The NFL (National Football League) has just started, but many teams are very different compared to what they were like last year. In this article you will see how each team is expected to perform this season.
Arizona Cardinals:
The Arizona Cardinals’ main quarterback, Kyler Murray, is currently injured and their best defensive player, JJ Watt, just retired last year. This season the Cardinals defense is looking awful and they will probably just be playing to get a good draft pick next year and a better 2024-2025 season.
Atlanta Falcons:
The Atlanta Falcons have an extremely solid team this season, but their quarterback Desmond Ridder has barely played in the league and thus still hasn’t proven himself. If Ridder manages to have a good season the Falcons might go to the playoffs, and even win some games. Meanwhile, if he doesn’t perform astonishing well, the Falcons will have a hard time going to the playoffs.
Baltimore Ravens:
Last season the Ravens suffered deeply from injuries, including one to their star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Speaking of Lamar, in the pre-season the Ravens were able to renew his contract for 5 years paying him 52 million dollars a year. If the Ravens are healthy this year, they will be a huge threat in the playoffs and might even contend for the title.
Buffalo Bills:
The Buffalo Bills are questionably one of the top 3 NBA teams this year. They have Josh Allen, one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and an incredible roster both offensively and defensively. In the previous seasons the Bills have been passing super close from getting to the final, and this year might be the one where they will bring the trophy home.
Carolina Panthers:
The Panthers aren’t looking good this season. They have the number one draft pick from the 2023 draft in quarterback Bryce Young, who even though is extremely promising, hasn’t proven himself in the NFL. The Panthers plan on building their team around Young, but currently their lineup is nowhere near good enough to contend for the playoffs and they will probably just play for a higher pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Chicago Bears:
The Chicago Bears are in for another mediocre season where they will contend for the playoffs and nothing more. They have an extremely fast quarterback in Justin Fields, but his ability to pass the ball this season might be just what decides if the Bears are going to the playoffs, or going home early with a high draft pick (in which the Bears might use to replace him).
Cincinnati Bengals:
The Bengals are one of the best teams in the NFL. They have an extremely solid all around line up now that their offensive line has been upgraded, which will make their star quarterback Joe Burrow, now the player with the highest salary in the league, not suffer as much from sacks. As long as a catastrophe doesn’t happen, the Bengals, led by Joe Burrow, will be a title contender this season.
Cleveland Browns:
The Cleveland Browns are a very solid team. They have star players all around the field, including running back Nick Chubb and defensive end Myles Garrett, who is one of the best in the position. Nevertheless, for the Browns to achieve something this year their quarterback, Deshaun Watson, has to return to the level of performances he had before last season, in which he only played the very end (with a poor level of performances) because of accusations of sexual harassment. If 28 year old Deshaun Watson returns to his old level of performances, the Browns have a chance of doing a good playoff campaign and maybe an underdog title run, but if not the Browns might just go home early.
Dallas Cowboys:
The Dallas Cowboys are a very good team. They have one of the best lineups in the league, but their quarterback Dak Prescott has to raise his level of performance to take his team to the Super Bowl. Dak is a solid, but sometimes unreliable quarterback, and if he were to increase his level of performance, the Cowboys will have a solid chance of winning the Super Bowl.
Denver Broncos:
The Denver Broncos have an extremely solid lineup, but quarterback Russel Wilson performed below criticism last season. Even though Wilson has always performed well during his career, even winning a Super Bowl, last season, his first one with the Broncos, was a complete disaster and Denver, despite their good team, didn’t even go to the playoffs. This season, if Russel Wilson comes back to his usual performances, the Broncos have a solid chance of performing well in the playoffs, but if his level of performances from last season are repeated, the Broncos will definitely not go to the playoffs and will be coming home early.
Detroit Lions:
The Detroit Lions are looking better than ever this year. The team hasn’t gotten a playoff win since 1991, but this year, led by the solid quarterback Jared Goff and lots of other very talented players including wide receiver St. Brown and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions have a solid chance of finally going to the playoffs, making their fans extremely excited, to the point where all Lions season tickets are sold out.
