NFL season preview: Projected win totals for each team
By Josh Sanchez
With the NFL season just around the corner, the folks at PredictionMachine.com have unveiled their NFL Realistic Standings for the upcoming season. Their predictions are often among the most accurate on the web, so it is interesting to see what their simulations came up with.
If the NFL follows the trend that it has over the past decade with record fluctuations, this is how Predictionmachine.com believes that everything would play out.
A total of six new teams make the playoffs in the PredictionMachine.com standings, which goes to show just how much parity is in the league.
After the simulations, here are how the playoff teams came out (new playoff teams in bold):
- NFC Playoff Teams: 1) 49ers 2) Packers 3) Panthers 4) Giants 5) Rams 6) Saints
- AFC Playoff Teams: 1) Patriots 2) Steelers 3) Broncos 4) Texans 5) Bengals 6) Dolphins
What do you think of the projections and are there any teams that you feel missed the field but are clear playoff contenders? Sound off in the comments section and be sure to share your thoughts.
Here are the full record projections from Prediction Machine, which was built by Paul Bessire. Where does your team stand?
Rank | Team | Proj. Wins | Proj. Losses | Win Change |
| 1 | San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 2 | +3 |
| 2 | Green Bay Packers | 13 | 3 | +2 |
| 3 | New England Patriots | 13 | 3 | +1 |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | 12 | 4 | +5 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 12 | 4 | +4 |
| 6 | St. Louis Rams | 11 | 5 | +4 |
| 7 | Denver Broncos | 11 | 5 | -2 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | 10 | 6 | +6 |
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 10 | 6 | +3 |
| 10 | New York Giants | 10 | 6 | +1 |
| 11 | Cincinnati Bengals | 10 | 6 | EVEN |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 10 | 6 | EVEN |
| 13 | Miami Dolphins | 9 | 7 | +2 |
| 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | 9 | 7 | +5 |
| 15 | Kansas City Chiefs | 9 | 7 | +7 |
| 16 | Houston Texans | 9 | 7 | -3 |
| 17 | Baltimore Ravens | 8 | 8 | -2 |
| 18 | Seattle Seahawks | 8 | 8 | -3 |
| 19 | Atlanta Falcons | 8 | 8 | -5 |
| 20 | Cleveland Browns | 7 | 9 | +2 |
| 21 | New York Jets | 7 | 9 | +1 |
| 22 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 10 | -2 |
| 23 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5 | 11 | +3 |
| 24 | Buffalo Bills | 5 | 11 | -1 |
| 25 | Washington Redskins | 5 | 11 | -5 |
| 26 | Indianapolis Colts | 5 | 11 | -6 |
| 27 | Arizona Cardinals | 4 | 12 | -1 |
| 28 | San Diego Chargers | 4 | 12 | -3 |
| 29 | Oakland Raiders | 3 | 13 | -1 |
| 30 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 13 | -4 |
| 31 | Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 13 | -7 |
| 32 | Tennessee Titans | 2 | 14 | -4 |