Over the last few weeks, many of my fellow Phenom members and I have been working out every matchup of the 2021 NFL season. We will begin by releasing our AFC Wild Card predictions and will go on from there to share all our predictions for the entire NFL season.
The AFC North was the most interesting division when it came to the Wild Card, every team was predicted to make the Wild Card by at least one person. The Steelers, Ravens, and Browns all were projected to go by 2 different people and the Bengals were only projected by 1 person. This is one of the stronger divisions in football and with so many question marks, it makes sense that there are high expectations for each team. Can the Ravens keep running their unique offense or will teams begin to pick up on how to contain Lamar Jackson? Will Big Ben be back to full strength and is Najee Harris ready to take on the role of a starting NFL running back? Can the Browns pick up where they left off last season or will Baker regress to 2019 form? What does a Bengals team look like if Joe Burrow is playing all season? This division, with all their questions, is shaping up to be one of the most interesting in football.
Another division that saw multiple teams included in the predictions was the AFC East. Both the Dolphins and Patriots were predicted by 1 person to make the Wild Card, yet both franchises are in completely different positions at the moment. The Dolphins have their QB of the future in Tua and are ready to build around him while the Patriots have a QB competition between Mac Jones, Cam Newton, and the ever-present threat of Jarrett Stidham. However, the Patriots led the league in Covid opt-outs last season so they will see some major firepower returning in the form of Marcus Cannon, Dont’a Hightower, and many others.
The Colts also had 3 predictions to be a Wild Card team, showing a good amount of trust in their new quarterback, Carson Wentz. The Colts have built a strong roster but with a new quarterback, does everything come together?
There was only one team that we unanimously agreed upon being a Wild Card team, a team that had unexpected success last season behind their rookie QB, the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers are a team we all agree can make the leap back into the playoffs, even in a division with the best team in football at this point. Justin Herbert showed how good he can be and if he takes another leap this season, we could see Josh Allen reincarnated in the blue and gold.
Now you don’t only have to take our word for it, you can bet on it yourself! SimBull offers a 50 cent return on every win for your NFL team you’ve invested in so take advantage now to start seeing money coming in fast. If you believe the Chargers will make the leap, or if you believe Pat Mahomes will lead the Chiefs to another Super Bowl, invest now to make some money off your prediction. By using our code Phenom you can get $10 for free if you invest $10 or more for your first deposit. Good luck and happy investing!
Photo: Mark J. Rebilas
