Kevin & Max's NFC predictions: Division winners, Wildcard teams & Super Bowl participant!

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2:04All right. It is time for our NFC predictions, which will include the NFC East, winner and three wild cards out of the NFC, out of the NFC, including the Northwest and South. Yesterday, Max and I both had different AFC title game matchups and different AFC champions. I had Kansas City over Houston, the chiefs going to the Super Bowl, and Max had Denver over Buffalo, and the Broncos going to the Super Bowl. All right. I'll start off. We'll save the East for last. I'll start off with the NFC North. I mean, I mentioned earlier in the show, seven of the eight division winners last year were not favored to win the division. Only one preseason 2025 division favorite won the division. That was Philadelphia. And of the other seven, five weren't even supposed to be close to winning the

3:06division. So picking favorites, picking teams that are even in the top two or three can be dangerous in the NFL year to year. A green Bay is not the favorite in the NFC North. Detroit is followed by kind of Chicago and green Bay. I'm picking the Packers to win the NFC North. Look, they don't have a Micah Parsons to start the season, but they'll get them back at some point. They don't have Josh Jacobs. The running back position worries me right now in green Bay. And Josh Jacobs is a situation if you haven't been following it. It's a domestic situation. And there are reports out there that there might be a video, which whether he is, he's got a court hearing this week, whether or not he ends up going to jail or not, he could certainly be suspended by the NFL for conduct detrimental. We'll see. I'm not counting on Josh Jacobs. He's a really good back. I'm a big Josh Jacobs fan as a football player. Let me be clear on that.

4:07I don't know him as a person. I just like Jordan Loveman and I like that defense and I like that coaching staff. I like the Packers to be there at the end as the NFC North champs. They were so close last year, they should have beaten Chicago in the postseason. They should have beaten Chicago in that season finale at Soldier Field when Jordan Love Godhurt and Malik Willis came in and made a bunch of money by playing well in that game. I'm going green Bay in the NFC North in a very competitive division with Detroit and Chicago. I'm not a Minnesota fan because I'm not a Kyler Murray guy. If Kyler Murray ends up playing great this year, Kevin O'Connell, you should never even consider moving on from Kevin O'Connell because he can coach up offense in quarterbacks. But I'm going green Bay in the North, Max. Who do you have? I am also going with the green Bay Packers. I just, I, they're going to figure it out. I think they're doing running back by committee to fill Josh Jacobs

5:11void at the moment. Now, you don't have Michael Parsons, but I think that defense is going to get things right heading into this year. So give me the Packers. You know, the running back because I was looking at this. I mean, there are not a lot of options. They, they signed that Caleb Johnson who played at Pittsburgh last year and was the Iowa running back from two years ago. I actually like him. He didn't get a big opportunity last year because they, you know, Jalen Warren was a good back for them and, you know, what's his face who was with Philadelphia before Pittsburgh last couple years. They want to run the football. Jordan love is better when you've got a running game. I just like Jordan love. I think that we're going to see the best at him. I think we'll see the best out of Matthew Golden. We started to see it at the end of last year into the postseason game against Chicago Christian Watson. And yeah, they're well coached. I mean, no halfly, but they, they, you know, hired Jonathan Ganon from Arizona after he got fired to be the defensive coordinator.

6:13You and I both have the Packers to win the NFC North. I'll let you go first with your NFC South pick. All right. My NFC South pick is the New Orleans Saints. I think Tyler Schuck showed a lot last year. I think it's going to be pretty much the same. You added Jordan Tyson. Now he is dealing with some injuries at the moment, but you still have a lavet and you still have a pretty solid offensive line up front. The Saints defense is underrated to say the least. I think it's going to be really good this year. They're back ends like a cool immigrant, Kinsley chase young up front. And he has been performing quite well since he left Washington. So I think there's going to be another big year for him. Give me the Saints to win the NFC South. Well, you know, I'm picking the Saints too. I've been talking about them since the end of last year is a team that was on the rise. I thought Tyler Schuck looked the part at quarterback. No Alvin Camara to start

7:17the season, but they have Travis, ETN or however he's pronouncing it. They've got a lavet. They've got a very underrated, I think, pass catching tight end in Jouan Johnson. And defensively, they added Kaden Ellis from Atlanta. They've got now, I don't I think Cam Jordan is out for the opener on Sunday against the Lions. Chase Young, did you forget about him? You shouldn't have. He had a good season last year. He's only 27 years old and he can get after the pass or when he's healthy. And the thing that I like about the Saints is I like Kellin Moore as an offensive designer and play caller. And I think Brandon Staley is an excellent defensive coordinator. I think it's a really good one to combo to have Kellin Moore as the head coach slash OC play caller and Brandon Staley not as a head coach, but as a pure focused on defense guy. I could see Tampa winning this division because I'm a big fan of Todd Bowles and they were injured last year.

