NFL Season Begins Tonight With Ravens-Chiefs And This Is How All 8 Divisions Will Play Out
The NFL regular season begins Thursday night with the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs launching their attempt at a three-peat. It won't be an easy journey.
The Baltimore Ravens, the opponent Thursday, believe their rushing offense will be impossible to stop with the addition of running back Derrick Henry.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers and others have similar and legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
KANSAS CITY - Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and wife Tavia Hunt during the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII. Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Great Season For Chiefs And NFL
This is going to be a great season from start to finish.
And speaking of the finish, let's just cut to the chase: Today we're telling you how this regular season is going to finish – at least in the standings.
I've covered the NFL since 1990. And I've never been wrong on my preseason order of finish. Not once.
I think that's because I've always refused to give readers a preseason order of finish, to avoid what? Ever being wrong.
First Ever Salguero Division Predictions
But big life change this year. I'm picking the order of finish for every every team within their division. I already shared with you my prediction for the AFC East in my debut NFL mailbag last week.
Shameless plug: Email me your NFL questions, or any other questions on any topic you may want to cover, and I'll answer in the following week's All That And A Bag Of Mail. My email address is Armando.Salguero@Outkick.com. Or you can hit my replies on X where I'm @ArmandoSalguero
Well, reader reaction was overwhelming. You wanted the full NFL by division prediction.
Here it is in all its vain glory of assuming I'm going to be right:
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow talks with backup QB Logan Woodside during training camp. (Sam Greene/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK)
Burrow And His Terrible Hair Dye
AFC North
1. Cincinnati Bengals: If Joe Burrow stays healthy, and grows out that ridiculous dye job, this team will roll. Do not buy the fact Ja'Marr Chase missed practically all of training camp with a contract hold-in. He and Burrow have thrown approximately 1,938,623 passes together during their lives. Their chemistry is unmatched. Also, Mike Gesicki is a dark horse draft choice for you fantasy nerds.
2. Baltimore Ravens: I really want Lamar Jackson to get over all the negative narratives. He's good, people. He can win in the playoffs and take a team to a Super Bowl. And he will some year. Just not this year, not with a defense that doesn't seem as dominant as in the past.
3. Cleveland Browns: Will Deshaun Watson ever be 2020 good again? I'm starting to doubt it. But the Browns are so stocked with outstanding talent that they have Super Bowl aspirations. And they might have the best defense in the league.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers: This suggests Russell Wilson failed, and then Justin Fields failed, and Mike Tomlin had his first losing season. I don't think Wilson will fail, I don't think the Steelers will have a losing season. It's just that this division is stocked.
C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Texans Weren't A Mirage
AFC South
1. Houston Texans: They're loaded. They know it. C.J. Stroud was not a fluke as a rookie. DeMeco Ryans can really coach, particularly on defense. Super Bowl contender here.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars: They have something to prove after wilting at the end of last season and while they don't have the overall talent of Houston, they are a veteran club now that should be playoff relevant.
3. Tennessee Titans: Surprised? Look, this team has one question: Is QB Will Levis going to take a big Year 2 leap? He gave me his answer before the start of training camp. I think he's going to be pretty good and so will this team.
4. Indianapolis Colts: A step back with a better quarterback, you dummy Salguero? I'm not sure Anthony Richardson will be consistently better than Gardner Minshew was last season. He'll have great moments, likely en route to a great career, but he's going to lay a few eggs as well. This is a develop Richardson year for the Colts.
Quarterback Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
Broncos A Couple Of Players Away
AFC West
1. Kansas City Chiefs: They have the NFL's best quarterback and the NFL's best head coach. That's all I've got to say about that. See them in the playoffs, and probably the Super Bowl.
2. Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert is working his fourth offensive coordinator since he entered the league in 2020. This year, the Chargers want to take some of the pressure of having to win every game with Herbert. That means better defense and a more balanced offense. New coach Jim Harbaugh usually knows how to make that happen.
3. Denver Broncos: Not a fan of picking a rookie quarterback to finish this high, but coach Sean Payton will manage Bo Nix into playing closer to a vet than a rookie. This team is an explosive WR and dynamic pass rusher away from being a certain playoff team.
