This year's BEST, and most anticipated game of the year might be the opener on Monday Night Football where the Buffalo Bills visit East Rutherford, New Jersey to take on the New York Jets.
Josh Allen has taken the Buffalo Bills to the cusp of success in the AFC the last two years...
At the advent of the 2023 NFL season, the division I'm most interest in is the AFC East, which consists of the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins. In recent years the Tom Brady led New England Patriots dominated this division so for basically two decades the AFC East was a bore-fest. But recently Buffalo Bills under their Brett Favre-esque gunslinger, Josh Allen have come one and become of the funner teams to watch in NFL. And in the last couple years Miami has come on a little bit. But the real interesting team in the division is the New York Jets. For twenty years that franchise has floundered. But now with all these emerging draft picks and the bold decision to bring in a proven veteran quarterback in --
Maybe it's time that NY Jets made some waves in the NFL. The week 1, Monday Night Football match, for my $$ is the most interesting game of the season. Are the NY Jets for real? How the fare against the division winner and one of the NFL's best and most well-rounded teams will go a long way to sorting out the most interesting divisional race in all of the NFL in the 2023 season: the AFC East.
Now as for the rest of the NFL, there is as always a bunch of interesting story-lines to follow. From my way of thinking here are the best NFL story-lines to follow:
- Can the Denver Broncos bounce back with Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback in his 2nd year there? The 2022 season had to be a COLOSSAL disappointment for the Denver Broncos. Russell Wilson was a good quarterback for this 9 years in Seattle, but he never had a stand-out game for the Broncos in 2022. Can new, head coach Sean Payton help return Russell Wilson to the days of past glory? Well, I doubt it, but from this Seahawk fan's perspective I'll be keeping tabs on the Broncos season from afar.
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Can Trevor Lawrence continue on his assent and become an elite quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, or will the team regress in 2023? Let's face it there division of the AFC central should be a CAKE-WALK for them to win. The Tennessee Titans had a bad year in 2022 and don't look like they've improved their team at all for the 2023 season. The Houston Texas should be gawd-awful again. The Indianapolis Colts are starting an inexperienced rookie who had accuracy problems in college. So it's hard to imagine the Jaguars not going into the 2024 playoff as division winners and maybe even with the #1 seed... But there's still Kansas City, Buffalo, and Cincinnati to contend with -- so are the Jaguars ready to compete for an AFC championship? Can Trevor Lawrence build on his promising 2022 season? Hmmm....
- What will an Ezekiel Elliot-less Dallas Cowboys be like in 2023? I'm a huge Dax Prescott believer. I think he's a good quarterback. And I've always like what he's delivered on the field. And Jerry Jones always has something up his sleeve, as he keeps his team interesting year after year. Like 'em or hate 'em whatever's going on in big D is always interesting. This year it's what an Ezekiel Elloit-less Dallas Cowboy team can do on the ground. Personally, I think they're in trouble; and they will miss having have a bell-cow back. We'll see...
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Will Bryce Young be able to make it though all 17 games as a starter for the Carolina Panthers? I would bet heavy on the "no" on that front. From what I saw in the pre-season Carolina has a bad offensive line, and Bryce Young will be running for his life. I think the Alabama Heisman winner is in for long season with one of the worst teams in football.
- Will the acquisition of Aarron Rogers be enough to get the New York Jets into the playoffs? It looks like their 2nd year wide receiver, Garrett Wilson, is poised to be the next great wide receiver. Barring injury, I think the Jets should be a fun to watch in 2023. With all of their divisional games being tooth-and-nail dog fights.
- Will the Green Bay Packers be any good with Jordan Love as their starting quarterback? If you look at the pre-season, you'd be inclined to believe that they won't miss a beat with Aarron Rogers gone. BUT, I don't believe that. Who do the Packers have as wide outs? Nobody! And Aarron Jones, their star running back for the past few years is starting to reach that age where running backs go from being all-stars to has-beens. And what about the Packers' defense? There not making any waves. Seems to me the 2023 season will be disappointing for Packer fans who are used to their team winning 12-13 games.
- Are the Detroit Lions really going to be playoff contenders in 2023? Now as to this, I feel real confident they will. For starters their division isn't headlined by an unbeatable behemoth anymore. Sure the Vikings have a proven all-star in wide receiver Justin Jefferson. But one all star doesn't make a team. Not sold on the Chicago Bears. And Green Bay looks like a team in transition. Which sets the stage for Detroit to really be the top pick to win the division. Doesn't feel right to say out of your mouth, but the stars are aligning for Detroit to be in some meaningful games in December/January.
- Did San Francisco make the right choice at quarterback? Last year in the NFC Championship game the quarterback wheels fell off. Brock Purdy got injured and his back-up couldn't do anything. Well, this year it looks like San Francisco is going BACK to Brock Purdy, while newcomer and perennial under-achiever Sam Darnold is his back-up. As for last years starter at the beginning of the year, Trey Lance; he's rumored to be on his way to Dallas. So did they "give up" prematurely on this young quarterback? I honestly don't know the answer to that. But what happens with Trey Lance in the 2023 NFL season does merit an eye from those who love NFL football.
