Prediction for next year. Generally the teams that will matter next year are...
AFC - Patriots, Steelers, Oakland, Denver (also Ravens, Titans make it in)
NFC - Cowboys, Giants, GB, Falcons, Seahawks, (also 1 other team makes it out of 3 or 4 decent possibilities
AFC details - This big stories are Oakland and Denver. Oakland looks just about as threatening as last year if not more so and Denver's historically bad offense takes a minor step forward making it a threat to do damage in a comparatively weak AFC field. Ravens bounce back a bit from last year but still don't have the horses really needed. Steelers continue to be hot and cold. Pats are again the team to beat no surprise.
Denver beats the Ravens, Steelers beat the Titans, Denver in a surprise win knocks off Oakland and the Pats easily deal with the Steelers yet again. Pats have a tough time of it vs Denver but break away late and Denver can't catch up. Luckily the game is in Gillette and our D keeps their O down mostly. Brady no matter the weapons can't do a ton vs that D so it turns into more of a defensive game in a 23-16 win.
NFC details - Falcons break the curse of super bowl loser a bit and stay one of the top teams due to their D. Cowboys with a mini step back but still in the mix. Giants D is too talented to not make them relevant with decent offensive play. GB again shows up only when they feel like it but get in. Seahawks get a bit of the old mojo back and look like maybe the team to beat. Battles for the 6th spot with AZ/Eagles/Panthers/Saints/ect is super tight.
Giants upset Falcons in a close contest, GB wins their game. GB heads to Seattle but isn't up to the task. Cowboys finally win a playoff game after a long drought over a tough Giants squad. Cowboys beat Seattle in Seattle's house in a close game. The reason they win is Wilson I think is just not playing well. Without that good run game to back him up Wilson is inconsistent and is that day and their smaller pass rushing D is a bad match up vs the physical Cowboys O.
Super Bowl - Pats beat Cowboys. Their D isn't ready yet and our offense gets going early and often. 2 things happen this game that are new to the Pats in super bowls. A first quarter TD (2 actually) and a double digit win. Cowboys try to control the clock but their OL and run game on the whole are not effective enough with what turns out to be a smothering Pats run D and when that happens their passing offense can't get going vs our DBs though a few plays are made and Dak makes a few nice runs.
Pats jump up with back to back TDs to open and then add on another TD in the 2nd quarter. Cowboys answer with 13 first quarter points to keep it a 1 score game and never let it get too far away from them at any point besides the opening 14-0 lead (21-13). In the 3rd the Pats still are aggressive and score a TD in the third to go up 28-13 but the Cowboys answer with a TD to make it 28-20 in the third then a few punts happen. In the 4th the Pats settle for 2 FGs but are happy to play the clock with their new and improved running game and short passing game. The D is clutch and makes the Cowboys settle for a FG over a much needed TD. At 31-23 still a one score game Brady and co strangle the life out of the game marching down the field using most of the remaining clock and the Cowboys time outs. Not needing to force it they settle for a FG to go up 34-23 and their D gets a turnover on a desperation play with less than a minute and no timeouts to ice it.
Gronk gets SB MVP though it could easily be Brady too. Cowboys just never had an answer for him and his 100+ yards and 2 TDs make a good case even though Brady went 3 TDs 0 Ints 300 yards.
