The upcoming 2020 NFL season will be like one we have never seen. With the global pandemic COVID-19 shutting down most of the country, many feared that the NFL season may be in doubt. Due to COVID, there has been very little preparation for the upcoming season. With shortened OTA's and Mini camps, limited spring training, and no preseason games, rookie players and coaches have little to no time to get acclimated to the league. It is going to be extremely hard to have realistic expectations for many teams and players. However, I shall do my best to give you the ultimate 2020 NFL Division predictions. AFC North Edition!
AFC North
1st: Baltimore Ravens(13-3)
The Ravens are coming off and a great season led by last season's NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. They coasted through last season, destroying most teams that lay in their path. However, they were stopped and the defense was ran all over by Derrick Henry in the playoffs despite Lamar's impressive 500 yards of offense. With Lamar more motivated and determined than ever I expect the Ravens to have another dominating season. They will be so dominant, they will land the number one seed and clinch a first round bye for the playoffs. The Ravens defense too is a top 5 unit in the NFL. Even with the release of Safety Earl Thomas, they still have a dominating secondary led by Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. And I haven't even mentioned the addition of NFL star pass rusher Calais Campbell. If you thought the Ravens were scary last season? Just wait, there's way more where that came from.
2nd: Cleveland Browns(10-6)
The Browns have so much talent that they have to at least win 10 games this year. With the addition of Austin Hooper at Tight End and Jedrick Wills at Tackle, Baker Mayfield has ZERO excuses as for why he cant get the job done. But it really all starts on the ground game with Nick Chubb. The dude is insane! He should get the rock at least 20 times a game, no less. He will again be a top RB this season. My wildcard prediction is a breakout season for Odell Beckham Jr. I think he will lead the league in receiving TD's and receiving yards. The teams success rides on the production of OBJ. If he is on fire the rest of the offense will have great opportunities to score. Other standouts include WR Jarvis Landry working the slot and Kareem Hunt who will see his fair share of production out of the back field. If Baker has another shaky year, I fear that it could be the end of his days in Cleveland. Miles Garret has had an interesting drama filled year that I think he really would like to leave in the past. And for this upcoming season I think he will. Miles Garret will be the sack king this year with 20 sacks. He just got paid big time, and he will show up even bigger. I honestly think that this team can really put something together and let the rest of the league know what's really going on in Cleveland. At the end of the day I think they will be battling for a Wildcard Spot in the playoffs.
3rd: Pittsburgh Steelers(9-7)
The Steelers are going to be a middle of the road type of a team this year. A highlight from last season was their extremely tough defense filled with stars like Minka Fitzpatrick, T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Bud Dupree, Devin Bush and Joe Haden. The offense on the on the other hand is filled with major question marks. With Big Ben back, I don't really know what to expect. He is going to be playing at age 38 coming off a season in which he played just two games. I hate to admit it but I think this will be his last season in the NFL. The lone stars on offense will be WR Juju Smith-Schuster and RB James Conner without a doubt in my mind. Juju will have his best season yet, with double digit TD's and over 1200 yards receiving. And Conner will be a reliable three down back, I think he can be very effective in how they want to play this season. Tough running and good defense should be the formula for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers. Eric Ebron the newly acquired TE, is probably the second go to receiving option on the offense. I think they will be extremely competitive in every game this season because that's Steelers football. Although you shouldn't count them out just yet, I think they will fall just short one too many times in big games.
4th: Cincinnati Bengals(0-16)
First Season for #1 pick Joe Burrow out of LSU will most likely be a disaster. I think it would be a good season if he finished with 21 TD's and 17 Interceptions. A.J. Green is going to see a lot of action this season, I'm thinking double digit touchdowns along with a one thousand yard season(assuming he wont get hurt). Tyler Boyd too will see a lot of action headed his way in the slot. They are without a doubt the worst team in the NFL. Yes, even worse than the Washington Football Team. There really are no bright spots to this roster. Head Coach Zac Taylor has a lot of work to do to get this team in the right direction. And from the looks of it, Burrow may be in for a long, long, season. My hope is that he doesn't let it get to him. The day the Bengals surround him with elite talent, is the day he will really shine. I am going to predict that the Bengals will be uncontested for the number one overall pick in 2021.
Comments