With the 2023 NFL season just around the corner, our analysts predicts the playoff field:
Participating analysts: Keegan Abdoo, Michael Baca, Mike Band, Judy Battista, Jeremy Bergman, Ali Bhanpuri, Tom Blair, Brooke Cersosimo, Jeffri Chadiha, Eric Edholm, Gennaro Filice, Michael F. Florio, Leslie Frazier, Christian Gonzales, Grant Gordon, Marcas Grant, Dan Hanzus, Anthony Holzman-Escareno, Maurice Jones-Drew, Bobby Kownack, Michelle Magdziuk, Steve Mariucci, Matt Okada, Dan Parr, Kevin Patra, Adam Rank, Chad Reuter, Gregg Rosenthal, Marc Ross, Adam Schein, Marc Sessler, Nick Shook, Brendan Walker, Lance Zierlein.
NOTE: All betting lines -- listed alongside each team -- are courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook & Casino and are current as of 8 a.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 31.
AFC EAST CHAMPS
(20 votes: Abdoo, Band, Battista, Chadiha, Edholm, Florio, Frazier, Gonzales, Gordon, Grant, Holzman-Escareno, Kownack, Magdziuk, Mariucci, Okada, Reuter, Rosenthal, Ross, Schein, Sessler.)
2) New York Jets (+250) | 12 votes: Baca, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Blair, Cersosimo, Filice, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Parr, Rank, Walker, Zierlein.
3) Miami Dolphins (+300) | 2 votes: Patra, Shook.
Why Marc Ross chose the Bills: The Jets have the hype as offseason darlings, but the Bills are extra focused after last season’s emotional roller coaster ended with a listless home playoff loss. Buffalo also still has the best quarterback in the division in Josh Allen, who’ll lead an even more prolific offense after the addition of rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid.
AFC NORTH CHAMPS
(22 votes: Band, Battista, Bergman, Blair, Chadiha, Edholm, Florio, Gonzales, Grant, Hanzus, Kownack, Mariucci, Okada, Parr, Patra, Rank, Rosenthal, Reuter, Schein, Shook, Walker, Zierlein.)
2) Baltimore Ravens (+220) | 8 votes: Abdoo, Baca, Bhanpuri, Cersosimo, Frazier, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Ross.
3) Pittsburgh Steelers (+475) | 4 votes: Filice, Gordon, Magdziuk, Sessler.
Why Dan Hanzus chose the Bengals: The clock is ticking for the offensive core that surrounds Joe Burrow after back-to-back seasons of great success that fell just short. With urgency at an all-time high, Cincinnati -- balanced, battled-tested and led by a true difference-maker at quarterback -- will defend its division crown in the rugged AFC North.
AFC SOUTH CHAMPS
(31 votes: Abdoo, Band, Battista, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Blair, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Edholm, Filice, Florio, Frazier, Gonzales, Gordon, Grant, Hanzus, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Kownack, Magdziuk, Mariucci, Parr, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Ross, Schein, Sessler, Shook, Walker, Zierlein.)
2) Tennessee Titans (+340) | 3 votes: Baca, Okada, Rosenthal.
Why Kevin Patra chose the Jaguars: It's pretty simple: The Jags boast the best quarterback in the division. Trevor Lawrence enters Year 2 in Doug Pederson's system prepared to go from good to great. In Pederson's second season in Philly, he nearly coaxed an MVP season out of Carson Wentz. Lawrence is set to guide an explosive offense that could be among the most exciting to watch in football. There are concerns about the overall makeup of the squad -- more specifically, along the offensive line and on defense -- but Lawrence takes Jacksonville over the top in the AFC South.
AFC WEST CHAMPS
(32 votes: Abdoo, Baca, Band, Battista, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Blair, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Edholm, Filice, Frazier, Gonzales, Gordon, Grant, Hanzus, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Kownack, Magdziuk, Mariucci, Okada, Parr, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Ross, Schein, Sessler, Shook, Walker, Zierlein.)
2) Los Angeles Chargers (+280) | 2 votes: Florio, Rosenthal.
Why Marc Sessler chose the Chiefs: What fact, whisper or iota of gossip suggests the Chiefs are about to be stopped? Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes will chop through a top-heavy AFC en route to another conference title game -- and they won't stop there.
