Using playoffpredictors.com I predicted the second half of the 2019 NFL season. Here are the results.
At the beginning of the season, I thought it was a good idea to predict how the teams in the NFL were going to perform over the brutal sixteen weeks of an NFL season. I was wrong, as I was about a lot of these teams coming up. Injuries, pure misjudgement and other factors played into a very unpredictable and fun NFL season.
In an attempt to rectify my mistakes of past, I am going to revise my preseason predictions in place of my usual weekly takeaways. Let’s get it started with my biggest mistake.
AFC North:
Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
Cleveland Browns (7-9)
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-11)
Cincinnati Bengals (3-13)
Wow. This table is shaken up compared to where I had it before the season began. The Browns drop from 11-5 to 7-9 while the Ravens take their hold on the top of the division. Lamar Jackson is looking like an MVP candidate and out-dueled most peoples MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson. Baker Mayfield on the other hand is leading the league in interceptions and doesn’t look like the same Quarterback as he did last year.
The Steelers I refuse to concede considering Big Ben’s injury. I feel like despite the 0-3 start they would have turned it around and made a push at the playoffs if they had their future hall of famer under center. The Bengals I got spot on as a terrible team dependent on AJ Green as they haven’t won a single game without them, moving on.
AFC South:
Houston Texans (10-6)
Indianapolis Colts (9-7)
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)
Tennessee Titans (5-11)
I feel like I did alright here. I wrote my predictions prior to the Andrew Luck retirement news and I probably would have chose the Texans to top the division had I known. Deshaun Watson is making this team look amazing and making himself an MVP candidate. The front offices decision to protect him with Laremy Tunsil changed life for this squad. The Colts managed to carry on as most expected with Jacoby Brissett, keeping the team competitive with all the talent around him.
As for Jacksonville, they’re doing remarkably well with a seventh round Quarterback. When Nick Foles returns to the team in Week 11, I expect this team to go on a decent run with a slightly soft schedule and make a late push at the playoffs. The Titans have also relied on a backup, but for different reasons. Marcus Mariota was benched in week 7 for Ryan Tannehill and that’s never a good sign for a season, I feel as though they’d be better off letting this season go.
AFC East:
New England Patriots (15-1)
Buffalo Bills (12-4)
New York Jets (4-12)
Miami Dolphins (1-15)
Jesus do we have to do this again? The Patriots look amazing, is anyone surprised? The statistically best defense in NFL history is rolling and dragging a 42 year old Tom Brady along for the ride. The rest of the division is where things start to get interesting, starting with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills defense is stifling, being the only team to hold New England under 30 this season, actually holding them to 16. Josh Allen is maybe not the exceptional talent you’d want under center, but he’s definetly workable and suited for the modern NFL, this team is vastly improved and will make the playoffs.
The Jets. I said they’d have an 8-8 season and have a good standing point. To be fair to them, they were missing Darnold for 4 straight games with Mono, but god do they look awful. Besides one good game against Dallas, Darnold looks unprepared and he’s “seeing ghosts” as the line can’t seem to protect him. As for Miami, I don’t even want to talk about them. Go enjoy Tua Tagovailoa and try again next year.
AFC West:
Kansas City Chiefs (11-5)
Oakland Raiders (7-9)
Los Angeles Chargers (6-10)
Denver Broncos (3-13)
Here’s where I need to truly humble myself and eat crow. I said the Chiefs would not win this division. You guys can hang me now. They look human, especially without Mahomes, but regardless of what you think about them as a team they have to top this division. The Raiders are currently their biggest threat with their offense looking good but their defense somehow worse than their Kansas City counterparts. Gruden definitely looked at an area and worked on it, but neglected that sub-par defense.
As for the Chargers, I refuse to take all the blame for this one. Nine players on IR, and the list only seems to be growing. If any team had almost an entire units worth of players on IR, they would underperform too. I think this squad when healthy is capable of great things, but this injury riddled season isn’t the time. The Broncos don’t deserve a mention but I’ll give them the courtesy. Flacco looks uninterested, the defense is good but is completely in vain due to the terrible offense. They don’t want to win and their record will reflect that.
What does that mean for the Playoffs?
A crazy shuffle as I rush to hopefully rectify some of my past mistakes, I still have three of the teams I originally picked to make the playoffs to continue so it’s not a total loss. I’ll elaborate on these teams more in the midseason playoff predictions coming out on Wednesday, but enjoy the below ordering for now.
Bye Teams: New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs
Division Winners: Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans
Wild Card: Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts
Want to read the original predictions? Follow the link below to read my very incorrect and very bold predictions.
The Art of Sport 