No I don’t bet these myself as having a wager tied up for the entire season seems illogical and there are so many injuries that come up over the course of a season that a sure fire “LOCK” can end up going to the team that remains healthy over the long season.
AFC East – Buffalo is clear cut favorite here and with the addition of Von Miller and having their secondary back healthy the Bills have their eyes set on having home field not just winning the division. We saw in the playoffs just how far they are ahead of New England when at full tilt. While the Dolphins have a lot of new pieces its been 9-1 the last 10 vs. Miami so we will see how or if they are able to close that gap. The Jets improved and most likely won’t compete for the division however they may get good enough to play spoiler in a few division games. My pick Buffalo -225
AFC North – The Bengals took off winning from having no expectations last year while the Browns and Ravens suffered through injury plagued years. This year its the Steelers with a new QB and no expectations of doing much even though they have won big primetime games with 3rd string QB’s over the past few seasons. The possible Watson suspension has the Browns in limbo meaning this thing is most likely between the Ravens and Bengals. I hate to say it but I give the edge to Baltimore if they can stay healthy because the Bengals last 7 games are gonna be tough assuming Watson is back they play the Titans, Chiefs, Browns, Bucs, Patriots, Bills, Ravens to close things out, and while they may will probably not read this themselves, I’m a Bengals fan and they are my home CBS broadcast, I think the Bengals only have two tough games in the first 10 games and should be out to 8-2 start at the worst before the tough 7 and finish with Baltimore in the jungle. Bengals +175
AFC South – The Titans won last year as the Colts lost in Jacksonville on the final game and failed to make the playoffs. Roster changes on both those teams may lead to a shake up this year. The Titans traded off AJ Brown and released Julio Jones, the thing is they lost to the Jets when both those guys were out last year so the questions at WR may lead to Austin Hooper playing a big role at TE. Along with that is Henry back and healthy. The Colts brought in Matt Ryan and Nick Foles as his backup. Put that with last years top rusher and a top 10 defense and that is why vegas has them as the favorite. My pick Indianapolis -125
AFC West – The Chiefs lost the AFC Championship at home in overtime, the did lose Hill and Mathieu both were key players on their side of the ball. While they may have brought in Valdez-Scantling it’ll be interesting to see if the Chiefs made Hill a star and can make him the same or if that was a superstar and there isn’t another one of him. The Broncos of course bring in Russell Wilson. The Chargers were close last year and add Mack on defense. The Raiders add Adams, sign Renfroe to an extension and still have Waller making them have one of the receiver groups in the NFL. This is anyone’s division and who stays healthy may determine things here and just for making a pick and until someone beats them my pick is the Chiefs +175
UPDATE: With the Week 1 injury to Dak Prescott the Cowboys are officially not going to win the East! The Eagles the clear front runner at -165, but after week 1 honestly the Giants or Commanders at +550 a piece may end up competing for the division.
NFC East – For all the progress the Cowboys made last year they get a home playoff game and want to run hook and ladder instead of putting that O-Lineman converted into a fullback and using a two runner attack. That being said its for Dallas its Mike McCarthy win or Sean Payton next year. The Eagles now have two receivers and another year of experience. Washington now the Commanders and now with Carson Wentz who is 16-9 vs. the NFC East but was on Philly not against them. New York who knows but they are the long shot here. No one has repeated in the NFC East since 2004, but my pick is Dallas +150 to beat that trend.
NFC North – The Packers here -190 and most likely if they stay healthy will win the division. The only team I really see with a chance to compete with them is the Vikings and for them that would mean staying healthy and finding a way to win the little time control issues and things that don’t always show up in any stat other than the win/loss column. My pick Green Bay -190.
NFC South – Tampa Bay returns a championship contender. New Orleans has had their number head to head but now they have a new head coach and they do get back Thomas at WR. Atlanta and Carolina both teams that really don’t have high expectations nation wide but with new QB’s in both cities one may step up and surprise people. My pick Tampa Bay -300.
NFC West – The Rams the clear cut favorite here as they were amazing on their title run last year. The 49ers apparently going for the unproven Trey Lance instead of a proven winner for them and maybe they will show different on the field but I don’t think they are anywhere close to the NFC Championship with Lance, whereas with Jimmy they have been there on repeat. The Cardinals were only good with Hopkins on the field and the last half of the year they didn’t win the same. The Seahawks traded Wilson but did get Fant to add to a good WR group. While they may be better than expected my pick is the Rams +125.