2024 NFL Season Preview

The time has finally arrived. The wait is over. Kickoff is here for the 2024 NFL Season. Thirty two teams all starting the year with the same goal in mind. Be the ones left standing at the Superdome in New Orleans on February 9th with the Lombardi Trophy over their heads. So lets get into it, here's how we see the 2024 NFL Season going down.

We got some new head coaches roaming the sidelines. Raheem Morris (Atlanta), Dave Canales (Carolina), Antonio Pierce (Vegas), Jim Harbaugh (Chargers), Jarrod Mayo (New England), Mike Macdonald (Seattle), Brian Callahan (Tennessee), and Dan Quinn (Washington) are taking over with new teams as the man in charge.

We also saw a lot of player movement this offseason. Way too many to list in full here, but we will stick with some of the notable names that moved. Kirk Cousins (Atlanta), Russel Wilson (Pittsburgh), Saquan Barkley (Philadelphia), Derrick Henry (Baltimore) were the biggest names to sign. Then there were the guys like Joe Mixon (Houston), Carlton Davis (Detroit), Keenan Allen (Chicago), and Stefon Diggs (Houston) who were sent to new cities via the trade route.

All in all a lot of new faces leading to some exciting possibilities for what's to come this season. Here's how things are going to play out this season.

NFC:
NFC East:
1 Philadelphia Eagles (10-7)*
2. Dallas Cowboys (10-7)*
3. Washington Commanders (7-10)
4. New York Giants (5-12)

It's going to be a fight between two teams at the top of the division. Even though there are and has been a lot of turnover with coordinators since 2022, the Eagles will by the skin of their teeth snatch away the division title this season. They got a new runner in Saquan Barkley They brought back some solid help on defense and had a strong draft class coming out of this year. In a division that hasn't had back to back division crown winners since 2004 with the Eagles, this might keep going. The Cowboys have a big year coming up. Dak is set to be a free agent at the end of the year, as is head coach Mike McCarthy. They had CeeDee Lamb on that list too, but he signed an extension. The Cowboys seem to be a dominating regular season club, but can never seem to get over the ump when it matters. Dallas hoping to possibly shatter those expectations this season. Now the Commanders are looking for the new man under center to lead them into the future. They are now going into wholesale changes with Jayden Daniels taking over at quarterback. He's got Terry McClaine and Zach Ertz to throw the ball to. Questions remain in the Washington running game, but the defense could be good enough that Washington can improve over the four wins from last season. Bringing up the rear in this division will be the Giants. A huge question surrounds the quarterback position and how well the play of Daniel Jones will be. Barkley isn't there anymore, so enter Devon Singletary. New wide out Malik Nabres will hope to make an impact. There still questions with how good the O-Line and defense is going to be. Could be a long year for Big Blue.

NFC North:
1. Detroit Lions (13-4)*
2. Green Bay Packers (12-5)*
3. Chicago Bears (9-8)
4. Minnesota Vikings (5-12)

A trip to the NFC title game a year ago for the Lions wasn't enough. They want to build off it in Detroit and they've got the horses to be able to do it. Detroit has the core still in tact on both sides of the ball. Dan Campbell has no problem pushing the envelope with the personnel he has, as we saw last season. The sky really is the limit for the Lions. Nipping at their heels this year, once again, will be the Packers. Green Bay added more weapons for Jordan Love to play with this season. If we get the guy who played at the MVP level the second half of the year last year, look out. Green Bay has the horses to really be lethal this season. The biggest question mark for this entire division is going to be the Bears. Chicago now has a new man under center in Caleb Williams. He got plenty of targets around him to help him transition to the pro game. D'Andre Swift to hand off to. DJ Moore and Keenan Allen to throw to. It also helps that Chicago has the easiest schedule in the NFL this season. Finally we have the Vikings. When healthy, Minnesota could be a .500 football team. TJ Hockenson is going to be out a while with injury. They still have one of the top wide outs in the game in Justin Jefferson.  But JJ McCarthy isn't starting the season under center for Minnesota, Sam Darnold is. They gonna need a good run game and a whole lot of luck if they wanna finish with more than five wins on the season.