4. Las Vegas Raiders: They're good on defense. They have playmakers on offense, including Davante Adams, Brock Bowers, and even Jakobi Meyers. But Minshew has always been good enough to disappoint in the biggest moment. And the running game doesn't have a bellow to stabilize the offense in those tough times.
Eagles head coach Nick Siriani has work to do on the team's offense. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Eagles In A Good Place
NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles: They had the talent to be better last year and the changes in the coaching staff – particularly Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator and Kellen Moore running the offense – is going to be an upgrade. Jalen Hurts has been intentional in his desire to be a better leader. This team is in a good place right now.
2. Dallas Cowboys: They have the talent to win the division again. They have the talent to win 12 games again. But, well, it just doesn't feel right with these guys. Too much drama. Too much Jerry Jones. Not enough postseason success.
3. Washington Commanders: This is going to be a learning year for rookie Jayden Daniels but it says right here he is a budding NFL star. This team is going to be good enough on defense and maybe lacks one outside playmaker on offense. They'll be better late than they were early in the season.
4. New York Giants: They're well-coached. They built the right way. But they have, probably, the fourth-best quarterback in the division. And it's only a four-team division.
The Detroit Lions announced the team has reached a contract extension with Dan Campbell. What are the terms of the deal? (Credit: Getty Images)
Don't Mess With Dan Campbell's Team
NFC North
1. Detroit Lions: This season is going to be a measure of their toughness in that last year they tasted big-time success for the first time and had a relatively easy roll through the division. Now they've got a target on their backs. And the Packers are coming fast. But, you see, toughness is what Dan Campbell has instilled in this team's DNA. So they'll be up to the challenge.
2. Green Bay Packers: I think the Lions are just a bit more of a tough team. Having said that, Josh Jacobs running downhill in December and January is going to be something to see. And just another reason they'll be in the playoffs.
3. Chicago Bears: This division is crazy good through three teams because the Bears are a borderline playoff team. That assumes rookie QB Caleb Williams is as advertised. So far, he's done nothing to suggest he isn't. This team should be playoff relevant into late December.
4. Minnesota Vikings: Do I believe Sam Darnold's first six NFL seasons properly painted him as a draft bust and that's all he will ever be? No. But do I believe Darnold is better than any other quarterback in this division? No. And that's the problem.
Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins practicing during OTAs. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
Nothing To Dislike About Falcons
NFC South
1. Atlanta Falcons: They have arguably the best safety tandem in the NFL. They found a solid edge rusher in Matthew Judon. They have playmakers aplenty on offense and a quarterback who will get them the football.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Attitude? Oh yeah, they have an attitude. It is obvious in Baker Mayfield's gurgling volcano personality and a Todd Bowles defense that is predictable only in its unpredictabilty. It wouldn't be an upset if they win the division again.
3. New Orleans Saints: This is a solid but not really great roster and the problem is they're a victim of their middle-of-the-road success. They're aging without really adding top-of-the-draft talent – they got a nice tackle with the No. 14 pick this year. And they can't afford to do amazing things in free agency either, because they're paying their vets. They're between and betwixt in an effort to upgrade.
4. Carolina Panthers: The measure of success or failure for this team won't be seen in the standings but in whether Bryce Young develops. If that happens after he struggled as a rookie, the Panthers should be happy. They may not be, but they should be.
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy celebrates after winning the 2023-24 NFC Championship vs. the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium in California. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)
The Niners Are Still The Niners
NFC West
1. San Francisco 49ers: They're as talented as last year when they went to the Super Bowl. Brock Purdy's arm is actually better, stronger now, and the team is really tight.
2. Los Angeles Rams: They finish here, just ahead of the Seahawks, because their quarterback is better and Sean McVay has the experience of being a head coach starting his eighth NFL season compared to Mike Macdonald who is starting his rookie season as an NFL head coach.
3. Seattle Seahawks: It's the offensive line that offers too many uncertainties to pick them higher. Left tackle Charles Cross was a top 10 selection in the April draft, and he needs to play like it, practically from the jump. Abe Lucas is supposed to be the starting right tackle but the best GM John Schneider has said about him, as he's rehabbing from knee surgery, is he'll play at some point this season. Mike Macdonald has to fix the defense on third down, especially third-and-long situations.
4. Arizona Cardinals: You're going to laugh but this is a borderline playoff team were it not in this division. So they might manage a winning record but even if they don't, GM Monte Ossenfort is building something here.