AFC WILD CARD TEAMS
We asked voters to pick the three wild-card teams from each conference, ranking their picks from 1 to 3 based on where they project the squads to land in the pecking order. Here are the vote totals for the AFC:
| Rank | Team | WC Team 1 (3 pts) | WC Team 2 (2 pts) | WC Team 3 (1 pt) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) | Bills (36) | 10 VOTES: Bergman, Cersosimo, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Parr, Patra, Rank, Shook, Walker, Zierlein. | 2 VOTES: Baca, Filice. | 2 VOTES: Bhanpuri, Blair. |
| 2) | Chargers (33) | 2 VOTES: Gordon, Reuter. | 11 VOTES: Chadiha, Edholm, Gonzales, Kownack, Magdziuk, Mariucci, Patra, Ross, Schein, Sessler, Shook. | 5 VOTES: Abdoo, Bergman, Frazier, Holzman-Escareno, Zierlein. |
| 3) | Bengals (30) | 8 VOTES: Abdoo, Baca, Bhanpuri, Filice, Holzman-Escareno, Magdziuk, Ross, Sessler. | 3 VOTES: Cersosimo, Frazier, Jones-Drew. | NO VOTES |
| 4) | Jets (28) | 5 VOTES: Chadiha, Frazier, Kownack, Mariucci, Schein. | 3 VOTES: Gordon, Holzman-Escareno, Okada. | 7 VOTES: Battista, Florio, Gonzales, Grant, Magdziuk, Rosenthal, Sessler. |
| 5) | Dolphins (24) | 3 VOTES: Battista, Blair, Gonzales. | 6 VOTES: Abdoo, Band, Bhanpuri, Grant, Rank, Reuter. | 3 VOTES: Edholm, Parr, Walker. |
| 6) | Ravens (22) | 3 VOTES: Edholm, Grant, Okada. | 5 VOTES: Battista, Blair, Florio, Parr, Rosenthal. | 3 VOTES: Band, Filice, Gordon. |
| 7) | Steelers (15) | 1 VOTE: Band. | 1 VOTE: Bergman. | 10 VOTES: Baca, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Kownack, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Ross, Schein, Shook. |
| 8) | Browns (7) | NO VOTES | 3 VOTES: Hanzus, Walker, Zierlein. | 1 VOTE: Chadiha. |
| 9) | Chiefs (6) | 2 VOTES: Florio, Rosenthal. | NO VOTES | NO VOTES |
| 10) | Titans (2) | NO VOTES | NO VOTES | 2 VOTES: Cersosimo, Mariucci. |
| 11) | Jaguars (1) | NO VOTES | NO VOTES | 1 VOTE: Okada. |
NFC EAST CHAMPS
(24 votes: Band, Battista, Bhanpuri, Blair, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Florio, Frazier, Gonzales, Grant, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Magdziuk, Mariucci, Okada, Parr, Rank, Reuter, Rosenthal, Ross, Sessler, Shook, Walker, Zierlein.)
2) Dallas Cowboys (+165) | 10 votes: Abdoo, Baca, Bergman, Edholm, Filice, Gordon, Hanzus, Kownack, Patra, Schein.
Why Gregg Rosenthal chose the Eagles: The Eagles have the best combination of offensive and defensive lines in football. Jalen Hurts is their quarterback. Let's not overcomplicate things here.
NFC NORTH CHAMPS
(20 votes: Battista, Blair, Chadiha, Edholm, Florio, Frazier, Gonzales, Grant, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Mariucci, Okada, Parr, Reuter, Rosenthal, Schein, Sessler, Shook, Walker, Zierlein.)
2) Green Bay Packers (+360) | 9 votes: Abdoo, Baca, Bergman, Filice, Gordon, Hanzus, Kownack, Patra, Ross.
3) Minnesota Vikings (+260) | 3 votes: Band, Cersosimo, Magdziuk.
4) Chicago Bears (+440) | 2 votes: Bhanpuri, Rank.
Why Marcas Grant chose the Lions: Last season, the Lions adopted Dan Campbell's feisty attitude and nearly made the playoffs. This season, with a just a little bit of defense and an Aaron Rodgers-sized void in Green Bay, they can finally restore the roar in Detroit.
NFC SOUTH CHAMPS
(20 votes: Band, Battista, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Frazier, Gonzales, Gordon, Grant, Hanzus, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Kownack, Mariucci, Okada, Parr, Patra, Schein, Shook, Walker, Zierlein.)