NFC South:
1. Atlanta Falcons (10-7)*
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8)
3. New Orleans Saints (8-9)
4. Carolina Panthers (4-13)

This will mark the changing of the guard of sorts in the South, with the Falcons taking the division this season. Kirk Cousins was brought in on a big payday, expected to not only get playing time but show new QB Michael Penix Jr how to play the position at this level. There's plenty of weapons in the forms of Drake Landon, Bjan Robinson, Darnell Mooney. The only thing that's holding back Atlanta here is how can they turn up the defensive pressure? The team that's going to be right on their heels this year is going to be the Buccaneers. Tampa has a few questions on the secondary, but otherwise I have good faith in that defense getting pressure on the opposition. What worries me is the offense. Baker Mayfield got paid for the next couple seasons. Can he duplicate or even improve on what he did last season? Still have thousand yard man Mike Evans, along with Chris Godwin. But what worries some is the run game and how good its going to be. Following them are going to be the Saints. There are still weapons for New Orleans to work with on offense. Kamara and Olave are going to be the big time weapons for Derek Carr to coordinate with. But is that going to be enough? Is Carr going to have time and protection from his line to make the plays he needs to? Combine that with the defense that leaves something to be desired, and it spells missing the playoffs for the Saints. Bringing up the rear again in this division is going to be the Panthers. New head coach Dave Canales has a lot of work ahead of him to get this team back on solid footing. Sure, there's potential in Bryce Young, and they have a couple nice weapons with Chubba Hubbard and Adam Thielen. Oh and bringing in Doante Johnson is a big plus. But worried about how Young will progress. Then there's the Panthers defense, which leaves stuff to be desired.

NFC West:
1. San Francisco 49ers (13-4)*
2. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)*
3. Arizona Cardinals (7-10)
4. Seattle Seahawks (5-12)

Two straight division titles and a loss in the Super Bowl are only going to add more fuel to the fire for the 49ers, who are going to win the West again for the third year in an row. This could be the last shot at the big one in this given window for San Francisco. Brandon Aiyuk is going to be in his final year. Him and Christian McCaffery are going to be major factors for the Niners again, along with Brock Purdy of course. For a team to be able to chase them down, losing key players is going to make things a little tougher for the Rams. Losing Aaron Donald is tough, but adding Jared Verse and Braden Fiske as a combo to replace him could prove that they are up to the task. And then there's the Rams offense. You got a fully healthy year pout of Cooper Kupp and a very intriguing year from second year man Puka Nakua. Throw Matthew Stafford into the mix as well, this could be a big year from the Rams, which ends in a trip to the playoffs. There is a full changing of the guard with the new coaching staff for the Cardinals this year. They need a fully healthy Kyler Murray to prove that he's back on his game this season. he got a brand new weapon in Marvin Harrison Jr to work with. They have an OK defense in Arizona to work with, but it won't be good enough to get them above .500 on the year. Finally, the Seahawks will be closing out the South this year. They may have a little firepower on offense, with Geno Smith throwing to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcaff. But they are going to have trouble stopping the opposition from scoring. And with a new coaching staff, its going to make things even tougher in Seattle.

AFC:
AFC East:
1. Buffalo Bills (10-7)*
2. New York Jets (10-7)*
3. Miami Dolphins (9-8)
4. New England Patriots (4-13)

This is going to, at least on paper, be a much tighter race in the East. Even though they've lost some talent from last season, the Bills are still the class of the division until proven otherwise. As long as John Allen is under center in Buffalo, there's always a chance in Buffalo. Even with Stefon Diggs getting traded. Keenan Coleman and Curtis Samuel are his top targets, and James Cook is going to get plenty of touches. Oh and they have one of the best O-Lines in football. The defense leaves a little to be desired in the pass rush game, but I think it's still good enough to keep that east title in Western New York. Nipping at their heels are going to be the Jets. Yes there was a lot of hype from last season that fell flat. This year, they actually have a solid backup behind Aaron Rogers in Tyrod Taylor. They have two of the best young weapons in the game in Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall to get the ball from Rogers, should he stay healthy. Hopefully the depth players can step up and make an impact with this team. New York has a good enough defense to be able to keep them in the playoff hunt all year long. Another team that's going to be fighting for a playoff spot is going to be the Dolphins. Miami still has one of the top receivers in the game in Tyreek Hill and if he can stay healthy this season, there's high expectations on Tua. He also has Jalen Waddle to throw to and Rahem Morstart to run the ball. Miami has the horses on the offensive side of the ball to make noise. The O-Line is a question and the defense looks middle of the pack. Bringing up the rear here is the Patriots. This first year without Bill Belichick will see Drake Maye take snaps behind Jacoby Brissett and have some growing pains this first year. The rest of the team looks average at best. Lukcy if there will be five wins in New England this season.

