Monday, September 7, 2015

NFL Preseason Rankings - 2015

The NFL season is starting up in 3 days, so I'm bringing you my annual preview today. Last season, I correctly predicted 7 of 12 playoff teams, 2 of 4 conference finalists, and 1 Super Bowl team. Neither of last season's Super Bowl teams is showing any sign of dropping off, so a repeat matchup would not be much of a surprise. Here are my preseason rankings:





Rec
ProjRec
SOS

TW
LW
Team
Rating
W
L
W
L
Curr
Over
Seed
1
1
New England Patriots
-12.613


12
4

11
A1
2
2
Seattle Seahawks
-11.482


12
4

7
N1
3
4
Denver Broncos
-7.1175


10
6

10
A3
4
7
Buffalo Bills
-6.208


10
6

8
A5
5
3
Green Bay Packers
-5.9485


10
6

17
N2
6
8
Kansas City Chiefs
-5.0371


9
7

14
A6
7
9
Indianapolis Colts
-4.9143


11
5

25
A2
8
17
Cincinnati Bengals
-4.7521


9
7

21
A4
9
19
Minnesota Vikings
-4.7054


9
7

19
N6
10
10
Philadelphia Eagles
-3.6747


10
6

15
N3
11
5
Dallas Cowboys
-3.5416


10
6

29
N5
12
6
Baltimore Ravens
-3.0404


9
7

31

13
12
Detroit Lions
-2.8462


9
7

16

14
18
St. Louis Rams
-1.6671


8
8

9

15
11
Miami Dolphins
-0.808


8
8

3

16
14
Houston Texans
-0.5927


9
7

32

17
16
Arizona Cardinals
0.8351


7
9

26

18
26
New York Jets
1.0248


7
9

4

19
21
San Francisco 49ers
1.5503


7
9

12

20
22
New York Giants
2.5115


8
8

20

21
15
San Diego Chargers
2.7544


6
10

2

22
13
Pittsburgh Steelers
2.9793


6
10

30

23
28
Oakland Raiders
3.5317


6
10

1

24
27
Chicago Bears
4.3218


6
10

5

25
20
Carolina Panthers
4.712


8
8

22
N4
26
25
Cleveland Browns
4.8005


6
10

28

27
24
Atlanta Falcons
6.6418


7
9

6

28
31
Jacksonville Jaguars
7.4357


6
10

24

29
29
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10.227


6
10

27

30
23
New Orleans Saints
10.841


5
11

23

31
30
Washington Redskins
11.623


4
12

13

32
32
Tennessee Titans
12.443


4
12

18


The Buffalo Bills should make their move this year, from just missing the playoffs last year to sneaking in this year with a 10-6 record. They may have lost Kyle Orton to retirement, leaving them with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, but they have one of the league's best defenses, and they improved at the running back position with the addition of LeSean McCoy, so they should have just enough firepower to grab a wild card spot.

Another AFC team looking to make the leap into the playoffs is the Kansas City Chiefs, who kept their core together while improving at wide receiver, snagging Jeremy Maclin from Philadelphia. The Chiefs were just one game away from making it last year, and that addition should be enough to get them over the hump.

The Minnesota Vikings were 4 games away from making the playoffs last year, but they were playing with a rookie quarterback and lost Adrian Peterson for 15 games due to a suspension, but Peterson is back and well-rested, and Bridgewater showed a lot of improvement toward the end of the season, so I see them improving enough to make the playoffs this year.

The Philadelphia Eagles came very close to the playoffs last season, but decided on an overhaul during the offseason, switching Nick Foles for Sam Bradford at quarterback and Demarco Murray for LeSean McCoy at running back. Bradford has been very good when he's been healthy, but that has not happened often in his career. If he can stay on the field and Murray can avoid the curse that comes after a heavy workload season for a running back, the Eagles should be able to win their division.

Playoff Predictions

Wild Card

(6) Chiefs over (3) Broncos
(5) Bills over (4) Bengals
(6) Vikings over (3) Eagles
(5) Cowboys over (4) Panthers

Divisional Round

(1) Patriots over (6) Chiefs
(5) Bills over (2) Colts
(1) Seahawks over (6) Vikings
(2) Packers over (5) Cowboys

Conference Championships

(1) Patriots over (5) Bills
(1) Seahawks over (2) Packers

Super Bowl

(1) Seahawks over (1) Patriots

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