8:19And if they're healthy this year, it'll make a big difference. And Ruben Bane Jr., I think, is going to certainly be a guy that buys for defensive rookie of the year. But I'm picking the Saints as well to win the NFC South. Let's go to the NFC West. I'm picking the Rams. I just look, if what happened to Sam Darnold last night were to happen to Matt Stafford. But it will, if it ended up being more serious, they're doomed. Like you're not going to start Ty Simpson or Stetson Bennett for 12 games and end up winning the division or winning the Super Bowl. But you're looking for relative health when you make these predictions. And Matt Stafford being upright and healthy is the key because the rest of the roster is the best in the NFL on paper. I'm taking the Rams to win the NFC West. I think Seattle. And I think the 49ers are still, I think the 49ers, even though they're older, I think they're still very good. But yeah, the Rams are my pick to win the NFC West.

9:21All right. I'm going the other way. I'm taking the Seattle Seahawks. I mean, we saw it last night. I'm a full blown believer in Mike McDonald's ability to, it's in game adjustments and just put pressure on any and every quarterback that they're going to face. I just, it's a really good front from Seattle. And Jerry and Price showed a lot last night. JSN is still at the top of the game. He can any, any play. JSN scored a touchdown. Rashidji, he'd on the other side. Now, Drew Lock does give me, you know, a few qualms here and there. But I think honestly, they're going to be fine. Sam Darnold was able to get it done. Drew Lock's going to be able to at least keep the ship afloat while he's out. So give me the Seahawks. I like that defense a lot. So, I mean, you're not picking the favorite in the division. So that's a good move. I'm picking the overwhelming favorite in that division, not overwhelming. The Rams are the Super Bowl favorite and they're the NFC West favorite. They're the NFC championship champion favorite. It's,

10:28it's a good division. Like if you, if you end up in already Seattle's not at relative health, if they lose Darnold for a few games, we'll see. Maybe they won't miss some or lose them at all. Like if the 49ers are healthy, they're still an excellent football team. I don't care that they're older. But getting, you know, Fred Warner back and getting Kittleback at some point and adding even though he's older, but he was good last year. Mike Evans. He's to the mix. They love the rookie, uh, struggling. They think he is a perfect fit for the offense. And at the end of last year when they played Chicago and they scored on almost every single offensive possession, I was like, wow, the Niners still, even with the injuries, although, you know, they're injury situation was different in that they lost some of their really good players, but they didn't lose all of their really good players. And they've got like seven or eight A plus players on that roster. But that was an incredible end of the season. And then speaking to your Seattle, the fact that

11:31Seattle destroyed them twice at the end of last season. And the 49ers could barely score against Seattle in the season finale and then in the playoff game really speaks to how great Seattle was at the end of the year defensively. But man, that division, you know, at least going into it looks like if all the teams remain relatively healthy, you're going to have, I mean, you're going to have those six matchups, you know, head to heads between those three teams, be some of the biggest games of the year. And one of them happens to be tonight in Australia. All right, NFC East, you ready? I'm ready. I've got Washington winning the Oh, no, oh, no. Part of it is that you got to pick teams that aren't favored to win these divisions because that's the way it works out half the time. Last year, seven out of the eight,

12:33we're not favored to win the division. And most of them were way down the list. I, I don't know why this team isn't being given more of a sleeper label at the very least, a sleeper label. Like this team two years ago was in the NFC championship game with a quarterback who was elite during the season. And last year, they went five and 12 because that elite quarterback didn't play for the majority of the season. I don't know why Washington isn't getting some of the same treatment that Kansas City or Detroit or Cincinnati or Baltimore is getting. You know, they lost key players, lost quarterbacks. Detroit didn't, but, you know, Baltimore lost, you know, had an injured Lamar at times. Obviously Cincinnati without borough, Kansas City without mohomes. And look, Phil, I guess Philly and Dallas are part of that reason because both of those

13:37teams are thought to be, you know, really, really good teams. But I'm just surprised that there aren't more people nationally saying, why not them in the NFC's because we should be looking for teams that didn't win it last year because that's the way the NFL is. And this team didn't win the division two years ago, but they got to the NFC championship game after winning 12 games. And you add to that that it shouldn't be anywhere near as bad as they were last year or in 2024 on defense. Now, there's no guarantee they're not going to be a bad defense. But I think there's a guarantee they're not going to be as bad as they were last year. That'd be almost impossible to duplicate. Even the 24 defense would be hard to really duplicate in terms of their inability. Remember to stop the run. They could not stop the run in 2024.

