* – Division Winner
+ – Wild Card Winner
AFC
1. Kansas City Chiefs*
2. Cincinnati Bengals*
3. Buffalo Bills*
4. Jacksonville Jaguars*
5. New York Jets+
6. Los Angeles Chargers+
7. Baltimore Ravens+
NFC
1. Philadelphia Eagles*
2. San Francisco 49ers*
3. Detroit Lions*
4. New Orleans Saints*
5. Dallas Cowboys+
6. Seattle Seahawks+
7. Minnesota Vikings+
Continue reading1. Buffalo Bills
This kind of feels like a ‘make or break’ kind of season for them to finally punch their ticket into a Super Bowl with the current crop of players.
2. New York Jets
All they needed last year was a competent quarterback. They have that now in Aaron Rodgers.
3. Miami Dolphins
Their high powered offense depends on the health of QB Tua Tagovailoa and the hiring of Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator has expectations high in South Beach.
4. New England Patriots
I find it hard to believe that Bill Belichick thought having two assistants run the offense with no offensive coaching experience was going to work out last season.
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Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1. Boston Bruins vs. 4. Florida Panthers
Players to Watch: G Linus Ullmark and F Matthew Tkachuk
Who Wins: Bruins in 5 games
2. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. 3. Tampa Bay Lightning
Players to Watch: F Auston Matthews and F Nikita Kucherov
Who Wins: Lightning in 7 games
Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes vs. 4. New York Islanders
Players to Watch: F Sebastian Aho and G Ilya Sorokin
Who Wins: Hurricanes in 6 games
2. New Jersey Devils vs. 3. New York Rangers
Players to Watch: F Jack Hughes and G Igor Shesterkin
Who Wins: Rangers in 6 games
Western Conference
Pacific Division
1. Vegas Golden Knights vs. 4. Winnipeg Jets
Players to Watch: G Jonathan Quick and G Connor Hellebuyck
Who Wins: Golden Knights in 6 games
2. Edmonton Oilers vs. 3. Los Angeles Kings
Players to Watch: F Connor McDavid and F Adrian Kempe
Who Wins: Kings in 7 games
Central Division
1. Colorado Avalanche vs. 4. Seattle Kraken
Players to Watch: F Mikko Rantanen and D Vince Dunn
Who Wins: Avalanche in 5 games
2. Dallas Stars vs. 3. Minnesota Wild
Players to Watch: F Jason Robertson and Goalies Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury
Who Wins: Stars in 6 games
Eastern Conference
1. Carolina Hurricanes vs. 4. New York Rangers
2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 3. Washington Capitals
1. Boston Bruins vs. 4. Florida Panthers
2. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. 3. Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
1. Colorado Avalanche vs. 4. Winnipeg Jets
2. Minnesota Wild vs. 3. Dallas Stars
1. Vegas Golden Knights vs. 4. Edmonton Oilers
2. Calgary Flames vs. 3. Los Angeles Kings
Conference Finals
Hurricanes over Lightning
Avalanche over Kings
Stanley Cup Finals
Hurricanes over Avalanche
Does This Fix The Problem?
So apparently the New York Jets have a quarterback controversy at the weirdest possible time. Heading into December this is not the time any team wants this to happen. For the Jets it seemed to be the right call after their win against the Chicago Bears. Now this doesn’t mean I’m jumping on the bandwagon. The Bears are not a good team. Even if their QB Justin Fields was able to play in the game, which he didn’t. However, QB Mike White who became a folk hero last season, completed 22 of his 28 passes for 315 yards and threw for 3 touchdowns. Zach Wilson, the former number two overall pick, has started 7 games this season and had only thrown 4 touchdown passes. Again, I’m not jumping on the Jets bandwagon, but this could have solved a huge problem.
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