NFL

Broncos. Defense has figured it out, Russ playing really good, Javonte getting healthy.

Well if it's unexpected then it's gonna be tough to expect it!!!

Anyways, Jags are gonna explode :(

Denver and Houston have favorable schedules down the stretch and could get hot if they stay healthy.

With Ken Dorsey gone, the sky is the limit

The easiest non injury answers are Denver and the Cowboys ..

Minnesota started 1-4 and now is 6-4 and has been without Jefferson and Kirk is done for the year. I think they beat Denver this week.

Colts have the easiest schedule in the league. I'd wager they make a run and the Texans game could be a win and in game for both teams

Steelers for sure. They are the dark horse of this season

Jacksonville could already be hitting the start of a collapse

Late run: Minnesota. They are the best team in the North right now and once Jefferson is back, it's over. They MIGHT have a tough time in Denver tomorrow night but after that I think they run the table, including twice against Detroit.

Collapse: Detroit. Their defense is still one of the worst in the NFL and their schedule isn't as easy as previously thought. They face Chicago twice, and Fields in the past has torched this defense. Denver has seemingly got their act together after that embarrassment against the Dolphins so that could be a trap game for Detroit. New Orleans isn't terrible and have a solid WR corps that can easily embarrass Detroit's secondary. The Dallas game of course is an automatic loss for Detroit. I'm thinking Minnesota finishes the season 12-5 while the Lions collapse down the stretch and finish 9-8 while they limp into the final wild card seed participation trophy via tiebreaker like they did in 2016.

If we pull off the win tomorrow I'm confident we're going on a run.

Homer opinion based on emotion, but the Rams.

They went winless in November 2021 and looked like total frauds, then they made the playoffs and won the Super Bowl.

Patriots

We are going to fuck up after the bye week and win 6 of our last 7 games giving us a 8-9 record… respectable enough to look mid on paper, bad enough to miss the playoffs and painful enough to fall out of the #3 draft position

Basically a lose lose lose situation

The Lions are interesting and I honestly don't know what to think yet. First I'm a Vikings fan so my opinion is slanted. However the last two seasons, I've said several times the Lions were better than their record indicated. This year I'm not certain they are as good as their record. I do think they're good, but with the exception of week 1, when they play good teams they look bad. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if they lost the first round or make it to the NFC championship or even the Super Bowl. I don't expect my team in the SB but I do think that how they're playing right now, they could potentially make it to the second round in the playoffs.

If I had to bet money today, I'd say Ravens and Eagles, but I don't think anyone would be surprised by that.

I don't know man, I just don't see the Lions losing more than one game in the four games against vikings and Bears. I think clinching the division is not only realistic, it's almost a sure thing.

Unexpected late run: Bengals

😞

it's Dobbs time

Arranged by division with a team most likely to make a run.
Good teams not listed because they're not 'unexpected'

AFC South
The Texans are going to win the AFC South, and may very well win a playoff game. Stroud is great, and that defense is underrated. No stars, but well-coached.
IND sucks at QB.
TEN is bad.

AFC West
The Broncos have all the parts and a good coach has got them together.
LAC is just waiting for their dumbass coach to go full Charger. Then Belichick can be hired.
LVG doesn't have the QB to do the job anymore.

NFC North
MIN - Dobbs is a good story. They may make the playoffs because the NFC is so weak
GRB - No love.
CHI - LOL

NFC South
NOL has Carr now, but that guy just exudes "Nope" to me.
TAM may be a bit better than we think. Todd Bowles just isn't a good coach.
ATL - Arthur Smith shouldn't run a fork lift for Arthur Blank, much less his offense.
CAR is 5 players away from being good enough to evaluate the QB properly.

AFC North
The only AFC team that had underachieved based on roster was the Bengals. And to make a late run you have start out weak. But that's over.
CLE/PIT suck at QB.

AFC & NFC East (They get over-talked everywhere else. I'm condensing them.)
The Cowboys and Dolphins are all sizzle, no steak. Neither has beaten a winning team.
The Bills roster wasn't that good, and now it's a front-office smoldering dumpster fire.
Shut up about the Jets. It ain't happening, Rich Eisen.
WAS is a good story. Getting rid of Snyder is the win here.
NYGarbage
PAThetic.

NFC West
SEA - Could make a run, but are they unexpected?
ARZ - *tumbleweed*
LAR - Straight to DVD in a league built for streaming.

Arizona

Put in my 5 year old cousin at qb and the patriots might actually win a game

I only have a few hours before the harsh reality sets in but let’s just say the Bears run the table!

And Cowboys are 6-3, so let’s pick the low hanging fruit and say they’re 8-9 by the end of the season

Saints are going all the way this year... I say that every year but I was right that one time so.. Who Dat!

49ers next loss will be in the preseason next year.

chargers.

Jags feel like the collapse team to be honest. Houston is going to start rolling.

We might collapse. I’ll have a better read on the caliber of our team after Monday. Should we with all the weapons we have? Hell no, but our secondary is porous, and any team can just run slants on us all day long.

I honestly think we’re toast and will go 6-11

Not sure if they count any more but Texans. Check out their schedule. I think they can make noise in the AFC.

Bengals, Steelers, Chargers, 49ers, and Buccaneers are at +8 or better in turnover differential which tends to max at around +11 for a season with 1-3 outlier teams out on the curve--2019 Patriots hit +21-- and turnover differential is extremely high variance and extremely high impact. 3 of them will likely have no more than +11 turnovers on the season, which means getting turnovers at half the rate they have so far for the rest of their games.

The Commanders.

Bucs go on a run, Jaguars lose a bunch of games, but it won't be a full on collapse

I don’t know, but I would be shocked if the Bears beat Detroit.

5 divisional games (which always can go either way)

The rest of the division is literal diarrhea. Lions got the division under lock and key

Ngl as bad as the broncos started i could still see them finding a way into the playoffs cause theyve been looking way better lately

please us

I know everyone is gonna think this is stupid, but the Saints are about to go 6-1. We will beat the Lions and win at least one home playoff game.

Vikings :(

Stealers