AFC North:
1. Cincinnati Bengals (11-6)*
2. Baltimore Ravens (10-7)*
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)
4. Cleveland Browns (8-9)

This is going to be a division that gets turned upside down and inside out this year, with the surprise being the Bengals getting the division crown. The potential for this team hinders of course on the health of Joe Burrow. Sure Joe Mixon isn't an option anymore. But you still got Ja'Mar Chase, Tee Higgins to catch passes and Zach Moss to run the football. They have the weapons, they have talent on both sides of the ball. They might be the team to come out on top of the heap. Right behind them are going to be the Ravens, who as long as they have Lamar Jackson are always going to be in the hunt. You still have Mark Andrews catching passes, along with Nelson Agulor. Now you add another element in Derek Henry, who still has some good legs underneath him. The only thing that might hold Baltimore back is the play of the offensive line. If they can actually protect Jackson, they got a chance. Then you have the Steelers. They better figure it out under center because with Justin Fields and Russel Wilson as the options, it doesn't look too good. Sure Najee Harris is going to have a bounce back year, btu there's too many other holes on this club for them to really contend for a playoff spot. There's going to be a big difference between the Browns from last year and what we get this year. Its the quarterback play. They never had stability under center till Flacco came in at the end of the year. Watson can't stay healthy enough to be that guy. They got weapons but its the guy under center that's going to hold Cleveland back this year.

AFC South:
1. Indianapolis Colts (11-6)*
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-7)*
3. Houston Texans (9-8)
4. Tennessee Titans (6-11)

It's going to be fun to what what happens with the Colts this year with their two key offensive players back and healthy over a full year. A lot of it is going to rely on Anthony Richardson to be healthy for a full season. he can do that, this team can be really good. Same thing goes for running back Jonathan Taylor. You get those two guys on the field for a full year, look out. Now with the Jaguars, they added a new weapon for Trevor Lawrence to work with. You brought in Brian Thomas Jr now a new pass catcher. he gonna mesh well with  Christian Kirk in the receiving game and Travis Etienne running the ball. They got a good young core on both sides of the ball. This team is going to be back in the playoffs again, but how deep they go only time will tell. Now the Texans are a team that's going to quickly be on the rise. CJ Stroud now has a great group of young weapons to work with. Mixon running the ball, Stefan Diggs and Nico Collins to catch the ball. The defensive side of the ball may hold the Texans back, but the offense has to tools to be able to match with the upper teams in this division. Bringing up the rear are going to be the Titans. Sure you got weapons in Hopkins, Ridley and Pollard running the football. But the question mark is at the most important position on offense in Will Levis. They got talent to work with, but it just won't be clicking this season just yet.

AFC West: 
1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-5)*
2. Los Angeles Chargers (9-8)
3. Las Vegas Raiders (7-10)
4. Denver Broncos (5-12)

New year, same end result in the West. The Chiefs are going to once again stand tall in this division. as long as Patrick Mahomes is under center, you got a chance of being a Super Bowl contender. You got Travis Kelce as the main target, with Hollywood Brown (once he's ready) and Isiah Pacheco running the football. And the defensive side of the ball has been vastly improved since Andy Reid took over as head coach. This team is good and will remain atop the AFC until somebody finally puts it all together to knock them off the mountain top. Behind them are going to be the Chargers, who would be the only other team in the division to finish with a winning record. Jim Harbaugh has worked magic before coming back to the NFL, but that might be a tall task with this group. Justin Herbert, when he's healthy, can be good. Problem is he's too injury prone. They have a good line to protect their QB and a favorable schedule at the end of the year., That won't get them to the playoffs but it will get them a winning record. As for the Raiders, it doesn't look too good. You know its awkward under center when you have to go to Gardner Minshew as your starter. You do have brock Bowers and DeVante Adams catching passes. You got Maxx Crosby on the other side of the ball. But the rest still leaves something to be desired. Bringing up the rear are going to be the Broncos. It looks very different now having Bo Nix under center. He doesn't have much to work with in the way of weapons in the Mile High City. Its going to be another long year for the Broncos.

NFC Title Game: 49ers over Lions
AFC Title Game: Chiefs over Ravens
Super Bowl LIX: Chiefs over 49ers