2) Atlanta Falcons (+190) | 12 votes: Abdoo, Baca, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Edholm, Filice, Florio, Magdziuk, Rank, Reuter, Rosenthal, Sessler.
3) Carolina Panthers (+425) | 2 votes: Blair, Ross.
Why Leslie Frazier chose the Saints: The NFC South is a division in transition in 2023. The Panthers and Falcons are both starting young quarterbacks (No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and second-year pro Desmond Ridder, respectively), while the Bucs are giving Baker Mayfield another chance to live up to his draft pedigree. Meanwhile, the Saints come into the season with the unquestioned top signal-caller in the division (Derek Carr), one of the best defenses in the league and a solid special teams unit.
NFC WEST CHAMPS
(30 votes: Abdoo, Baca, Band, Battista, Bergman, Blair, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Edholm, Filice, Florio, Gonzales, Gordon, Grant, Hanzus, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Kownack, Magdziuk, Mariucci, Parr, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Rosenthal, Schein, Sessler, Shook, Walker, Zierlein.)
2) Seattle Seahawks (+220) | 4 votes: Bhanpuri, Frazier, Okada, Ross.
Why Lance Zierlein chose the 49ers: While Brock Purdy will need to prove that he can avoid a sophomore slump, the 49ers simply have too much firepower on both sides of the ball for the rest of the division to keep up with them. It's not inconceivable that the Rams could have a bounce-back year, but their roster simply doesn't look capable of overtaking San Francisco.
NFC WILD CARD TEAMS
We asked voters to pick the three wild-card teams from each conference, ranking their picks from 1 to 3 based on where they project the squads to land in the pecking order. Here are the vote totals for the NFC:
| Rank | Team | WC Team 1 (3 pts) | WC Team 2 (2 pts) | WC Team 3 (1 pt) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) | Cowboys (60) | 16 VOTES: Band, Battista, Chadiha, Florio, Gonzales, Grant, Holzman-Escareno, Jones-Drew, Magdziuk, Mariucci, Parr, Rank, Ross, Shook, Walker, Zierlein. | 6 VOTES: Blair, Cersosimo, Frazier, Okada, Rosenthal, Sessler. | NO VOTES |
| 2) | Seahawks (46) | 4 VOTES: Blair, Cersosimo, Rosenthal, Sessler. | 15 VOTES: Abdoo, Baca, Chadiha, Edholm, Florio, Gonzales, Gordon, Grant, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Parr, Patra, Reuter, Shook, Walker. | 4 VOTES: Band, Battista, Holzman-Escareno, Zierlein. |
| 3) | Eagles (30) | 10 VOTES: Abdoo, Baca, Bergman, Edholm, Filice, Gordon, Hanzus, Kownack, Patra, Schein. | NO VOTES | NO VOTES |
| 4) | Lions (15) | NO VOTES | 4 VOTES: Band, Bergman, Filice, Kownack. | 7 VOTES: Baca, Bhanpuri, Cersosimo, Hanzus, Patra, Rank, Ross. |
| 5) | Vikings (9) | 1 VOTE: Okada. | 2 VOTES: Holzman-Escareno, Mariucci. | 2 VOTES: Grant, Schein. |
| 6) | 49ers (8) | 2 VOTES: Bhanpuri, Frazier. | 1 VOTE: Ross. | NO VOTES |
| T-7) | Giants (7) | NO VOTES | 1 VOTE: Battista. | 5 VOTES: Abdoo, Frazier, Gonzales, Mariucci, Sessler. |
| T-7) | Saints (7) | NO VOTES | 2 VOTES: Bhanpuri, Rank. | 3 VOTES: Bergman, Edholm, Reuter. |
| 9) | Packers (6) | 1 VOTE: Reuter. | NO VOTES | 3 VOTES: Chadiha, Parr, Shook. |
| T-10) | Commanders (5) | NO VOTES | 2 VOTES: Magdziuk, Zierlein. | 1 VOTE: Rosenthal. |
| T-10) | Falcons (5) | NO VOTES | 1 VOTE: Schein. | 3 VOTES: Gordon, Kownack, Walker. |
| 12) | Bears (4) | NO VOTES | NO VOTES | 4 VOTES: Blair, Filice, Florio, Magdziuk. |
| 13) | Rams (2) | NO VOTES | NO VOTES | 2 VOTES: Jones-Drew, Okada. |
