There are eight NFL teams that win their division each season, let’s predict all eight and explain why the rest won’t be so fortunate.
The 2022 NFL offseason period is winding down as we transition to training camp which begins shortly.
In the meantime let’s go through and predict every single divisional winner for the 2022 NFL Season.
Let’s start with the AFC.
Predicting 2022 NFL division champions — AFC East: Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills, specifically Josh Allen, are on everyone’s mind when it comes to picking the 2022 Super Bowl winners, let alone the AFC East. But let’s start with the division.
The Bills are the most balanced team in the division on both sides of the ball. While the Miami Dolphins are sporting the flashier new dynamic offense with their new offensive-minded head coach there are still questions with their defense and definitely with their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.
The New England Patriots are really up in the air at this point as we don’t even know who will be making the offensive calls with the jettison of OC Josh McDaniels.
The New York Jets definitely made improvements in the offseason and had an excellent draft but an 8-9 season is probably their ceiling for 2022.
Josh Allen was a coin toss away from making it to the AFC Championship last season and this season they should have no problem getting further into the NFL playoffs.
The departure of OC Brian Daboll will likely hurt but Allen is a true playmaker and has the stars on offense and defense to take the division title and well beyond that.
NFL 2022 predictions – AFC North Champion Cincinnati Bengals
The AFC North used to be a tough one to call but with almost* all of the teams missing a couple of crucial quality players, one team stands out from the rest; the Cincinnati Bengals.
We all know they did not win the Super Bowl but they put on a heck of a show making their way there. One of the reasons they lost that game was the lack of depth in the offensive line so the Bengals’ front office spent the majority of the offseason adding offensive line talent to protect Joe Burrow and give him more time to throw to his premier group of receivers.
The Browns also have a fairly complete team except for the limbo situation they are currently in surrounding QB Deshaun Watson, who is likely to miss some if not all of the season.
The Ravens had a fantastic draft this year however Lamar Jackson has no one to throw to besides TE Mark Andrews.
The Steelers have all the pieces in place except the most important; the quarterback. Neither Mitch Trubisky nor Kenny Pickett is going to lead the Steelers to the Promised Land.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals have magnified all the issues that prevented them from winning a Lombardi, made adjustments, and are in an excellent position to take the AFC North.
NFL predictions, 2022 – AFC South champion Indianapolis Colts
As far as rosters go the Indianapolis Colts, on paper, had one of the strongest, most balanced rosters in the league in 2021.
While things did not go as planned, basically an end-of-the-season train wreck, they made some changes that should steer them towards a division title in 2022.
Quarterback Carson Wentz is out, Matty Ice Ryan is in. Ryan is more patient, will take fewer risks, and from all reports is an excellent leader and presence in the locker room. Reports about Wentz were not so favorable.
The Colts are armed with a quality defense, an offense led by the best running back in the league, and hopefully, Frank Reich will have learned from his own coaching mistakes in 2021.
The Tennessee Titans have too many internal issues brewing with QB Ryan Tannehill clearly not pleased with the front office drafting his replacement, the departure of star WR AJ Brown, and the terrible offense output that knocked them out of the playoffs last season.
The Texans and Jaguars are both in the middle of rebuilds and would be fortunate to go 6-11. The Colts should take the South but Mike Vrabel would be the only one that could make this a close battle.
2022 NFL prediction: AFC West champion Los Angeles Chargers
The AFC West is an absolute warzone. A bloodbath. This is the strongest division in the league and I expect a number of games to come down to single-point victories, which will be huge when December rolls around.
The Chiefs are the usual favorites and are stacked at most positions but lost All-Pro WR Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins and the identity of their offense has certainly changed.
The Denver Broncos are fairly well balanced but it’s too early to call as Russell Wilson and coach Nathaniel Hackett are an unknown pairing.
The Las Vegas Raiders added the finest receiver in the league, Davante Adams, and added some talent to their front seven but the secondary has room for improvement.
The Los Angeles Chargers, while without a fanbase, won’t have trouble filling seats this season. They had no issues whatsoever finding the endzone in 2021 but the issue was their defense also made it easy for their opponents to do the same.
The Chargers responded by adding one of the top corners in the game, JC Jackson, and an elite defensive end in Khalil Mack who can take over a game on his own.
The Chargers’ offense will continue to be deadly and the defense should finally be equally dangerous, if not better. Justin Herbert will surprise us all and the Chargers will win the West.
2022 NFL prediction: NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles have put together one of their finest offseasons/drafts in a long time.
They added WR AJ Brown in a trade with the Titans to complement WR Devonta Smith and drafted DT Jordan Davis to bolster their defensive line.
If that wasn’t enough, they absolutely nailed the steal of the draft with LB Nakobe Dean from Georgia in the 3rd round.
Jalen Hurts should do just fine with this group and his game has to be elevated based on the talent GM Howie Roseman has surrounded him with.
