With the new season upon is, it is again time to predict the records of all 32 teams. As I did last season, I have gone through the entire 272 game regular season schedule and predicted the result of every single game. Now, I do not think for one second that anybody can predict, with any semblance of accuracy, the result of every single game, but the idea is that by doing this, the strength of schedule will be taken into account and, hopefully, more realistic end of season records will be obtained. Anyway, enough of the methodology, let’s see how I think the teams in the AFC will do.

AFC East

I think Miami’s explosive offense will take them to the AFC East title this season. In Tyreek Hill and Jayden Waddle, they have, in my opinion, the best wide receiver duo in the league and their running back room of Raheem Mostert, De’Von Achane and rookie Jaylen Wright is also devastating. They will need Hill and Waddle to stay fit though as the depth behind them is worryingly non-existent (the arrival of OBJ this offseason does not address this issue) and there are question marks over their IOL. Jonnu Smith could be a useful addition at tight end, but their biggest weapon will be the scheming of head coach Mike McDaniel. I look forward to seeing what he has cooked up for this year.

On defense, their defensive line could be an issue with the departure of Christian Wilkins, but they have recruited well elsewhere. Jordan Poyer and Kendall Fuller have joined Jevon Holland and Jalen Ramsey in a very talented secondary and Jordyn Brooks is an excellent addition at linebacker. A lot could depend though on the form of Jaelen Phillips and Bradley Chubb as they return from injury.

The 2024 Bills will look very different from the 2023 Bills and I have them relinquishing the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. Former star receiver Stefon Diggs has left, as has Gabe Davis, and so it is now on Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir and rookie Keon Coleman to step up. I expect, though, most of the Bills’ offense to run through second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid and third-year running back James Cook and I can see them both having big seasons. Despite the changes on offense, this is still a dangerous team, especially with Josh Allen at quarterback.

The changes on defense are more worrying. Their secondary has lost Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde and Tre’Davious White and will be a lot weaker without them. Losing Matt Milano to a long-term injury again is a huge blow and while their defensive line is still strong, this will not be a dominant Bills defense of old.

This year, Jets fans will be hoping their team will be the Aaron Rodgers led contenders they were hoping to see last season, before an Achilles tear ruined all their dreams. With their elite defense, I think they will be competitive this year and push for a playoff place, but there are still question marks over this offense, the biggest being what sort of Aaron Rodgers we will see this season. To expect a 40-year-old coming off such a serious injury to play anywhere near his MVP level is unrealistic but with talent such as Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall on the roster, the Jets don’t need a superstar to carry the team. The offensive line is the other big question mark, but the Jets have made moves to strengthen it with the additions of Morgan Moses, John Simpson, Tyron Smith and rookie Ole Fashanu. If this offensive line can stay fit and keep Rodgers upright, and if Rodgers can stay fit and get this offense moving, then the Jets will make big strides this season. They are some big ifs though.

The first season this millennium without Bill Belichick at head coach will be a huge rebuilding one for the Patriots. Sights will be firmly set on 2025 and beyond and the development of their rookies will be the aim of this year. The big question is how long Patriots fans will have to wait to see third overall pick Drake Maye, with veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett being named the starter for the beginning of the season. Surely at some point this year Maye will be handed the keys to the franchise, but the Patriots will not rush it and will have what is best for his long-term development as their priority. The development of rookie wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker will be another aim for the Patriots this year and they will be hoping they can become important weapons for Maye.

Despite losing Matt Judon this offseason, there is still enough talent on the defensive side of the ball to make the Patriots competitive in games and I am particularly interested to see the further development of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, whose promising rookie season was cut short by injury in week 4.

AFC North

Last season, the Ravens had the league’s best rushing offense. This season they have added Derrick Henry to it. Combining Derrick Henry with Lamar Jackson makes for a really devastating attack on the ground and the Ravens could completely control games with their running game. Although, they have lost three starters on their offensive line in Morgan Moses, John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler and their replacements will need to step up and prove themselves. Todd Monken will be looking for the passing game to continue to improve in order to bring a better balance to the offense and a lot will depend on Zay Flowers continuing to develop. The Ravens will have tight end Mark Andrews back, though, and he is a weapon that Lamar Jackson desperately missed last season.

I expect the Baltimore defense to continue to be elite, despite losing Patrick Queen. Signing Nnamdi Madubuike to a new contract was of huge importance to the team and they still have stars such as Roquon Smith and Kyle Hamilton. The Ravens will be the team to beat in the AFC North again this year and will be looking to go all the way to the big game.

