Now that I have thoroughly analyzed the hypothetical college football season, I have decided to engage in a similar analysis for the National Football League. I have never made a set of pro football preseason predictions before, but given the uncertainty of the college season in 2020, I thought I would do some NFL analysis in case that is the only game in town this fall. Much like my college preview, I have gone through and analyzed every NFL team’s regular season and postseason, as well as selected my disappointment and surprise teams and upsets to watch out for.
Without further ado, here are the teams I am predicting to surprise this season. These teams are ordered in the relative disparity between my picks and the experts average while also taking into account the significance of each pick.
| Surprise Teams | My Predictions: | Experts Predictions: | |
| 1 | LA Chargers | 2nd in AFC West; 10-6 projected record; 9th in power rankings | 4th in AFC West; 8-8 projected record; 24th in power rankings |
| 2 | Atlanta Falcons | 2nd in NFC South; 9-7 projected record; 11th in power rankings | 3rd in NFC South; 7-9 projected record; 18th in power rankings |
| 3 | Detroit Lions | 3rd in NFC North; 8-8 projected record; 19th in power rankings | 4th in NFC North; 7-9 projected record; 28th in power rankings |
| 4 | Indianapolis Colts | 2nd in AFC South; 9-7 projected record; 13th in power rankings | 3rd in AFC South; 9-7 projected record; 13th in power rankings |
| 5 | Chicago Bears | 2nd in NFC North; 9-7 projected record; 12th in power rankings | 2nd in NFC North; 8-8 projected record; 21st in power rankings |
| 6 | Tennessee Titans | 1st in AFC South; 12-4 projected record; 5th in power rankings | 1st in AFC South; 9-7 projected record; 8th in power rankings |
| 7 | Dallas Cowboys | 1st in NFC East; 12-4 projected record; 6th in power rankings | 1st in NFC East; 10-6 projected record; 10th in power rankings |
As you can see above, the LA Chargers are my # 1 surprise pick. No matter who takes the reigns at quarterback between Tyron Taylor and Justin Herbert, the offense should be much more balanced than in years past, allowing this squad to ride a favorable schedule to a 10-6 regular season record and a # 5 seed in this year’s playoffs.
Ramblings of the Ultimate Sports Sentimentalist 