CINCINNATI — Good morning from the Republic of Cincinnati. Maybe it’s the succulent fried chicken from The Eagle talking, but this really is one of America’s finest cities. Exceptionally underrated.
I spent time around the Bengals on Friday and will be covering Cincy-Buffalo this Sunday night. A biggie.
Meanwhile, let’s take another stab at predictions here at Go Long… sort of. All three of us are apparently stubborn, sticking with our Super Bowl champions from September.
Granted, you will see a few changes.
Feel free to fire off your own predictions in the comments.
TYLER DUNNE
DIVISION WINNERS
AFC East: Miami
AFC North: Cincinnati
AFC South: Jacksonville
AFC West: Kansas City
NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Detroit
NFC South: Atlanta
NFC West: Seattle
AFC Championship: Jacksonville over Cincinnati
NFC Championship: Detroit over Philadelphia
Super Bowl 58: Jacksonville over Detroit
Super Bowl MVP: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville
We’re sticking with our Super Bowl pick mainly because there’s still another gear both Jacksonville and Detroit can reach. Especially quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Expect this team to surge at the right time again. Doug Pederson always has his finger on the pulse of his team. The defense is feeling itself after George Pickens’ “hope” slight last week, too.
NFL MVP: Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami
He’ll shatter records. He’s uncoverable. It wouldn’t surprise me if Hill willed the Dolphins to a Super Bowl, either. With all due respect to one of our most loyal subscribers attending the game Sunday, it’s a shame Hill doesn’t have the opportunity to play his old team at Arrowhead.
Biggest surprise: Atlanta Falcons
What a strange season for Arthur Smith’s gang. Desmond Ridder’s alleged strength — protecting the football — turned out to be his downfall. The defense has been up and down. But at 4-4, and officially turning to Taylor Heinicke, the bet here is that the Falcons pull away in the South.
Biggest disappointment: Green Bay Packers
Turns out, the talent around the quarterback wasn’t nearly as high as the team thought. A lack of veterans has come back to bite the Packers. Kiss the playoffs goodbye. Now, this season is about one thing: Seeing some “make some shit happen” plays from Jordan Love. Unfortunately, the soft stretch of Green Bay’s schedule has passed.
BOB McGINN
DIVISION WINNERS
AFC East: Miami
AFC North: Baltimore
AFC South: Jacksonville
AFC West: Kansas City
NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Detroit
NFC South: New Orleans
NFC West: San Francisco
AFC Championship: Cincinnati over Jacksonville
NFC Championship: San Francisco over Detroit
Super Bowl 58: Cincinnati over San Francisco
Super Bowl MVP: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati
This represents unfinished business for Burrow. Two years after that disappointing night against the Matthew Stafford-Cooper Kupp Rams in LA, Burrow delivers the Brown family its first Lombardi Trophy.
NFL MVP: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati
Once the calf injury settled down, Burrow steadily rose from his nightmarish statistical start. Come January, it’s clear that he’s the best in ball.
Biggest surprise: New England Patriots
The most difficult portion of their schedule is over. Despite a 2-6 start, Bill Belichick finds a way to challenge for a playoff berth before falling just short with an 8-9 record.
Biggest disappointment: Kansas City Chiefs
The magic is gone from the Patrick Mahomes-led offense. He has lost too many weapons on the perimeter, and Travis Kelce isn’t able to continue going it along. The Chiefs capture their weak division before getting bounced in the playoff opener.
JIM MONOS
DIVISION WINNERS
AFC East: Buffalo
AFC North: Cincinnati
AFC South: Jacksonville
AFC West: Kansas City
NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Detroit
NFC South: New Orleans
NFC West: San Francisco
AFC Championship: Buffalo over Kansas City
NFC Championship: San Francisco over Philadelphia
Super Bowl 58: Buffalo over San Francisco
Super Bowl MVP: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo
For the Bills to win it all, the quarterback will be the reason. That’s obvious but pay attention to the health of Von Miller. The Bills could potentially have Leonard Floyd and Von Miller coming off the edge in the playoffs. That is as good as it gets to put pressure on QBs, which we know is what defense is all about.
NFL MVP: TJ Watt, OLB, Pittsburgh
For the Steelers to be relevant with what they are producing on offense says everything about the playmaking ability of edge rusher TJ Watt.
Biggest Surprise: Arizona Cardinals
The surprise is the fact that GM Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon were able to successfully tank without receiving any backlash. Other teams have been accused but clearly were not tanking. If they are able to move on from Kyler Murray and select a successful starting QB in the '24 draft the Arizona front office pulled off a quiet movie like Heist. The Perfect Tank.
Biggest Disappointment: New York Giants
A playoff team in ‘22 turns in to an embarrassment on offense and defense in '23? Instead of making moves to make a run in the playoffs the Giants are dumping talent (Leonard Williams)? Are the Giants the first team in history to experience injuries on the offensive line? Keep Leonard Williams and dump Daniel Jones.
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I was going to post mine but Jim Monos just pretty much did it for me :)
Excellent predictions & prose…regards, Daniel