As I mentioned in my Conference Preview posts (NFC posted last Friday, AFC earlier today), I didn’t just arbitrarily pick win totals for each team.  I went through the entire schedule and predicted every single game.  The numbers in each cell represent the week the game takes place. Each division is clustered together and outlined in black. The teams across the top represent the home teams for each game. For a breakdown of how I got there, click the image below.

You may recall my predicted playoff seeds.  If not, they’re below.

NFC Playoff Seeds
1) Green Bay – 14-2
2) New York Giants – 11-5
3) Carolina – 10-6
4) Seattle – 9-7
5) Chicago – 10-6
6) Philadelphia – 10-6

AFC Playoff Seeds
1) New England – 13-3
2) Houston – 11-5
3) Baltimore – 11-5
4) Kansas City – 9-7
5) Buffalo – 10-6
6) Pittsburgh – 9-7

And here is how I think it will all play out.

Wild Card Round
NFC – Philadelphia defeats Carolina, Chicago defeats Seattle
AFC – Baltimore defeats Pittsburgh, Buffalo defeats Kansas City

Divisional Round
NFC – Green Bay defeats Philadelphia, Chicago defeats New York Giants
AFC – Baltimore defeats Houston, New England defeats Buffalo

Conference Championship Round
NFC – Green Bay defeats Chicago
AFC – Baltimore defeats New England

Super Bowl
Green Bay over Baltimore

Holy crap! We’re less than ONE WEEK away from the beginning of the NFL season. I think it’s about darn time I gave you some completely unsolicited opinions about the league and how I think each team will fare. This exercise showcases the best and worst parts of writing a blog. If my predictions are right, you sure as heck know I’ll link it as often as I can. However, if they’re wrong, that can be proven by others too.

Just so everyone knows, I didn’t simply look at schedules by team and assign a certain record for each. I looked at the WHOLE schedule and picked EVERY game – meaning if one team got a win, another got a loss. No Mike-and-Mike-style mathematically impossible records here!

AFC North

Will Joe Flacco ever make it past this point?

Storylines:

• Will (evil) Baltimore build on the 2011 season that saw them get so close to the Super Bowl?
• Can Cincinnati’s dynamic second-year duo build upon their playoff berth last season?
• Can Cleveland’s incoming rookies get them out of their typical place in the Division cellar?
• Will Pittsburgh bounce back from the surprising “Tebowing” they received in last year’s playoffs while incorporating a new offense?

Fantasy!
Studs: Ray Rice, A.J. Green

Starters: Torrey Smith, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Jermaine Gresham, Trent Richardson, Greg Little, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace

Sleepers: Anquan Boldin, Jonathan Dwyer

Key Games:
Cincinnati at Baltimore – Week 1, Baltimore at Cincinnati – Week 17: It’s the rare “bookend” series. These teams could change a
considerable amount between their two meetings.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh – Week 11, Pittsburgh at Baltimore – Week 13: Can the Steelers exact a measure of revenge after being swept by the Ravens in 2011?

Pittsburgh at Cleveland – Week 12: Why would this game be key? Note the week and then note the weeks of the set above. If the Steelers beat the Ravens at home in Week 11, this could be the extremely rare ”hangover” game / look-ahead game combo. Just watch out for it.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh – Week 16: This could be a battle to decide a playoff spot.

Footballandbrackets Predictions:

• Baltimore – 11-5 *
• Pittsburgh – 9-7 **
• Cincinnati – 9-7 **
• Cleveland – 2-14

Read the rest of the AFC predictions