So many people care about Footsportsball now

[MadhattanJack]

[Repo]

[CA Dreamin]

Yep. Pretty amusing when someone trash talks their own team, only for them to come back and win. On that note, it's halftime in the 2023 NFL season. Let's see:

NFC East - My team, the Eagles, are flying high at 8-1, best record in the NFL. However they don't seem look as dominant as last year. They've often found themselves in close games against average opponents. They're now in the touch stretch of their schedule with 2 against Dallas, SF, BUF, and KC as their next 5 games. They're probably not gonna win all of them, but the schedule eases up at the end, and I think they'll win the East. Dallas is a solid 2nd place team, probably gonna get a wild card. Washington is whatever. And the Giants are awful (and I'm laughing about it, please make Daniel Jones the QB for the next 10 years).

NFC North - The big question mark going into this year was: How good is GB gonna be with the departure of Rodgers and the start of the Jordan Love Era? Welp, it appears their problems on offense are deep. They just don't have the weapons, and Love isn't Super-Man (so far, anyway). Meanwhile, DET finished 2022 strong, and rode that hot streak into 2023, and will probably win the division. MIN started awful, but hey...5 wins in a row. They have the offense to win enough games to make a wild card, but their defense is still weak and will prevent them from both catching DET in the standings, and a deep playoff run. The Bears stink.

NFC South - Tom Brady's retirement sealed the regression of the Bucs. They weren't that good last year, and now they're just average. But nobody else is impressive in this division. The Falcons haven't found their new QB since Matt Ryan. And the Panthers haven't found their new QB since Newton. We'll see if Bryce Young develops, and if their defense can someday stop someone. And that leaves the Saints, who aren't great by any means, but they're most stable team right now. I expect them to win the South and likely get ousted in the wild card round.

NFC West - Man, the 49ers looked invincible through 5 games...then they lost 3 in a row in ugly fashion, allowing the Seahawks to catch them. The 49ers are still the best team in the West, and will be tough to beat if they play up to their potential. Seahawks are ok, not great. The Rams may need to admit they're just not that good anymore, time to re-build? The Cardinals finally got Murray back, but it's obviously too late to salvage this season. But who knows, maybe they can finish the year strong, get some good players in the off-season, and be competitive next year?

NFC playoff team predictions: Division winners: PHI, DET, NO, SF. Wild cards: DAL, MIN, SEA

AFC East - Ok, what is up with BUF this year? Some days, they play great. Others, they play like crap. Same with MIA. Although there are patterns with MIA...they whoop teams with losing records, while they struggle against teams with winning records. In addition, they play great at home, subpar on the road. Then there's also the Jets, who are maintaining a .500 record despite the injury to Rodgers Wk 1. And supposedly he might return soon? If so, how good will he be? If the Jets great defense can keep them in contention, a Rodgers return could give them a late-season boost. And let's just sit and laugh at the Patriots. It's been a long time since we could do that.

AFC North - Strongest division in the NFL through 9 weeks. I think sooner or later, PIT will fall. The other three teams all seem legit. Could be an exciting race.

AFC South - 2 decent teams, and 2 subpar teams. I think CJ Stroud is a great QB in the making. It's his rookie year, and he plays on a sloppy team, but I think HOU will be the best in this division within a couple years. Or possibly this year? JAX was the clear favorite to win this division at the start, but they're not looking exceptional right now. And IND and TEN are heading towards a losing record. It's time for TEN to move on from Tannehill. In this day and age, you can't build a winning team around an amazing RB.

AFC West - So far this year, the West looks much like last year. KC running away with it. LAC have good potential, but play sloppy too often. And LV and DEN are both in a mess.

AFC playoff team predictions: KC wins the West. Other predictions, oof I don't know.

[EyeKanFly]

[Anti]

[CA Dreamin]

[EyeKanFly]

[Romanelli]

Here we come...!!!!!

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

_________________
May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

[Anti]

[CA Dreamin]

End of the 3rd quarter of this NFL season. You'd think the playoff picture would be clearer...but no, it's not. Nearly half of the league is 7-6 or 6-7.

So who's a contender, and who isn't?

