The NFL season is under way, and it hasn’t taken very long to separate the good teams from the bad teams. Those of you who are Redskins fans should feel very confident about the start they are off to in the rejuvenated NFC East. Those of you who are Ravens fans should be very worried about their start to the season even with their seemingly easy schedule. Those of you who are fans of other teams will just have to read my predictions to see how confident you should feel about this season.

The AFC North will be won by the Steelers with the Ravens coming in second, which should earn them the first Wild Card spot in the playoffs. The Texans will grab first place in the AFC South, even with the loss of J.J. Watt for the season. Even though the Patriots will have had at least three quarterbacks start, they will completely dominate the AFC East. The AFC West will be very interesting, and I believe that the Broncos will win the division with the Chiefs earning the right to the second Wild Card spot.

The NFC North will be a tight race. I have the Vikings winning the division, but Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will be right on their heels, which will earn them the first Wild Card spot. The Falcons, who have gotten out to a blazing hot start, will win the NFC South. The Eagles will fly high in the NFC East, and the Cardinals will soar to victory in the NFC West. The second Wild Card spot in the NFC will go to the Seahawks, who want to prove that they still are a force to be reckoned with.

Many close games will take place in the playoffs this year, because only one team (in my mind) could beat any team on any given day. That team is the Patriots. The Patriots and the Cardinals will square off in Super Bowl 51, with the Pats winning 28-21.

Now, for the season awards. Matt Ryan will win the MVP award and will lead the league in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. Ryan has great chemistry with wide receiver Julio Jones, so I believe he will be able to sustain the productivity throughout the whole year. Some of you may say that the start he is off to is a fluke but keep in mind: Ryan is a veteran quarterback who has been in the same Falcons system for his whole career. He has gotten very comfortable with running this Falcons’ offense.
The offensive player of the year will go to Antonio Brown, and the defensive player of the year will go to Von Miller. The comeback player of the year will go to Jordy Nelson, Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target, as he returns from injury.