The Bengals 2023 season was disrupted by injuries to quarterback Joe Burrow, but they still managed to post a winning record. With Burrow back fit, I fully expect the Bengals to be back challenging for the Super Bowl. There is currently uncertainty with Ja’Marr Chase, with him holding-in as he demands a new contract, but, when he’s on the field, he gives Burrow one of the very best weapons in the NFL. I fully expect Tee Higgins to also have a big season on his one-year contract and rookie receiver Jermaine Burton is an intriguing addition. While Joe Mixon has left, Zack Moss has arrived to replace him and in possibly their most important signing of the offseason, right tackle Trent Brown has joined to hopefully bolster an offensive line that has struggled to protect Joe Burrow in the past.

The Bengals have again kept hold of Lou Anarumo at DC and have enough pieces to be competitive on this side of the ball. DJ Reeder is a loss but the return of Vonn Bell will improve the secondary.

In a lot of ways, the Cleveland Browns should be Super Bowl contenders. They have one of the best offensive lines in the league and one of the very best defenses. In Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku, they have enough weapons to be dangerous on offense and while the injured Nick Chubb is a huge loss, Jerome Ford can do a job in the meantime. What is holding the Cleveland Browns back is their quarterback. Even if we ignore his past (which should not be ignored) and his contract (which will easily go down as the worst contract in sporting history), since joining the Cleveland Browns, Deshaun Watson has not showed any sign whatsoever that he is still the quarterback he was at the beginning of his career in Houston. He has not even shown that he can stay fit enough to play a whole season, only playing in six games last season and in six the season before. Even when he was on the field last year, he only had a 61.4% pass completion record and ended up throwing for seven touchdowns and four interceptions. It was no coincidence that the Browns got better after Joe Flacco took over at quarterback.

Their defense will dominate and keep them in games and if they can just get some average quarterback play out of somebody, they will challenge with this roster. There is no guarantee that will happen though.

Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record as a head coach. I fear that record may come to an end this season. While their defense is still elite and has arguably improved with the addition of Patrick Queen at linebacker, their offense is of major concern. Russell Wilson has been named the starter at quarterback, ahead of Justin Fields, and after his very unsuccessful spell in Denver it remains to be seen if he is still capable of leading an effective offense anymore. The loss of Dionte Johnson doesn’t help and so a lot of responsibility will be on George Pickens. Arthur Smith has been brought in as offensive coordinator, so there may be a switch to a more run focussed attack with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren but after what he did with the Falcons’ offense, optimism is not high that he can get this Steelers’ offense firing.

I feel it may be a frustrating season in Pittsburgh with the defense keeping them in games but the offense failing to do enough to win them.

AFC South

Arguably, the Houston Texans were the story of the season last year with CJ Stroud transforming the team in his rookie season. I would expect quarterbacks to suffer a slight regression after a breakout year, but this Texans offense got even better over the offseason and CJ Stroud is in a great position to help his team retain the AFC South title. The experience and ability of Stefon Diggs will be a huge gain for Stroud, as will Joe Mixon be at running back. I fully expect the Texans to be one of the most entertaining teams to watch this season and for them to put up a lot of points.

They have also upgraded on the defensive side of the ball. While Jonathan Greenard is a loss, Danielle Hunter is an excellent replacement and bringing in Azeez Al-Shaair strengthens the linebacker corps. Ultimately, I think they will fall short in the playoffs, but this has more to do with the strength and experience of some of the other AFC teams than the Texans’ shortcomings.

Last season, the Jaguars were 8-3 before losing five of their next six matches to miss out on the playoffs. Despite this late season collapse, I think the Jaguars will be challenging for a playoff spot again, even if it is a wildcard spot. Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones may have left but I would argue that Gabe Davis and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. joining Christian Kirk in the receiving corps gives the Jaguars a stronger receiving trio than they had last year. Evan Engram and Travis Etienne are still huge pieces of this offense too and, overall, I think it is a very well balanced one. I fully believe Trevor Lawrence can get back to his best after a slightly down year last season, but he will need his offensive line to step up. The talent is there but they didn’t always show it last year.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Jaguars have a new defensive coordinator in Ryan Nielsen and he’ll be looking to improve a unit led by Josh Hines-Allen, who is coming off a 17.5 sack season last year. He did a very good job in Atlanta with less talent, so I could see the Jaguars surprising a lot of people this year.

This Colts season will be all about Anthony Richardson. He only managed four games last season before succumbing to a season-ending injury, but he showed enough in those matches to get people excited. He is an incredibly athletic quarterback who rushed for four touchdowns in those first four games and he has an incredibly strong arm. He is still very raw though. He only had a passing completion percentage of 59.5% last season, and I think the Colts are in for a very up and down season with him. There will be moments of brilliance but there also will be times he struggles. He will be helped by having one of the best offensive lines in the league and with Michael Pitman Jr., Josh Downs, rookie Adonai Mitchell and Jonathan Taylor around him, he also has some useful weapons.