- Bottom looking up view go to the south of both the AFC and NFC. Atlanta looks totally hopeless with Desmond Ritter as their starting quarterback. The AFC South has two of the other most hapless teams in the AFC with the Colt and Texans, both of whom have quarterback who figure to be awful in 2023: Anthony Richardson, and C.J. Stroud. Expect the worst team distinctions to come down to either Atlanta or Arizona. Both teams look dreadful to me.
- Best non-quarterback of interest in 2023 comes from Aiden Hutchinson in Detroit and Jalen Carter who's a rookie in Philedelphia.
- Big surprises: Head coaches Bill Bellick and Pete Carroll get fired at the end of the year.
Going into this year there's not a lot of buzz about my team, the Seattle Seahawks. Gino Smith is still the starting quarterback and from what I've heard he took the off-season real seriously and changed his diet and is in top shape. His problem is he isn't elite talent, but his work ethic and commitment to honing his craft is commendable. Hopefully our new wide receiver from Ohio State: Jaxon Njimba-Smith; is able to recover from wrist surgery and be able to compliment Tyler Locket and the under-performing DK Metcaff. I really wanna rally around that potential star, but the week in, week out performance of the mercupial star, doesn't warrant it. Much easier to root for Tyler Locket who is a pro's pro and delivers a solid effort week after week.
Superstar or bust? After 4 years of lack-luster play, E.C. Henry says DISAPPOINTMENT!
The Seahawks defense against the run was bad in 2022, even though it was aided quite generously by playing lesser teams. When push comes to shove I don't think they have enough beef in the middle to stop the run in 2023, and that will end up costing them a bunch of games. Sure they brought Bobby Wagner back -- but he doesn't play nose tackle! To fill that role they brought back Jarran Reed, who's never played that position before. The Seahawks are also highly questionable when it comes to the center position. One player to look-out for -- if he makes the team -- in Jake Bobo. He's an undrafted WR out of UCLA who's been making big plays and scoring touchdowns in pre-season. So hoping he beats out Dee Eskridge who is a huge disappointment and has to sit out 6 games even if he makes the team.
Yeah, I'll always be a Seattle Seahawk fan, but I'm also realistic. Their week 1 bout against the Rams in Seattle will go a long way to setting the trajectory of the rest of their season. If they can't stop the Rams running attack, it's going to be a long year for the Seattle Seahawks. Our big "X" factor this year is Jamaal Adams. Last year he got injured early. This year, he's not played at all in the pre-season. And I'm curious to see what he's got left in the tank, as a few years ago Jamaal was a celebrated player coming over from the NY Jets.
E.C. Henry's 2023 NFL Regular Season Predictions:
NFC WEST: San Francisco 49ers 12-5, Los Angeles Rams 9-8, Seattle Seahawks 8-9, Arizona Cardinals 1-16
NFC EAST: Philedelfia Eagles: 11-6, New York Giants 10-7, Dallas Cowboys 9-8, Washington Commanders, 4-13
NFC CENTRAL: Detroit Lions: 13-4, Chicago Bears 9-8, Minnesota Vikings 7-10, Green Bay Packers 6-11
NFC SOUTH: New Orleans Saints: 11-6, Tampa Bay Buccaners 7-10, Carolina Panthers 3-14, Atlanta Falcons 3-14
AFC WEST: Kansas City Chiefs 11-6, Los Angeles Chargers 9-8, Denver Broncos 9-8, Los Vegas Raiders 7-10
AFC CENTRAL: Cincinnati Bengals 14-3, Cleveland Browns 10-7, Baltimore Ravens 8-9, Pittsburgh Steelers 4-13
AFC EAST: NY Jets 11-6, Buffalo Bills 10-7, Miami Dolphins 9-8, New England Patriots 6-11
AFC SOUTH: Jacksonville 11-6, Tennessee Titans 9-8, Houston Texans 5-12, Indianapolis Colts 2-15
Regular Season MVP: Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals
2024 NFL Playoff Predictions:
Wildcard round: Los Angeles Rams @ San Francisco 49ers: 20-30, Chicago Bears @ Philedeflia Eagles: 16-47, New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints: 26-12, Los Angeles Chargers @ Jacksonville Jaguars: 22-21, Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets: 19-17, Cleveland Browns @ Kansas City Chiefs: 34-35
Divisional playoff: New York Giants @ Detroit: 15-14, Philedefia @ San Francisco 49ers: 13-31, Los Angeles Chargers @ Cincinnati Bengals : 34-38, Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs: 13-36.
Conference Championship Games: New York Giants @ San Francisco 49ers: 26-23, Kansas City Chiefs @ Cincinnati Bengals : 20-24
Super Bowl: New York Giants vs. Cincinnati Bengals : 22-35 With Joe Mixon being the Super Bowl MVP
I can't believe I'm saying this but I think the Cincinnati Bengals are the team to beat in the 2023/2024 NFL Season: winnable division, solid roster with no reason to believe they'll be a big drop-off from 2022 to 2023.
Isn't always a "sleeper" who surprises you? This year I predict that will be Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals .