2017 NFL Predictions and Week 1 Picks

The journey to Super Bowl 52 begins Thursday night. 

Now that the eclipse is finally over and I can see my computer screen once again, football is back and it's time for those meaningless predictions about the upcoming season.

Unsurprisingly, I'm excited for this NFL season, not because I think the Bengals have a great chance to win the Super Bowl, because they don't, but because football is finally back. Sunday's will once again be filled with a roller coaster of emotions from excitement to utter disgust, back to jubilation and then heartache. Just what the doctor ordered in the course of three hours on a Sunday.

Before getting to my picks for Week 1, heres how I see the season shaping out with playoff predictions and why we will see a Super Bowl rematch from 50 years ago on February 4, 2018 in Minnesota.

AFC Predictions

East: (1) New England Patriots

North: (3) Pittsburgh Steelers

South: (4) Tennessee Titans

West: (2) Oakland Raiders

Wild Card: (5) Houston Texans, (6) Kansas City Chiefs

Let's start with the obvious, unless Tom Brady gets hurt, or suspended again, there is no reason to believe the Patriots won't make the playoffs. Plus, the rest of that division is terrible. The Bills traded away their best wide receiver, Sammy Watkins. The Dolphins lost QB Ryan Tannehill for the entire season and signed Jay Cutler. The Jets have no wide receivers and will start the season with Josh McCown at quarterback. They'll be lucky to win three games.

I don't see the Bengals or Ravens being able to top the Steelers in the North. Baltimore just never seems to play consistently good football for an entire season and Cincinnati has huge question marks on the offensive line. Andy Dalton has a whole host of playmakers to get the ball too, including rookies WR John Ross (Washington) and RB Joe Mixon (Oklahoma), but if the line can't block that's a problem.

Oakland was on their way to an AFC Championship showdown with the Patriots until QB Derek Carr got hurt. Carr is now healthy and the Raiders have Beast Mode in the backfield this season. I'd be surprised if they don't meet the Patriots in the AFC Championship.

Kansas City will play consistently good and boring football, but they'll make the playoffs again via the Wild Card as will the Houston Texans. With J.J. Watt healthy and back leading that defense, the Texans, even with question marks at quarterback, will make the playoffs. I think rookie Deshaun Watson will eventually take over at quarterback for the Texans and could be a Rookie of the Year candidate by seasons end. If he plays well, the Texans might be a more dangerous team than we might think.

Finally, with QB Marcus Mariota healthy, one of the best offensive lines in football, and DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry in the backfield, the Tennessee Titans will make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

NFC Predictions

East: (4) New York Giants

North: (1) Green Bay Packers

South: (2) Atlanta Falcons

West: (3) Seattle Seahawks

Wild Card: (5) Dallas Cowboys, (6) Carolina Panthers

The teams to beat in the NFC are the Packers and the Falcons. The Seahawks aren't a distant third though as they'll be good once again. I'll have more on the Packers in a bit, but both them and the Falcons have such lethal firepower on offense that it's going to be hard for teams to stop them this season.

The lack of competition in the NFC West -- maybe the Cardinals will be better -- will lead the Seahawks to another division title. Huge move in trading for former Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson. The Seahawks defense was already one of the best in football and now they're even better.

With the addition of Chrisitan McCaffery in Carolina it should give the Panthers a great playmaker for Cam Newton to get the ball too. If they stay healthy, we should see Carolina back in the playoffs. Tampa Bay should be better though, so they could give both Carolina and Atlanta a run in the NFC South.

Adrian Peterson is no longer in a Vikings uniform, but with that great defense and rookie Dalvin Cook (Florida State) and Latavius Murray taking over running back duties, the Vikings could find themselves in the playoffs, but there are some good teams in the NFC East that may keep them from getting there.

The biggest question mark in the NFC is the East. The Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Redskins could all be good this season. I like the Giants in the East as they have the best quarterback in Eli Manning and with the addition of Brandon Marshall at receiver, he now has two great weapons to throw the ball too. RB Ezekiel Elliott is suspended for six games, we just don't know when it'll start, so the Cowboys may be in trouble of repeating as division champs without him. Dallas is still a good team, even with Elliott suspended, and I don't see QB Dak Prescott having a sophomore slump. The Cowboys and Panthers will beat out the Vikings for the final two playoff spots in the NFC.

Now that the playoff teams are set, here are my postseason predictions as well as Super Bowl LII winner.

Playoff Predictions

Wild Card: (3) Pittsburgh over (6) Kansas City; (5) Houston over (4) Tennessee; (4) New York Giants over (5) Dallas; (3) Seattle over (6) Carolina

Divisional: (1) New England over (5) Houston; (2) Oakland over (3) Pittsburgh; (1) Green Bay over (4) New York Giants; (3) Seattle over (2) Atlanta

AFC Championship: (2) Oakland over (1) New England - that's right, the Oakland Raiders will win their second meeting with the New England Patriots (they meet in Mexico City in Week 11) and advance to the Super Bowl.

NFC Championship: (1) Green Bay over (3) Seattle

Super Bowl LII: January 14, 1968. Green Bay Packers vs. Oakland Raiders from the Orange Bowl in Miami for Super Bowl II. A game that featured 12 future Hall of Fame players, two Hall of Fame coaches and one Hall of Fame owner was ultimately won by the Packers, 33-14.

QB Bart Starr guided a Packers victory over the Raiders
in the Super Bowl 50 years ago.
(Photo Courtesy of Getty Images)

Fast forward 50 years and this matchup will happen again. Packers/Raiders would have football historians all excited as two of the most prestigious franchises in the history of the league square off for the second time in the Super Bowl 50 years after the first. I'm excited just typing it.

Part of me, apart from the historical aspect, has this prediction because I personally would love to see these two offenses go against each other. The other part is because I don't see the Patriots going to the Super Bowl for a second straight year. Only two teams have gone to back-to-back Super Bowls since 2000, the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII and XXXIX and the Seahawks in XLVIII and XLIX. As good as Tom Brady and the Patriots are, history is not on their side and I love history. Plus, they'll miss WR Julian Edelman who is out for most likely the entire season with a torn ACL.

If we do indeed see a Packers/Raiders Super Bowl fans will be in for a lot of offense. The Raiders had one of the best offenses in the league last year, scoring 26 points/game and if QB Derek Carr had not gotten hurt who knows how far they would've gone in the playoffs.

As for the Packers, they scored 27 points/game last season and still lost six games. Their defense had a stretch of four games last season where they gave up a total of 153 points, 38.3 points/game. It's a miracle they won 10 games with that kind of play from their defense, but when you have Aaron Rodgers, anything is possible. All you have to do is relax and watch Rodgers lead the Packers into the playoffs this season.

With the addition of TE Martellus Bennett, plus receivers Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams, and Ty Montgomery out of the backfield, Aaron Rodgers has some of the best weapons in football. Green Bay also drafted RB Jamaal Williams out of BYU in the fourth round. Williams rushed for 1,375 and 12 TD last season in college and that was with having missed three games. He could be an under the radar player who makes a big contribution this season.

QB Bart Starr was named MVP 50 years ago completing 13 of 24 passes for 202-yards and a touchdown. Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr might both have those numbers at halftime in today's NFL. I expect both Rodgers and Carr to have great games, but in the end, another terrific performance from Aaron Rodgers will have the Packers repeating history, Green Bay Packers 37, Oakland Raiders 33, with Rodgers taking home the Super Bowl MVP trophy, just like Bart Starr did 50 years earlier.

Now for my Week 1 picks. Hoping to get off to a good start this season.

Week 1 Picks (Home team in CAPS)

NEW ENGLAND over Kansas City (Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): No way the Patriots lose on opening night as they raise their fifth Super Bowl banner. Chiefs will give them a game, but don't expect the Patriots to have to come back from a 28-3 deficit in this one.

HOUSTON over Jacksonville (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): The Jaguars were my dark horse team last season and I could not have been more wrong about them. The main reason for the Jaguars 3-13 season was the poor play of QB Blake Bortles, who threw 16 INT and had a QB Rating of 78.8. He was getting booed in the preseason and if that's any sign of things to come in 2017, then I don't expect the Jaguars to win many games. J.J. Watt returns for the Texans and sacks Bortles in his first game back since missing most of last season. This will also be the Texans first game in Houston since Hurricane Harvey, so expect the crowd to be fired up.

*POSTPONED* Tampa Bay at MIAMI: Do to the threat of Hurricane Irma hitting Florida this weekend, the Buccaneers/Dolphins game has been postponed to Week 11 when both teams have a bye week. It's the correct decision by the NFL. It's more important that the players from both teams are with their families in Florida than playing a football game somewhere else. This does mean that Tampa Bay and Miami will play 16 consecutive games this season.