14:38And then you add to it, they've added a true number two receiver, we think, yes, the tonsill injury is real. That's impactful. But they didn't have them in 2024. I'm picking Washington to win the NFC East. You can say home or all you want. I've picked Washington to finish way down the list many, many years doing this. But I am a believer in the quarterback. Obviously this prediction is contingent on number one, Jaden being healthy and playing 17 games and then number two, the defense improving. I think if those two things happen, they're going to win more games than they lose. I don't play the schedule game. You guys know that. I don't do it for the exact reason we watched last night because it's not about who you play. It's when you play them. Sam Darnold may not be the quarterback here in week three. A game that everybody chalked up a chalked up as a loss already when you play the schedule game. I just think that they can win the division. I'll save my record prediction

15:44for tomorrow's show and the NFC East in general. How I see the records shaking out. Max will have that as well. But I'm going with New Orleans and Washington is surprise division winners along with in the AFC. I've got Pittsburgh. Nobody's picking them to win the AFC North. You got to pick some surprises when you do this. Washington's probably my biggest surprise. They win the NFC East. Max. Last year you and I both had the commanders winning the division. No, I did. Yeah, I did. This year going the other way. The Dallas Cowboys are going to be. Their offense is going to be incredibly potent. I mean, CDL Amin George Pickens both healthy coming into the season. Pickens is playing on the tag. So he's going to try his damnedest to have one hell of a year for all these teams that are going to be looking at him. And then on the other side, the defense. It was the worst in the league last year. Next to ours. But it's just got to be. It's

16:50got to be okay. It's if can they go from bottom half or last in the league to somewhere in the middle, like maybe high 20s. And I think the the sky is the limit for the cow. Well, the NFC championship game is the limit for the Dallas Cowboys. I look at Dallas and Washington similarly in that it's all about, you know, the quarterback being healthy and Dax had unhealthy seasons and is missed big portions of seasons. And it's all about whether or not their defenses. You said, can at least approach kind of a middle of the pack defense. And if those two things happen, Jaden Daniels and Dak Prescott play all 17 games. And the two defenses move towards the middle of the pack, rather than being near the bottom of the league in Washington's case, dead last on a lot of the key numbers at the end of last season, not to mention takeaways next to last. Then both teams are going to be improved significantly. All right. My wild cards in the NFC are Detroit. And I

17:54think they could win the division, but I picked Green Bay Tampa. I think Tampa could be in in a good position to battling it out with New Orleans and the AFC South. And I'm going to stick with the 49ers and assume that they can't possibly be as injured as they've been in their off years. Last year, they survived for the first time their injuries by making it to the postseason, but they were non competitive against Seattle. I like the 49ers to be that last wild card following Detroit and Tampa Bay. Who are your wild cards? My wild cards are first ones going to be the Rams. I think they finished like very close with the Seahawks. I mean, it's going to come down to those last two games at the end of the year. And I'm not sure how healthy Matt Stafford's going to be by the end of the season. So that that's I just kind of have the Rams taken up that first wild card spot. Number two, I got the Lions. I also think that they can contend for the division, but it's going to be quite a race up there in the North for that second wild card spot. And then wild card three, the Washington Commenders. Oh, okay. Well, save our record predictions for the team for tomorrow. I will tell you that I've

19:01got the Rams is the one seed green Bay is the two Washington is the three in New Orleans is the four. And my NFC championship matchup and winner. I've got the Rams over the Packers in the NFC championship game. Who is your NFC championship winner and matchup? I've got the Rams taken on the Seahawks again. I'm giving the game to the Rams right now at the beginning of the season, but ask me closer to game week. And I'll give you the right. I'm not going to ask you could this is your this is your prediction. You're going to have to stick with it. Rams over Seattle. I've got Rams over Packers. That means your Super Bowl matchup is Rams Denver. My Super Bowl matchup is Rams chiefs will give you our Super Bowl winner later on in the show. All right. And we'll give you our MVP selection later on in the show. Charge next.