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Linus O'Howell

Reacting to My 2023 NFL Predictions Over the Course of the Regular Season

If you've read the NFL Previews that I’ve done throughout the Regular Season, you would know that I predict every single game/outcome. In this article, I will show you the final results from my Predictions to see who I favoured more than others, how many teams I actually got correct, and what the Playoffs would’ve looked like had I gotten every single Prediction right! Now, let’s start with the AFC East!

Credit: Sports Illustrated

 


AFC East

Credit: NFL Draft Countdown

In the AFC East, I predicted the Miami Dolphins to win their Division with an 11-6 record. Weirdly enough, The Dolphins did go 11-6, but they actually finished second in the AFC East so I was kind of right, but also kind of wrong! In second place, I had the Buffalo Bills with a 10-7 record. Whilst I wasn’t too far off with this Prediction, The Bills actually won the AFC East with an 11-6 record so I was wrong. I then had the New England Patriots to finish third with a record of 5-12. This also didn’t quite happen as The Patriots finished bottom of their Division with a 4-13 record. And finally, I had the New York Jets to finish bottom of the AFC East with a pretty poor 3-14 record. This was incorrect as The Jets finished third with a 7-10 record, and rather ironically, this is the second straight year that I’ve predicted New York to win just three games. In terms of the Playoffs, I had the Miami Dolphins as the Number 4 seed (3-3 VS common Jacksonville opponents) and the Buffalo Bills as the 7th seed (7-5 VS AFC). What actually happened is Buffalo took the Number 2 seed whilst Miami had to settle for the 6th seed.

 


AFC North

Credit: Steelers Depot

In the AFC North, I predicted the Baltimore Ravens to win their Division with a monstrous record of 15-2! The Ravens did win the AFC North, but “only” with a 13-4 record. In second place, I had the Cleveland Browns with an 11-6 record. This was spot on so I’m very happy with that! I then had the Cincinnati Bengals to finish third with a record of 10-7. I was ever so slightly too optimistic when it comes to The Bengals as they actually finished bottom of the AFC North with a record of 9-8. And finally, I had the Pittsburgh Steelers to finish bottom of the AFC North with a 6-11 record. This was very wrong as The Steelers finished third in their Division with a 10-7 record (so fair play to them). In terms of the Playoffs, I had the Baltimore Ravens as the Number 1 seed (12-0 VS AFC) and the Cleveland Browns as the 6th seed. Baltimore did take the Number 1 seed in the AFC so I got that one correct whilst I was just off with Cleveland as they took the 5th seed. However, I should also mention that the Pittsburgh Steelers got the Number 7 seed so I was very wrong about their season.

 


AFC South

Credit: NFL Draft Countdown

In the AFC South, I predicted the Jacksonville Jaguars to win their Division with an 11-6 record. Due to them blowing it, The Jaguars actually finished second with a 9-8 record, but I think that’s more on them than me! In second place, I had the Houston Texans with a 10-7 record. The Texans did finish 10-7, but that record was actually enough for them to win the AFC South. I then had the Indianapolis Colts to finish third with a record of 9-8. This Prediction was spot on so I’m pretty pleased about that. And finally, I had the Tennessee Titans to finish bottom of the AFC South with a 3-14 record. Whilst The Titans did finish bottom of their Division, their 6-11 record would show that they did do a bit better than I expected. In terms of the Playoffs, I had the Jacksonville Jaguars as the Number 3 seed (4-2 VS common Miami opponents). What actually happened is the Houston Texans took the Number 4 seed whilst The Jags didn’t make the Playoffs at all!

 


AFC West

Credit: Packers Talk

In the AFC West, I predicted the Kansas City Chiefs to win their Division with a massive 15-2 record. Whilst The Chiefs were victorious in the AFC West, they didn’t do as well as I predicted as they finished with an 11-6 record. In second place, I had the Denver Broncos with a 13-4 record. This was completely wrong as The Broncos finished third in their Division with a (negative) record of 8-9! I then had the Los Angeles Chargers to finish third with a record of 10-7. This was also a bad one as The Chargers finished bottom of the AFC West with just a 5-12 record. And finally, I had the Las Vegas Raiders to finish bottom of the AFC West with an 8-9 record. Whilst the Raiders did actually finish second, I did at least get their record correct. In terms of the Playoffs, I had the Kansas City Chiefs as the Number 2 seed (10-2 VS AFC) and the Denver Broncos as the 5th seed. What actually happened is Kansas City took the Number 3 seed whilst Denver didn’t make the Playoffs.