For starters, I think it's safe to say the 49ers and Cowboys are the best 2 teams, not just in the NFC, but the entire NFL. Both dominant since the midway point. The Eagles were in that discussion but these last two weeks exposed their problems. They're all still 10-3. SF has victories over both PHI and DAL, so they hold the tie-breakers and should ride that out to #1 seed. However, with both PHI and DAL at 10-3, it's still very possible PHI wins the East thanks to an easier remaining schedule than DAL. Either way, one should get the #2 seed, the other, a very strong #5 seed. Hope the Eagles learn from these losses and get their act together. The Lions hold the '4th-best team in the NFC' claim. They have a tough remaining schedule. All of their last 4 opponents currently have winning records. But with a two-game lead, with four to play, they should win the North and get the #3 seed.

And now for all those bubble teams in the NFC...

Nobody seems to want to win the South. ATL had a chance to seize the lead, but blew it against the Bucs, resulting in both teams at 6-7. Plus the Saints, three teams at 6-7 racing for that #4 seed. I still say the Saints are more stable than the Bucs and Falcons. I think they'll end up winning the division, but I'm not at all confident. I could seem them all finishing 8-9, with the winner determined through whatever tie-breakers.

There's still the #6 and #7 seed up for grabs with seven teams that are 7-6 or 6-7. The Vikings are one of them, and currently hold a spot, but they look dysfunctional and have a tough remaining schedule. If there were at least two better 6-7 choices in the NFC, I'd predict MIN would fall by the season's end. But I don't think there are. The GB Packers had a chance last night to put themselves over .500 and in a playoff position, but they choked against a weak NYG team in the final minute. I'm not very confident in them. The Seahawks have lost 4 straight games to fall to 6-7, not confident in them either. That leaves the Rams, whom I said a month ago 'may need to admit they're not that good anymore, and should consider a re-build.' I am eating those words now. Nacua and Kupp may be the best 1-2 receiver duo in the NFL, and Stafford has been finding them and carving up secondaries these last few weeks. Even though the Rams lost this week, they put up a good fight on the road against arguably the best team in the AFC. So yeah, I think the Rams are actually the 6-7 dark horse who will finish strong and win a wild card. The last wild card could be NO, ATL, TB, GB, SEA, or MIN. I guess GB, but I really don't know.

Now for the AFC, which is equally messy...

The Jets and Chargers playoff aspirations are done. Shame, cause they came into 2023 with so much promise. The best they can do now is play spoiler to the teams ahead of them.

The Ravens are looking good at 10-3, in the #1 spot right now. But yikes, all their remaining opponents are over .500. I think they are the best team overall in the AFC, but if they finish 2-2 over their last 4, they could easily slip out the #1 seed, possibly lose the North to CLE, but unlikely. Speaking of CLE, it's very cool how they've managed to be 8-5 at this point with everything they've been through. I wouldn't mind seeing Joe Flacco have a chance at pulling a Kurt Warner...going from SB champ, to bouncing around and playing as a back-up, to returning as a starter in his late-30s with another team, and go on an unexpected deep playoff run. Anyway, I think BAL wins the North. CLE has a good shot at a WC. PIT is a head-scratcher. I didn't buy into them before, but they just lost at home to the Pats...wow. They have a tough remaining schedule and I wouldn't be shocked if their luck ran out, and they lost all 4. Especially since one of those games is against the Bengals, who are looking like themselves again, just with a different QB whose initials are JB. Gotta admit Browning has been impressive. Bengals could definitely get a wild card. Another team who is looking like themselves again is the Buffalo Bills. Say what you want about the penalty that made Mahomes go apeshit, BUF earned that win. They have a tough game against the Cowboys this weekend, but if they win that game, they'll be in good shape. That Week 18 game against the Dolphins could decide the AFC East. The AFC South is up for grabs again, with JAX losing two in a row. I don't buy into the Colts, but they have some easy opponents ahead. The Texans have their ups and downs. Solid wins against JAX and DEN, but they've also lost against CAR and the NYJ. They're heading in the right direction as a team, and will be in the playoff hunt until the end, but hard to say if they get in. Finally the West. Chiefs are in a lull, but I don't see how they don't win the West. They're still a great team and have an easy remaining schedule. The DEN Broncos have an easy schedule, too, and have come alive in the last 7 weeks. No reason to think they can't finish strong and be in the hunt.

Um, basically it's conceivable 8 teams in the AFC will finish 10-7 or 9-8, and it's impossible to tell who gets in at this point.