The defense was poor last season and so may also hold this team back from challenging for the playoffs. A lot of expectation is placed on rookie Laiatu Latu to help turn it around, but they still need some more pieces. I think the Colts will be a very unpredictable and inconsistent team this season but at times could be very fun to watch.

The Titans are a team in the middle of a big overhaul. Gone are head coach Mike Vrabel, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and star player Derrick Henry. In come first time head coach Brian Callaghan and Will Levis takes over at quarterback. After helping develop Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, a lot will depend on whether Callaghan can help Levis develop enough to succeed in this league. The Titans have made plenty of offseason additions to give Levis every chance. Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd have come in as new weapons for him and Tony Pollard has replaced Derrick Henry. They have also moved to shore up an offensive line which was not good last year. They used their seventh overall draft pick on JC Latham and they have also brought in center Lloyd Cushenberry from Denver.

There have also been big changes on the defensive side of the ball. L’Jarius Sneed and Quandre Diggs have improved the secondary and Ernest Jones is a shrewd addition after losing Azeez Al-Shaair. The Titans won’t be pushing for the playoffs this year, but they will be competitive and will not be an easy team to beat. And if they end the year knowing that they have their franchise quarterback in Will Levis then it will have been a successful one.

AFC West

It is almost a forgone conclusion that the Chiefs will win the AFC West, and their season doesn’t really start until January. The big question with the Chiefs is whether they can three-peat? They definitely can. They largely have the same roster as last season, with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed being the biggest loss. The defense, though, is still one of the best in the league and Steve Spagnuolo is still pulling the strings as DC. On offense, Mahomes now has two new receivers to play with in Hollywood Brown and rookie Xavier Worthy as Andy Reid attempts to give Mahomes the deep field threat that he has missed since Tyreek Hill left.

The Chiefs have the best quarterback in the league, possibly the best coach, one of the best defenses and a very good offensive line. Until someone manages to dethrone them, they remain the best team in the league.

The Raiders sacked head coach Josh McDaniels during the season last year and Anthony Pierce came in to earn a 5-4 record over the last nine games. I expect them to be competitive under, now full-time head coach, Antonio Pierce this season but I think they lack the quality to break into the playoffs.

The addition of Christian Wilkins to the defensive front, pairing him with Maxx Crosby, is an exciting one and will terrify quarterbacks throughout the league. The rest of the defense will be solid and should do enough to keep them in most games. On offense, Gardner Minshew has come in at quarterback and he showed last season with the Colts that he can be a steady hand for a team without a franchise quarterback available. Considering he has Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and exciting rookie tight end Brock Bowers to throw to, this offense could be better than many expect, especially as Zamir White looked good last season at running back.

This team will compete this season, but they won’t be in a position to properly challenge until they can find their franchise quarterback.

The Los Angeles Chargers are another team that are going under a massive overhaul at the moment. Jim Harbaugh has come in and has already made sweeping changes to the team’s offense. Out have gone veteran players Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler and in have come running backs JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards. They also drafted 6 ft 8, 322 lbs tackle Joe Alt with the fifth overall pick of the draft and everything is geared up to implement Harbaugh’s run-heavy scheme. Although, the Chargers still have one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Justin Herbert so don’t expect him to completely abandon the passing game. The lack of receivers on the roster is a worry, though, with Josh Palmer, DJ Chark, Quentin Johnson and rookie Ladd McConkey currently making up the unit. It is the Chargers’ defense that most worries me though. This is a team that gave up 63 points to the Raiders just last December and they have not made any offseason additions that make me think they’ll drastically improve.

The arrival of Jim Harbaugh will mean the Chargers will be coached up better and he will grind out some wins for them, but it will be another year before they are actually competitive.

Last season, the Broncos decided to cut their substantial losses and move on from Russell Wilson, suffering a huge $53 million cap hit this year. As a result, this is a roster severely lacking in talent and it could be a tough season ahead for the people of Denver. They had one of the league’s worst defenses last season and, thanks to the damage caused to their salary cap, they haven’t been able to do much to improve. The same goes for their offense. Jerry Jeudy has left and the only incoming veteran receiver has been Josh Reynolds.

There is a glimmer of hope in Denver, though, and that glimmer comes in the form of rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Many analysts thought they reached taking Nix with the 12th overall pick but after a promising preseason, there is renewed optimism that Bo Nix could be the franchise quarterback Denver have been looking for. He is a great fit for Sean Payton’s scheme and if Payton can develop him this season, then that would count as a success for the team. Payton will surely coach this team to some wins but, ultimately, this season is going to be about rebuilding.

Dan Rowe

AFC Season Preview

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