 


NFC East

Credit: Inside The Star

In the NFC East, I predicted the Philadelphia Eagles to win their Division with a superb 15-2 record. Neither of these things happened as The Eagles only finished second in the NFC East with an 11-6 record. In second place, I had the Dallas Cowboys with a 14-3 record. I was once again wrong here as The Cowboys won their Division with a 12-5 record which is actually quite odd when you think about it. I then had the Washington Commanders to finish third with a record of 4-13. I got The Commanders’ record correct, but they actually finished bottom of their Division. And finally, I had the New York Giants to finish bottom of the NFC East with a 0-17 record! I apologise to The Giants as they managed to win 6 games and finish third in their Division. In terms of the Playoffs, I had the Philadelphia Eagles as the Number 1 seed (1-0 VS 49ers) and the Dallas Cowboys as the 5th seed. What actually happened is Dallas took the Number 2 seed whilst The Eagles had to settle for the 5th seed.

 


NFC North

Credit: Packers Talk

In the NFC North, I predicted the Detroit Lions to win their Division with a 12-5 record. Both of these things happened so I’m very happy with this Prediction. In second place, I had the Minnesota Vikings with an 8-9 record. This was wrong as The Vikings actually finished third in the NFC North with a slightly worse 7-10 record. I then had the Chicago Bears in third with a record of 3-14. The Bears actually had a better year than I thought in the sense that they finished with a 7-10 record, but they did slightly worse in the sense that they actually finished bottom of their Division. And finally, I had the Green Bay Packers to finish bottom of the NFC North with a 3-14 record! This was a bad one as The Packers finished second in the NFC North with a 9-8 record. In terms of the Playoffs, I had the Detroit Lions as the Number 3 seed. That happened so I got a clean sweep with Detroit, but it’s worth mentioning that the Green Bay Packers made the Playoffs as the 7th seed.

 


NFC South

Credit: Packers Talk

In the NFC South, I predicted the New Orleans Saints to win their Division with an 11-6 record. Neither of these things happened as The Saints actually finished second with a 9-8 record. In second place, I had the Atlanta Falcons (also) with an 11-6 record, but they didn’t win the Division due to going 0-2 against The Saints. The Falcons actually finished third with a 7-10 record so I was quite a bit off with them! I then had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to finish third with a record of 6-11. I was again wrong here as The Buccaneers won the NFC South with a 9-8 record. And finally, I had the Carolina Panthers to finish bottom of the NFC South with a 1-16 record! Whilst that might seem incredibly harsh, The Panthers did finish bottom of the NFC South with just two wins to their name so I wasn’t too far off. In terms of the Playoffs, I had the New Orleans Saints as the Number 4 seed and the Atlanta Falcons as the 6th seed. What actually happened is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the Number 4 seed whilst The Saints and Falcons both failed to make the Post-Season.

 


NFC West

Credit: Fox Sports

In the NFC West, I predicted the San Francisco 49ers to win their Division with an incredibly strong 15-2 record. The 49ers did win the NFC West, but “only” with a 12-5 record. In second place, I had the Seattle Seahawks with a 9-8 record. For the second straight year, I’ve predicted The Seahawks’ record correctly, but it’s worth mentioning that they only finished third. I then had the Los Angeles Rams to finish third with a record of 6-11. To be fair to The Rams, they did a lot better than I expected as they finished second in the NFC West with a good 10-7 record. And finally, I had the Arizona Cardinals to finish bottom of the NFC West with a 3-14 record. The Cardinals did finish bottom so I got that correct, but they did manage to get 4 wins. In terms of the Playoffs, I had the San Francisco 49ers as the Number 2 seed (0-1 VS Philadelphia) and the Seattle Seahawks as the 7th seed. What actually happened is The 49ers took the Number 1 seed whilst The Rams got the 6th seed and The Seahawks missed out entirely.

 

What the Playoffs Would’ve looked like had I Predicted Everything Correctly


AFC 1st Round Bye: Baltimore Ravens

(7) Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs (2)

(6) Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars (3)

(5) Denver Broncos @ Miami Dolphins (4)

 

NFC 1st Round Bye: Philadelphia Eagles

(7) Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers (2)

(6) Atlanta Falcons @ Detroit Lions (3)

(5) Dallas Cowboys @ New Orleans Saints (4)

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