BUFFALO over N.Y. Jets (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Like I stated earlier, I don't see the Jets winning many games this season and even though the Bills seem to be trading away all their good players and stockpiling draft picks -- much like tanking NBA teams seem to do -- I still like the Bills in this one.

Philadelphia over WASHINGTON (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fox): Washington is 0-3 in openers under head coach Jay Gruden. The Eagles will make it 0-4. Should be a good game though as NFC East divisional games usually are.

"Beast Mode" has officially come out of retirement to join
his hometown Oakland Raiders.and Derek Carr.
(Eric Risberg/AP)

Oakland over TENNESSEE (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Both these teams are going to be in the playoffs and this should be a very competitive game and possibly a future playoff matchup. The Raiders were a very good road team last season winning their first five road games, including a win at the Titans. I like the Raiders here and it'll fun to see Marshawn Lynch running with reckless abandon once again.

Atlanta over CHICAGO (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fox): Falcons put February's Super Bowl debacle behind them and easily defeat the Bears in Chicago.

CINCINNATI over Baltimore (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): The Ravens have been hit hard with injuries already this season and Joe Flacco started throwing just 12 days before the regular season began after recovering from a back injury. Flacco is expected to play, but one has to wonder how effective he'll be when the Ravens visit the division rival Bengals. I think Flacco and the Ravens will be rusty and even without LB Vontaze Burfict, who is suspended yet again for three-games, the Bengals open the season with a win.

Pittsburgh over CLEVELAND (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): The Browns will be better this season, well, they'll win more than one game this season. #BoldPrediction. Pittsburgh gets the win in Cleveland. Fun fact, the Steelers are 12-2 against the Browns since the start of the 2010 season.

Arizona over DETROIT (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fox): QB Matthew Stafford is now the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. Stafford is a very good quarterback, don't get me wrong, but he's not worth $27 million a year. He'll play well on Sunday, but I like the Cardinals to come out of the Motor City with the win.

L.A. RAMS over Indianapolis (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox): With Andrew Luck out after having offseason shoulder surgery and CB Vontae Davis out with a 'significant' groin injury, the Colts will have a tough test going out to L.A. to play the Rams. Not a huge fan of QB Jared Goff, but I think the surrounding cast helps the Rams start the season 1-0.

GREEN BAY over Seattle (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox): This won't be the only time the Seahawks visit Lambeau Field this season. As I stated in my season predictions earlier, I think we'll have a Seahawks/Packers NFC Championship game in January and I picked the Packers to win that game. I'm picking Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to win this game as well.

Carolina over SAN FRANCISCO (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox): I think that new 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will turn things around in Santa Clara, but it's going to take some time. His offense in Atlanta was one of the best in football last year and he can replicate the same thing out by the Bay, but he needs a quarterback. Brian Hoyer has played well when given the chance in the past, but he's not the long-term solution at quarterback for the 49ers. Carolina is looking to rebound after missing the playoffs last season and I think they get the win. It'll be fun to see how they use rookie Christian McCaffrey in his first NFL game too.

DALLAS over N.Y. Giants (Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): With WR Odell Beckham Jr. questionable with an ankle injury and with this game being in Dallas, I don't like the Giants chances. The Giants did hand the Cowboys two of their three losses last season though, so they know how to beat this team. This will be a ratings grabber for the NFL, as Cowboys-Giants games usually are, and I see the Cowboys getting the win with RB Ezekiel Elliott, who will play, having a big game.

RB Adrian Peterson will face his former team to kickoff
Monday Night Football.
(Stephen Lew/USA TODAY Sports)

MINNESOTA over New Orleans (Monday, 7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN): Great opener on Monday Night Football as RB Adrian Peterson returns to Minnesota as a member of the Saints. I'll really be curious to see how he fits into the Saints offense this season, but I don't expect him to lead New Orleans to a win in Minnesota Monday night.

DENVER over L.A. Chargers (Monday, 10:20 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Monday Night doubleheader concludes with Los Angeles' second team, the Chargers. The Chargers moved to L.A. from San Diego over the offseason and will play at StubHub Center, which holds about 30,000, until 2020 when the Rams/Chargers stadium in Inglewood, CA, is completed. It'll be weird seeing the Chargers in L.A. and it'll be interesting to see how they do attendance wise. There's a lot of entertainment competition in L.A. and not sure if many of the fans in San Diego will drive up to L.A. for their games. They'll face a tough Broncos team on the road to open the season and a very good Broncos defense will guide Denver to the win.

Last Season: 172-95, including a 9-2 playoff record (.644)