During the course of the NFL Season, I have predicted every single result for every single game. I thought it would be a good idea to see how well I predicted the team's records over the course of the season and to also find out what would have happened if I got every single prediction correct.
AFC
AFC East
In the AFC East, I predicted the Buffalo Bills to win the division with a record of 13-4. This was pretty accurate as the Bills won the AFC East with a record of 13-3 due to the fact that the Bills v Bengals game had to be called off. In second place, I had the New England Patriots with a record of 11-6. I clearly overestimated the Patriots a bit as they finished third in the division with a record of 8-9. I then had the Miami Dolphins to finish third with a record of 10-7. I overestimated and underestimated the Dolphins at the same time as they ended up finishing second in the division with a record of 9-8. Finally, I predicted the Jets to finish bottom of the AFC East with a record of 3-14. I clearly didn’t have any belief in this team as even though they did finish last, they won 7 games. In terms of the playoffs, I had the Bills as the number 3 seed and the Patriots as the number 7 seed. What actually happened is the Bills took the number 2 seed and the Dolphins took the number 7 seed over the Patriots.
AFC North
In the AFC North, I predicted the Cincinnati Bengals to win the division with a record of 14-3. The Bengals did win the AFC North, but they finished with a record of 12-4. In second place, I had the Baltimore Ravens, also with a record of 14-3. The reason the Bengals won the division title was because they had a better record against teams in their division (5-1 compared to 3-3). I was clearly very optimistic when it comes to the Ravens as they finished second with a record of 10-7. I then had the Pittsburgh Steelers in third with a record of 6-11. Pittsburgh did finish third, but they had a record of 9-8 so I underestimated them a bit. Finally, I had the Cleveland Browns to finish bottom with a record of 5-12. Once again, I got them in the correct place, but they won 7 games. In terms of the playoffs, I had the Bengals as the number 2 seed and the Ravens as the number 6 seed. What actually happened is the Bengals took the number 3 seed and the Ravens took the number 6 seed so I got that right.
AFC South
In the AFC South, I predicted the Tennessee Titans to win the division with a record of 10-7. That didn’t happen as the Titans finished second in the AFC South with a record of 7-10. I then had both the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars to finish on a 4-13 record. When it comes to Indi, they came third with a record of 4-12-1 so I’ll take that as a win whilst the Jags finished top of the division with a record of 9-8 so I definitely can’t take that as a win! Finally, I had the Houston Texans to finish bottom with a record of 1-16. They did finish bottom, but with a record of 3-13-1 so they did do a bit better than I expected. In terms of the playoffs, I had the Titans to take the number 4 seed. What actually happened was the Jags took the number 4 seed and the Titans didn’t make the playoffs at all.
AFC West
In the AFC West, I predicted the Kansas City Chiefs to win the division with a record of 15-2. The Chiefs did win the division and they finished with a record of 14-3 so I was close. In second place, I had the Los Angeles Chargers to finish with a record of 14-3. The Chargers did come second, but they only won 10 games so I overestimated them a bit. I then had the Denver Broncos to finish third with a record of 9-8. What actually happened was the Broncos finished bottom of the division with a record of 5-12 so I clearly had too much faith in them. Finally, I had the Las Vegas Raiders to finish bottom with a record of 8-9. The Raiders actually came third with a record of 6-11 so I got neither part of that right. In terms of the playoffs, I had the Chiefs to take the number 1 seed and the Chargers to take the number 5 seed. Both of those things happened so I’m happy with that (the Chargers were 4-2 VS AFC West compared to the Ravens being 3-3 VS AFC North).
NFC
NFC East
In the NFC East, I predicted the Dallas Cowboys to win the division with a record of 15-2. Neither of those things happened as the Cowboys finished second with a record of 12-5. In second place, I had the Philadelphia Eagles, also with a record of 15-2. The reason why the Cowboys won the division was because I predicted the Cowboys to win both meetings between the two. What actually happened with the Eagles is they won the division with a record of 14-3. I then had the Washington Commanders in third with a record of 7-10. Washington actually finished bottom of the NFC East with a record of 8-8-1 so I was definitely wrong about them. Finally, I had the New York Giants to finish bottom of the NFC East with a record of 6-11. I clearly didn’t expect the Giants to be as good as they were as they finished third in the division with a record of 9-7-1. In terms of the playoffs, I had the Cowboys to take the number 1 seed and the Eagles to finish as the number 5 seed. What actually happened is the Cowboys and the Eagles finished the other way around whilst the New York Giants finished as the number 6 seed so I completely predicted wrong when it comes to them.
NFC North
In the NFC North, I predicted the Green Bay Packers to win the division with a record of 12-5. That definitely didn’t happen as the Packers finished third in the NFC North with a record of 8-9. In second place, I had the Minnesota Vikings, also with a record of 12-5. The reason why the Packers won the division was because I predicted them to sweep the Vikings. Minnesota actually won the division with a record of 13-4. I then had the Detroit Lions in third with a record of 6-11. The Lions actually finished second with a record of 9-8 so they definitely performed better than I expected. Finally, I had the Chicago Bears to finish bottom of the division with a record of 3-14. Both of those things happened so I’m very happy with that. In terms of the playoffs, I had the Green Bay Packers to take the number 3 seed and the Minnesota Vikings to take the number 6 seed. What actually happened is the Vikings finished as the number 3 seed whilst the Packers didn’t make the playoffs at all.
NFC South
In the NFC South, I predicted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division with a record of 13-4. The Bucs did win the division, but they only won 8 games so I definitely rated them higher than they actually were (or they underperformed). I then had both the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints to finish with a record of 5-12. When it comes to the Falcons, they finished bottom with a record of 7-10 whilst the Saints finished third in the division, also with a record of 7-10. At least I got that right. Finally, I had the Carolina Panthers to finish bottom of the division with a record of 3-14. The Panthers actually finished second in the division with a record of 7-10 so I underestimated them. In terms of the playoffs, I had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take the number 2 seed. What actually happened is the Bucs took the number 4 seed so they didn’t do as well as I expected.
NFC West
In the NFC West, I predicted the San Francisco 49ers to win the division with a record of 12-5. The Niners did win the division and with a record of 13-4 so I was close. In second place, I had the Seattle Seahawks with a record of 9-8. Both of those things happened so I’m happy about that. I then had the Los Angeles Rams with a record of 5-12 and that also happened so I’m doing pretty well now. Finally, I had the Arizona Cardinals to finish bottom of the division with a record of 3-14. The Cardinals did finish last, but with a record of 4-13 so I was slightly wrong. In terms of the playoffs, I had the 49ers to take the number 4 seed (worse record vs division compared to Green Bay) and the Seahawks to take the number 7 seed. What actually happened is the Niners took the number 2 seed so I wasn’t right with that whilst the Seahawks were the number 7 seed which meant I got a clean sweep with them.
Go Hawks!!