NFL Predictions: NFL Playoff Picture

Redskins 3-1? Bills 3-1? The Bills and the Lions in the playoffs?

It's been a crazy NFL season. It's absurdly early to call playoff teams, but that's what I'm here to do. Dare to dream, I always say, or dream to be a "Dream Team," as the Eagles say.

I reserve all rights to renege on the Redskins winning their division at any time. Rex Grossman told me they would, and for some reason I believe him right now.

There's plenty of football left this season, and the wonderful thing for football fans is that no team seems truly dominant. Parity is becoming a popular catch-phrase with today's NFL, but this year truly seems like it might be a passing of the torches for many teams. I'm looking at you Bills and Lions fans.

AFC East

There's no one in the East to really challenge the Patriots.

The Bills are a solid team, but their Cinderella story is overshadowed by deep flaws, including a suspect pass defense and a deep need for an edge rusher.

I called the Jets to decline significantly this year, and it looks like that's going to come true. The loss of Nick Mangold seems to be tearing the Jets' offensive line apart. Mark Sanchez is regressing instead of experiencing a third-year surge. Things simply don't look good for the Jets at the moment.

The Patriots can flat out outscore anyone in the league. Their only loss on the season came on the road to the Bills, and Tom Brady had to throw four interceptions for that to happen. Don't get me wrong, this Patriots team is more flawed than the teams before them, but their offensive prowess continues to amaze.

AFC East Champion: New England Patriots

AFC West

As tempting as it was to pick the Raiders, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Though the Chargers are being waylaid by injuries, and are not playing up to their talents (how many times will someone write that before we conclude they really aren't that talented?), they are still 3-1 in September, a true rarity for a Norv Turner team.

The Chargers still don't look very good. They are letting teams hang around, and Phillip Rivers seems to be rather off his game.

However, that leaves the two choices as the Chiefs and the Raiders. I was ready to give up on the Chiefs, but they have played solid football their last two games, despite being devastated the first two. Watching them, you get the vague feeling if they had one or two of their injured stars back, this would be a much better team.

The Raiders and Jason Campbell, are playing pretty good football. How you improve after losing your best offensive lineman, star cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and Pro Bowl tight end Zach Miller, I don't know. That's the magic of Hue Jackson, or perhaps Darren McFadden. If McFadden keeps running the way he does, the Raiders will challenge the Chargers for the division crown. If not the Raiders could possibly be overtaken by the Chiefs.

AFC West Champion: San Diego Chargers

AFC North

The AFC North seems to be falling off the map.

Many expected the Cleveland Browns to be a much-improved team and challenge the Steelers and Ravens in the division. That seems to be very, very far from happening.

The Steelers don't look like a team that played in the Super Bowl last spring. The defense looks old, and is getting gashed on the ground. The offense can be explosive when Big Ben isn't on the ground, but that is not very often. The Steelers' offensive line is falling apart, and Roethlisberger can't escape every pass rusher.

The Bengals don't look much better. Andy Dalton has looked good at times, terrible at others. Thus is the life of a rookie quarterback. The good news is the defense looks solid, but the Bengals are still far from taking the next step in the division.

The Ravens got a lot younger this season, and it seems to be paying dividends. The entire team looks faster and fresher. Joe Flacco has been up and down, but his new target in Torrey Smith looks to be a keeper. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed still look 25 on the field. The Ravens' only loss came to the Titans, who are much better than people realize. With the easy schedule the Ravens have, I expect them to have a first-round bye.

AFC North Champion and first-round bye: Baltimore Ravens

AFC South

With Peyton Manning sidelined, the AFC South is wide open, and the Texans are taking full advantage of that.

The Texans' offense is as good as ever. The Texans have survived without Andre Johnson for a few weeks in the past, and that won't change this year. Resting Arian Foster looks like it paid off, as he's ready to go for the rest of the season. The most important thing is that their defense is no longer getting killed through the air, and their defense is slightly above average. With an offense as powerful as theirs, a decent defense will bring them a long ways.

However, do not discount the Tennessee Titans. Matt Hasselbeck is having a wonderful year so far, and if Chris Johnson can return to form, this offense could even be dangerous. Their defense is giving up the fewest points per game in the league.

The Jaguars and Colts don't look like they're going anywhere with their young and inexperienced quarterbacks this year. Their defenses can't hold anyone long enough to let their offenses win, and are already far from contention.

AFC South Champion: Houston Texans

But don't sleep on the Titans.

AFC Wild Cards

The wild card spots will be an intriguing battle in the AFC this year.

The Jets, Bills, Steelers, Raiders, Titans and even the Chiefs all stand a chance of claiming one of the two wild cards.

The Titans and Bills seem to have the clearest path to a wild card at this point. The Bills are playing great football, and can put points on the board as quickly as any other team in the league. The massively underrated Fred Jackson is propelling the Bills to new heights, and an offensive line many thought we be terrible is one of best in the league so far.

The Titans and Raiders are playing wonderfully under new head coaches. Jason Campbell is playing efficient football, and Darren McFadden is a force to be reckoned with. The Raiders need to dominate teams with their defensive line if their defense is going to be as good as it can.

The Titans' defense is tops in the league currently. Matt Hasselbeck is quarterbacking like he's in the prime of his career, and up until the loss of Kenny Britt, had one of the best developing deep threats in the league. If Chris Johnson can figure out his problems, this team could be a dark horse contender.

It's hard to just write off the Steelers, but with the way their defense is performing and the state of their offensive line, it's hard to think they can make the playoffs. Roethlisberger is already banged up only four weeks into the year. He'll be hard pressed to start all 16 games.

AFC Wild Cards: Bills and Titans

NFC East Champion

In what alternate reality have we fallen into where the Redskins are 3-1 and the Eagles 1-3?

