Host Thoughts: Bold predictions for the 2023 NFL season

We’re officially less than a week away from the start of the 2023 NFL season.

On Thursday, Sept. 7, the Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions on a special edition of Sunday Night Football on Thursday night.

🗣️ ONE WEEK AWAY

📺: #Kickoff2023 – Thursday Sept. 7 at 8:20pm ET on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ieMHgjBHGF

— NFL (@NFL) August 31, 2023

From Aaron Rodgers exchanging yellow for green jerseys to Tom Brady becoming a partial owner of a team, we’ve already seen some crazy stories this offseason. But what can we expect in the regular season?

Here are some bold predictions from our hosts:

Carmichael Dave

• Justin Jefferson will break 2,000 yards
• The NY Jets will compete for the AFC East title
• The Patriots will finish last in the AFC East
• Bill Belichick will retire at year’s end
• Justin Fields will NOT take the leap some think he will
• Lamar Jackson will have a fantastic season
• Bijan Robinson will live up to the hype
• The Raiders will win less than eight games
• It will be a battle of Ohio for the AFC North, as the Browns will surprise many
• MVP: Patrick Mahomes
• DPOY: Micah Parsons
• The 49ers will beat the Bills in the Super Bowl

Jason Ross

There are surprises every year in the NFL. With the season about to begin, I will do my best to predict a phenomenon that happens quite frequently. Can I find the new playoff teams?

For years, fans could count on four teams in and four teams out of the playoff picture from the year before. It was like clockwork.

Lately, though, it has been up to as many as seven new teams in with seven previous postseason teams out. So here goes my attempt at trying to find the lucky and unlucky seven postseason teams.

I think the seven from last year that won’t make it will be: the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The new seven to replace them are: the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steeler, Tennessee Titans, and Cleveland Browns.

Not sure how I will do, but I know I will enjoy watching the games anyway.

Kevin “Whitey” Gleason

The Chiefs have won the last seven AFC West titles, which is amazing in itself. Even more amazing is the fact that each of the four teams in the AFC West has won the division title the same number of times, 15.

Who breaks the tie? With new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore designing the attack, the Los Angeles Chargers will go 12-5, including a stunning 37-35 win at Arrowhead. That will be enough for their 16th-division crown.

And Justin Herbert will win the MVP Award.

Chris Watkins

Jonathan Taylor won’t play a single game this season.

We already know he will miss the first four games of the season on the PUP list as he recovers from his offseason ankle surgery and continuous rumors of Taylor wanting out of Indy. I don’t see the Colts and Jim Irsay moving on from one of the best young backs in the NFL for anything less than a high draft pick (possibly multiple), and in an offseason where it became abundantly clear that running backs are at an all-time low in terms of value, I don’t think that offer will be coming across the table any time soon.

We saw Le’Veon Bell sit out the entire 2018 season due to a contract dispute before leaving the following season in free agency and I believe history will be repeating itself with this Taylor situation.

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