It’s never too early to start making predictions for the upcoming NFL season.
Sure it’s early—really, REALLY early—but then again it’s never too soon to start taking a guess about who will end up in the NFL conference championship games and Super Bowl.
Of course, we all realize that between now and the end of the season a myriad of things will happen to further shape the following scenarios—and potentially set them on fire, as well.
There will be injuries, suspensions, upsets and tank-jobs. There will be crazy weather that changes the entire outlook of a game, and dominant players who emerge that aren’t even on the radar right now.
All of those things will conspire to make any of us doing these June predictions look like fools—maybe even by the time training camp opens in July.
Still, there are some educated guesses we can put together right now about who could be in contention. The Denver Broncos losing Ryan Clady is a huge blow, which could be a big factor if they miss the playoffs. We’ve yet to see Andy Dalton get his Bengals over the hump in the postseason. Seattle has made the Super Bowl two years in a row—odds are they won’t again, especially as they wrestle with no longer having Russell Wilson on the cheap, and making hard roster choices. The Philadelphia Eagles seem like they have a ton of talent, but Chip Kelly trading Nick Foles for oft-injured Sam Bradford seems destined to cause bad things to happen to the Eagles’ season.
It all factors in to the four teams I have chosen to be in the AFC and NFC Championship games. I actually think that both conferences will be very tight this year, though the NFC is going to be closer and more competitive.
Next: AFC Championship: New England Patriots