The Dallas Cowboys would be the only team on the list to challenge the Eagles but losing WR Amari Cooper to the Browns will hurt them down the stretch as CeeDee Lamb will have to step up as the #1.
Dak Prescott can win games but with a declining Ezekiel Elliot and some odd additions to the offensive line, it won’t be so easy this season. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see “Dem Boyz” miss the playoffs and Coach McCarthy is on Linkedin looking for a new gig.
The Washington Commanders are going all-in on Carson Wentz and while he will be well-stocked with weapons there seems to be too much baggage and internal issues with ownership to see this team making it far, or at least taking the NFC East.
The New York Giants are in a position to turn things around with new Head Coach Brian Daboll but too many questions surround QB Daniel Jones and whether or not the offense can produce.
It is unknown whether RB Saquon Barkley can bounce back to his rookie year form and whether or not former first-round pick Kadarius Toney will even be around in September.
Too many questions to give them a shot at the title. Eagles for the win.
2022 NFL predictions: Minnesota Vikings win the NFC North
They say never bet against Aaron Rodgers but in this case, the safe bet is on the Minnesota Vikings.
No, I’m not picking Kirk Cousins over Aaron Rodgers, the reigning MVP, but I am picking the offensive assault that the Vikings are putting on the field in September. The players may be the same, Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen but the coach is different and that is the ingredient the Vikings have been missing.
Another disciple from the Sean McVay tree, Kevin O’Connell, who orchestrated the Super Bowl offensive game plan, will lead the Vikings to take the throne in the North.
The Packers are putting out the worst group of receivers that we’ve seen in a while. Our last memory of the Rodgers/Adams era was zero receiving touchdowns against the 49ers and an early exit in the playoffs to the 49ers (again).
With the absence of Adams, the offense is getting a facelift and they didn’t use the best plastic surgeon this offseason. The defense should be in excellent shape but without taking a receiver in the first round (again) I just can’t vote for the Packers this time.
The Detroit Lions are definitely making the right moves to become competitive and actually be a challenger for the NFC North but they won’t truly be in the mix this season.
The Chicago Bears should come in last in this division and for good reason; they essentially made their team weaker this offseason and sophomore QB Justin Fields is in for it. Captain Kirk will finally earn all that guaranteed money and sit on the Iron Throne.
2022 NFL prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the NFC South
If this is indeed Tom Brady’s final season we can’t expect him to go out with at least winning the division.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done a good job at retaining the majority of their Super Bowl roster with the exception of Antonio Brown (long story) and Ndamukong Suh among a few others.
But the core is still intact. While Bruce Arians has stepped down from the head coaching position Todd Bowles is a fine replacement and we all know Bruce won’t be completely out of the picture.
Brady is still ageless and to the rest of the league’s dismay, he is sticking around for another go-around. Brady with RB Leonard Fournette, WRs Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin you can only expect great things.
The New Orleans Saints are possibly putting out one of their strongest wide receiver units in a while with an allegedly healthy Michael Thomas, newcomer Chris Olave, and veteran Jarvis Landry.
The defense is always formidable but the quarterback position isn’t iron tight, with Jameis Winston also coming off an injury. An improved unit will likely take the field but not enough to overtake the Bucs.
The Falcons and Panthers are in the same boat; working towards a complete team but definitely not there yet, specifically again with the quarterback position.
Sam Darnold, Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Matt Corral…none of those names are keeping Todd Bowles or Dennis Allen awake at night. Bucs will take this one again.
2022 NFL predictions: Los Angeles Rams win the NFC West
This may be expected but pending the contract renewal of Kyler Murray, a fair number of analysts are predicting the Arizona Cardinals take the NFC West title.
With the suspension of DeAndre Hopkins and the internal fluctuation over the Murray contract situation, I can’t pick against the defending Super Bowl Champions.
The Rams maintained the core of their defense with All-Pro Aaron Donald (for now) and CB1 Jalen Ramsey. The offense lost Odell Beckham Jr (possibly) and added Allen Robinson, which is possibly an upgrade now that Robinson has an actual quarterback in Matt Stafford.
Head Coach Sean McVay can never be counted out and he wants to run it back.
The Cardinals as I stated earlier have enough going on within the facility to distract from what is going on outside on the practice field.
DeAndre Hopkins’s absence will be felt during the first six weeks as the Cardinals have a tough slate of games to start their season (Chiefs, Raiders, Rams).
The Seahawks are rebuilding and won’t be a contender, especially not if Drew Lock somehow wins the starting position over Geno Smith who won’t fare much better.
The San Francisco 49ers can also never be eliminated from contention as long as Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is drawing up plays.
The 49ers however also fit the mold of the “question mark” riddled team where we don’t know the status of WR/RB Deebo Samuel for certain and it is unclear as to whether the former first-round pick Trey Lance will ever be handed the full time* keys to the kingdom.
The 49ers will certainly be competitive and give the Rams a run but the Rams are dialed in for another Super Bowl run regardless.
If they fall short of a Super Bowl appearance it is highly likely they at least take the NFC West title again.
**** them picks.