Green Bay Packers:
The Green Bay Packers have recently started rebuilding their squad. They traded veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is still very good, to the Jets while they could still get some trade value from him before he retired. Because of this choice the Packers will be playing this season with quarterback Jordan Love, who still hasn’t proven himself in the league. Even though Green Bay still has a solid lineup, it will be hard for them to go to the playoffs after all the roster changes they had during the offseason.
Houston Texans:
The Texans are headed for another normal Houston Texans season. C.J Stroud, their new young quarterback fresh out of college, is extremely promising, but he still hasn’t proven himself in the league. The Texans lineup doesn’t have anything special, and they probably just play for a high draft pick next season.
Indianapolis Colts:
The Indianapolis Colts, similarly to the Falcons, has a group of solid players, but has Anthony Richardson, an unproven promising young quarterback. They have players such as star linebacker Darius Leonard, but if young quarterback Anthony Richardson doesn’t perform above expectations in his first year in the NFL, the Colts will have a very hard time getting to the playoffs.
Jacksonville Jaguars:
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a very solid lineup, including Trevor Lawrence, a good young quarterback. Last season, the Jaguars were able to do a decent playoff campaign, and this one looks like it is going to be about the same thing. Nevertheless, if the group of young talent the Jaguars has created manages to perform above expectations this season, an underdog title campaign might happen.
Kansas City Chiefs:
The Kansas City Chiefs will be the team to be beaten until Patrick Mahomes decides to leave. Mahomes is unquestionably the best quarterback in the league and he has already brought two trophies to Kansas (2020 and 2023). Despite the Chiefs questionable defense and an offense that doesn’t have a good player in every position, the Chiefs, while they have Mahomes and Travis Kelce (one of the best tight ends in the league), will always be one of the favorite teams to win the title.
Las Vegas Raiders:
The Las Vegas Raiders are a mediocre team with some good players this year. Their new quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, has proven himself many times to be unreliable, and despite the fact that they have a very good running back in Josh Jacobs, a star wide receiver in Davante Adams, and a star defensive end in Maxx Corsby, the Raiders are probably headed for another season where they will contend for the playoffs.
LA Chargers:
The LA Chargers have one of the best offensive lineups in the league and a solid defense. The Chargers have an extremely good young quarterback in Justin Herbert and many other good players composing both the offense and defense. Nevertheless, the LA Chargers have a history of doing poorly when it really matters, so because of this they are a team that is one of the favorites to be in the playoffs, but will surprise NFL fans if they manage to be a title contender.
LA Rams:
The LA Rams went all in to win the Super Bowl in 2022 — and succeeded. Ever since, the Rams are in a rebuilding process disposing of many of their older star players, but keeping Aaron Donald, three time defensive player of the year, and Matthew Strafford, their star quarterback. The Rams, because of their rebuilding process, will probably just play for a higher draft pick next season, but they have a team good enough to go to the playoffs and might surprise everyone by doing so.
Miami Dolphins:
The Miami Dolphins are looking good this season. They have many extremely talented players, including their quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins have an extremely solid lineup and might be one of the underdogs to contend for the title.
Minnesota Vikings:
The Vikings are a funny team since last year they had an extremely good campaign with an extremely questionable roster. They have last season’s Offensive Player of the Year in Justin Jefferson and a solid quarterback in Kirk Cousins and managed to improve their defense, which suffered a lot last year. Despite this, the Vikings only did well last year because they were lucky, and if their luck repeats they might contend for the title, but if it does not the Vikings will probably just have a mediocre playoff campaign, or not go to it at all.
New England Patriots:
Ever since Tom Brady, the NFL G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time), left the Patriots, the team has never been able to pull off good campaigns. The team has a young, but still not very reliable, quarterback in Mac Jones, and overall has an extremely mediocre team. Because of this, the New England Patriots are a team that will probably contend for the playoffs and nothing less.
New Orleans Saints:
The New Orleans Saints are an intriguing team this season. They have one of the league's best defenses, but their offense raises questions. During the offseason, the Saints acquired Derek Carr, but his reliability raises doubts as he was never really consistent with the Las Vegas Raiders. If Carr manages to perform above expectations and Alvin Kamara, the Saints star running back, comes back well from the three game suspension he received during the offseason, the New Orleans Saints have a solid chance of going to the playoffs and putting in a solid campaign.
New York Giants:
The New York Giants are a decent NFL team. They have decent players at all positions, including running back Saquon Barkley, but all questions are asked to their quarterback, Daniel Jones, who before last season was having terrible performances. If Daniel Jones manages to repeat his performances from last year, the Giants are in for a solid playoff campaign, but if not, the Giants will have trouble getting there and might even consider changing their quarterback.
New York Jets:
The New York Jets were looking good for this season (after MANY bad ones), but catastrophe struck. Their new quarterback, Aaron Rodgers (one of the best in the league), got injured, and despite the Jets solid lineup, their reserve quarterback Zach Wilson has proven to be bad, really BAD. No team can do well without a quarterback, but if Zach Wilson becomes a new player compared to the one he was in previous seasons the Jets have a chance to do well in the playoffs, but if not the New York Jets will probably not even go to the playoffs — in typical New York Jets fashion.
Philadelphia Eagles:
After losing the Super Bowl (final game) last season, the Philadelphia Eagles are motivated to do better this season and win it all. The Eagles have maintained their core roster and their quarterback Jalen Hurts has proved last season to not only be reliable, but one of the best in the league. If a catastrophe doesn’t happen, the Eagles will contend for the title again this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a solid team, and not much more. After their quarterback, nicknamed Big Ben Roethlisberger, retired last season, the Steelers had to draft Kenny Pickett to replace him. Pickett had solid performances and showed good potential, but it wasn’t enough to take the Steelers to the playoffs. Besides linebacker TJ Watt, and some other good players, Pickett doesn’t have an extremely good team to support him, and the Steelers will probably just be a playoff contender this season, again.
San Francisco 49ers:
The 49ers are one of the best teams in the NFL. They have one of the best lineups in the league, including Nick Bosa, defensive player of the year, and Deebo Samuel, an extremely good wide receiver. Although the 49ers have an extremely good team, all the pressure is put on Brock Purdy, the last player to be drafted in the 2022 NFL draft, who performed well last season after all the other quarterbacks were unavailable or performing poorly. If Purdy manages to repeat his level of performances, or even enhance them, the 49ers are one of the favorite teams to win the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks:
The Seattle Seahawks are a decent team this season. They have very good players, such as wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, but their quarterback Geno Smith will have to repeat performances from last season for the Seahawks to be a contender for the playoffs. Although Geno has been in the NFL for a long time, he hasn’t gotten much playing time in his career and his reliability to repeat performances from last year is questionable. If Geno, and the rest of the Seahawks lineup, manages to perform well, the Seahawks have a solid chance of reaching the playoffs and might even be a surprise there.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
The Buccaneers are a team with a lot of potential this season, but questions are being asked about how the Bucs will be performing without Tom Brady, the NFL G.O.A.T., who has just recently retired during the offseason. Although they have lots of talent in their squad, including wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and linebacker Devin White, these players are going to have to repeat performances from their title winning 2021 NFL campaign if they want to achieve anything relevant this season. Not only this, but their new quarterback, Baker Mayfield, will have this season as his last chance to repeat his performances from his college career that made him be the number one draft pick in 2018. If all things go right for the Buccaneers this season, they might have a good playoff campaign, but if not, the Bucs might have lots of trouble reaching the playoffs.
Tennessee Titans:
The Tennessee Titans have an inconsistent team. Their roster includes Derrick Henry, who is one, if not the best running back in the league, DeAndre Hopkins, a talented wide receiver and some solid defensive talent. The main problem with the Titans is Ryan Tannehill, who has proven many times in his career to be an extremely inconsistent quarterback. If Tannehill, and the rest of the Titans lineup have a good season, they can have a good playoff campaign, but if not, the Titans will probably not even reach the playoffs.
Washington Commanders:
The Washington Commanders are a solid NFL team. They have one of the best defenses in the league, but their offense raises questions, especially with their quarterback Sam Howell, who still hasn’t proven himself in the league. Washington’s defense is very good, but their offense will decide whether they go to the playoffs and possibly even have a good campaign, or will not even reach it at all.
The NFL has just started, and if you never watched it, now is a perfect time for you to start doing so because the games are thrilling with something exciting happening during the entire time. In Brazil you can watch the games at ESPN or Star +, and I strongly recommend you to do so because watching the games, after you learn the rules, is extremely fun.