The Bengals in the Super Bowl? Well why not?
It’s NFL prediction time, a time-honored tradition here at Split Decision where I don’t get anything right despite knowing a lot — really, more than you — about football.
Problem is the NFL is a war of attrition, with injuries having a profound effect on how things shake out.
But enough excuses! On to the predictions at hand.
AFC EAST: Patriots in a romp.
AFC NORTH: Bengals surprise, Steelers limp to finish but sneak in.
AFC SOUTH: It’s a Jags, Jags, Jags, Jags world. Texans wild card.
AFC WEST: The Chargers are the cream of the crop here.
NFC EAST: Eagles by default as Eli Manning actually died three years ago and no one noticed.
NFC NORTH: Toughest division in football. Packers take it, Vikings and Bears wild card.
NFC SOUTH: Another tough division, but Saints eke it out.
NFC WEST: Rams, and that’s that.
Give the byes to the Patriots and Jaguars in the AFC, the Rams and Eagles in the NFC, and … screw it, I’m going to now predict individual playoff games because why not.
Bengals over Texans, Chargers over Steelers in the wild card round, followed by Patriots over Chargers and Bengals over Jaguars in the divisional round, with the Bengals — that’s right, the Bengals — taking the AFC title.
In the NFC, Vikings over the Eagles and Saints over the Bears in the wild card round, with the Rams toppling the Vikings and the Packers over the Saints in the divisional round, with the Rams taking the NFC title and, two weeks later, the Super Bowl.
So yeah: The Rams are a quality team, everyone expects them to compete, whereas the Bengals don’t have that going for them. So why do I think they’ll surprise? A vastly underrated offense is going to be the key. They have massive talent at all the skill positions, and if they’re deployed correctly, they’ll take off. It’s a calculated risk on my part here, as every year a team or two comes out of (seemingly) nowhere. For me, it’s the Bengals and, to a lesser extent, the Bears.
If I’m right, you’ll hear about this column again. Don’t hold your breath.
Jeff Edelstein is a columnist for The Trentonian. He can be reached at jedelstein@ trentonian.com, facebook. com/jeffreyedelstein and @jeffedelstein on Twitter.