This is easily the division with the most competition for the division title. The Eagles could easily still win this division, with the shear talent on their roster. However, they're going to have to put it together, and quickly, because their weaknesses in the run game and offensive line will not go away. That doesn't mean that their coveted secondary and high-powered offense won't come together and propel them to the top of the division.

The Giants are the most intriguing team out of the four. Despite heavy injuries to their secondary, defensive line and receiving corps, they are still 3-1 and playing good football. Eli Manning has been in a funk since preseason, and if he can continue to get back on track this team will most likely see the post season.

That leaves the Cowboys and Redskins, two teams no one knows what to think about . The Skins are playing great defense and have a great tri-runningback attack under Mike Shanahan. Their problem is Rex Grossman, who sometimes plays quite well, and sometimes looks like Rex Grossman.

The Cowboys have to overcome their penchant for blowing leads and being so inconsistent. Injuries have been a problem, but they have to put teams away.

You might as well throw a dart here. Any one of these teams could end up in the playoffs. Until Rex Grossman proves me totally wrong, I will believe his, at one time, outlandish statement.

NFC East Champion: Washington Redskins

NFC West

Wow, this division looks just as bad as last year.

The Rams and Seahawks just look awful. The Rams' secondary is desperately missing Ron Bartell. The biggest problem might lie in their offensive line, which has been giving up massive pressure that it was not giving up last year. On top of that, not one of the Rams receivers seems to be able to hang on to the ball, they lead the league in drops, with 17.

The Seahawks have invested a lot into an offensive line that is performing terribly. Tarvaris Jackson is not, and has never been, the answer at quarterback. If Hasselbeck was in Seattle with Sidney Rice, things could be quite different for the Seahawks.

That leaves the Cardinals and 49ers to duke it out for the division title, and honestly, it still isn't even close. The Cardinals have had three straight close losses to the Skins, Seahawks and Giants, but those aren't exactly elite teams in the NFL. Their defense is just plain bad. Their offense is good enough, but can't put points on the board when it really matters.

The 49ers look like they're going to walk away with the division, despite only mediocre to sub-par play. They're lucky to be 3-1 after the Eagles managed to fumble away the game last Sunday. Jim Harbaugh will keep the team on track, and that will be more than enough for this division.

NFC West Champion: San Francisco 49ers

NFC North

The Packers are currently one of the least talked-about teams in the league, yet are undefeated and look unstoppable.

If the Packers can go into the Georgia Dome this weekend and take down the struggling Falcons, then there is a distinct possibility they could go into their Week 8 bye 7-0. Their schedule is very average, and that could spell out a 13-3 or 14-2 season.

The Detroit Lions are the current adoration of the league. They are 4-0, and Matthew Stafford looks wonderful, but make no mistake, this team is not playing wonderfully. In their last two games, they've had to mount massive comebacks due to incredibly poor first halves. I might be wrong in saying this, but Calvin Johnson can only bail them out so many times.

The Bears are still a solid team, but they lack the offensive fire power to keep up with the competitors in their division. I can see them as a wild card contender (as well as the Lions, obviously), but usurping the Packers and the Lions is a task that looks too big for them.

And then there's the Vikings. That's about all there is to say about them.

NFC North Champion: Green Bay Packers

NFC South

The NFC South might be the best division in all of football.

The Carolina Panthers are not a team that will just roll over for any team in football. Cam Newton is having an unprecedented rookie year, and he gives them a chance every single game. Unfortunately that's not going to get them to the playoffs this year, but this is a team that is clearly on the rise.

The Falcons are one of the most horribly under-performing teams in the league. Their offensive line isn't giving Matt Ryan any help, and Roddy White has been off his game. Their defense can't give up 28 points to the likes of the Seahawks and expect to go anywhere. This is a talented team, but they have problems they have to fix to get back to the postseason.

Josh Freeman continues to prove he has the ability to take this team to the next level. Though they have yet to have a truly definitive win, they can hang with the best of them. If the defense can make stops, then Freeman can always put them in a position to win.

The Saints look like a championship caliber team once again. Drew Brees is brilliant, and leads a varied and dangerous offense. The defense may lack a quality secondary, but it makes up for it by bringing the pressure on every down. Their only loss has came in a shootout with the Green Bay Packers. We may see that matchup once more this season in the NFC Championship Game.

NFC South Champion: New Orleans Saints

NFC Wild Card

It will be a crazy path to the wild card in the NFC. The only division you can discount is the NFC West. Every other division could easily send two wild cards themselves. 

The Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Bucs, Falcons, Bears and Lions are all in a position to take the wild card spots.

Considering how close all of these teams are, it will be more difficult for one division to send two wild card spots. If I had to peg a team to take a downturn, it would be the Bears and Cowboys. Both have more glaring and harder to fix problems, namely offensive lines and secondaries, and lack the explosiveness of teams like the Eagles and Lions.

The Giants' season falls on Eli Manning and no one else. The rest of the team is performing well, despite injuries everywhere, but Eli's struggles could keep them out of the playoffs. The Cardinals game might have been a turning point for him, and if it was, this team is as good as any.

The Falcons, Bucs and Lions are all intriguing. I won't write off the Bucs, but it seems clear they need more consistency on offense and to make more plays on defense before they broach the playoffs in their division.

The Falcons should feel fortunate to be 2-2. They still have time to right the ship and play like the 13-3 team they were last year. The Lions will be hard-pressed to expect Calvin Johnson to carry their team the rest of the year, but right now the Lions are the darlings of the NFL, and knocking them off the wild card path when they're already 4-0 will be hard to do.

NFC Wild Cards: Eagles scrape into the playoffs, Lions cruise