re-signed NFL comeback player of the year quarterback Ryan Tannehill and signed running back Derrick Henry. Opposing defenses will still have a hard time stopping Henry from rushing lots of yards to help the Titans win games. The Titans lost defensive end Logan Ryan and their defensive coordinator Dean Pees. Head Coach Mike Vrabel is fixing that problem by not signing a new defensive coordinator and collaborating with the Titans defense staff. He used to be a Texans defensive line coach who coached the Texans for 2 playoff appearances. He also brought experience to the Titans by signing linebackers coach Jim Haslett to improve the linebacker group. Haslett who coached Vrabel with the 1997-1999 Pittsburgh Steelers and led them to a playoff appearance. Vrabel hopes to use experience to build a competitive football team. All of these offseason signings and coaching moves should help the Titans make the playoffs again.
AFC Wild Card Predictions:
Indianapolis Colts
In 2019, the Colts suffered when Andrew Luck retired just before the season leaving the Colts with quarterback Jacoby Brissett who suffered an MCL injury to his knee in week 9 that sidelined him for multiple weeks. When he came back from the injury, he and Brian Hoyer couldn’t perform to fulfill a potential playoff season. As a result, the Colts fell from 6-2 record to a 7-9 record and finished with the #25 ranked offense. However, the Colts improved their offense by signing quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers has been consistent with multiple 4,000+ passing yards for almost every season since 2008. He should excel with a healthy wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and offensive tackle Quinton Nelson’s offensive protection. The Colts added to their struggling defense by signing defensive end DeForest Buckner from the 49ers and defensive back Tavon Wilson. Buckner has 11 career punt deflections, 28.5 sacks, and 263 tackles that can rebuild the Colts offense. The Colts should have enough new talent to become a playoff team again.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have Big Ben back and healthy from his season-long elbow injury. The Steelers suffered offensively with Ben’s absence. The Steelers had one of the worst offenses with 4,428 total yards as they progressed through the season. Rudolph and Hodges couldn’t get the Steelers back in the playoffs as they missed the playoffs for the 2nd straight year. Rotholisberger should give the Steelers offense a rise in offensive yardage and opportunities. However, they have a strong defense including outside linebacker T.J. Watt with his 15 career forced fumbles and linebacker Devin Bush.They will be a wild card team since they have to deal with a tough Baltimore Ravens team and the Cleveland Browns.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are on the rise! In 2019, they already had nearly 4,000 in passing yardage. The Raiders have a stronger wide receiver group that will help their offense get more yards per game and total season yards. They have a better offense with wide receiver Henry Ruggs III who ran 2 700+ yard seasons at the University of Alabama. The Raiders have an excellent tight end class with Darren Waller who ran over 1,000 yards in 2019 and new tight end Jason Witten who ran for 529 yards and averaged 8.4 yards per carry. The Raiders also added to their defense by signing Maliek Collins and Daniel Ross from the Dallas Cowboys, Carl Nassib from the Buccaneers, Kendal Vickers from the Canadian Football League, and undrafted rookie Mike Panasiuk from Michigan State University. Carl Nassib has 115 career tackles with 18.0 sacks through 4 NFL seasons. That's about 28 tackles per year! Nassib can get more tackles for the Raider defense. These new roster additions can help possibly turn the Raiders into a playoff team.
Conclusion: The 2020 NFL season will have 14 teams going into the 2020 postseason in the quest to win Super Bowl LV. All of these teams have worked hard through trades, drafts, signings, and maintaining talent in order to earn their spots into the next football postseason.
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