Pats Pulpit Predictably Proves Prognosticating Prowess
Every season has it's surprises. Not surprisingly, this season was no different.
I'm still trying to decide if Detroit and Arizona were surprise teams or not. I expected them both to be terrible, and they were both mediocre.
Two divisions finished with every team at .500 or better. That's surprising. One division came close to every team finishing .500 or worse, but that it was the NFC South is no surprise at all.
One team came very close to going winless, and it was a team many people had expected to improve over last season.
Baltimore and Philadelphia both went from first to worst. Tampa Bay went from worst to first.
Last week, I went 10-6, in part thanks to the CCNY Colts. That game (or one of 89 others) cost me a 65-percent overall winning percentage. I finished the season 166-90 (64.8 percent). That, at least, was far better than last season's 149-107 (57.4).
Below are tables of how I picked the divisions and records paired with the results, followed by my game-by-game Patriots predictions. Much like our favorite team, I went 16-0. They made it easy on me.
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New England (13-3) New York Jets (8-8) Buffalo Bills (7-9) Miami Dolphins (7-9) |
New England (16-0) Buffalo Bills (7-9) New York Jets (4-12) Miami Dolphins (1-15) |
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Baltimore Ravens (10-6) Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) Cleveland Browns (4-12) |
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) Cleveland Browns (10-6) Cincinnati Bengals (7-9) Baltimore Ravens (5-11) |
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Indianapolis Colts (13-3) Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5) * Tennessee Titans (7-9) Houston Texans (2-14) |
Indianapolis Colts (13-3) Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5) * Tennessee Titans (10-6) * Houston Texans (8-8) |
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San Diego Chargers (13-3) Denver Broncos (12-4) * Kansas City Chiefs (7-9) Oakland Raiders (2-14) |
San Diego Chargers (11-5) Denver Broncos (7-9) Kansas City Chiefs (4-12) Oakland Raiders (2-14) |
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Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) Dallas Cowboys (10-6) * New York Giants (9-7) Washington Redskins (4-12) |
Dallas Cowboys (13-3) New York Giants (10-6) * Washington Redskins (9-7) * Philadelphia Eagles (8-8) |
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Chicago Bears (13-3) Minnesota Vikings (8-8) Green Bay Packers (7-9) Detroit Lions (3-13) |
Green Bay Packers (13-3) Minnesota Vikings (8-8) Detroit Lions (7-9) Chicago Bears (7-9) |
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New Orleans Saints (14-2) Atlanta Falcons (6-10) Carolina Panthers (3-13) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-13) |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) Carolina Panthers (7-9) New Orleans Saints (7-9) Atlanta Falcons (4-12) |
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Seattle Seahawks (11-5) St. Louis Rams (9-7) * San Francisco 49ers (8-8) Arizona Cardinals (4-12) |
Seattle Seahawks (10-6) Arizona Cardinals (8-8) San Francisco 49ers (5-11) St. Louis Rams (3-13) |
Game-by-Game Patriots Predictions
I don't think I've picked any team to win every game in my week-to-week picks. While I picked New England to finish 13-3 in my preseason predictions, it became increasingly obvious that they were the better team entering each game. Thus, these were not typical "homer" picks, as my pregame analysis shows.
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New England 24 New York Jets 21 |
New England 38 New York Jets 14 |
San Diego 23 New England 24 |
San Diego 14 New England 38 |
Buffalo Bills 14 New England 38 |
Buffalo Bills 7 New England 38 |
New England 38 Cincinnati Bengals 20 |
New England 34 Cincinnati Bengals 13 |
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Cleveland Browns 16 New England 35 |
Cleveland Browns 17 New England 34 |
New England 28 Dallas Cowboys 24 |
New England 48 Dallas Cowboys 27 |
New England 35 Miami Dolphins 13 |
New England 49 Miami Dolphins 28 |
Washington Redskins 16 New England 27 |
Washington Redskins 7 New England 52 |
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New England 38 Indianapolis Colts 31 |
New England 24 Indianapolis Colts 20 |
New England 38 Buffalo Bills 14 |
New England 56 Buffalo Bills 10 |
Philadelphia Eagles 10 New England 35 |
Philadelphia Eagles 28 New England 31 |
New England 30 Baltimore Ravens 10 |
New England 27 Baltimore Ravens 24 |
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Pittsburgh Steelers 27 New England 31 |
Pittsburgh Steelers 13 New England 34 |
New York Jets 15 New England 21 |
New York Jets 10 New England 20 |
Miami Dolphins 14 New England 28 |
Miami Dolphins 7 New England 28 |
New England 38 New York Giants 14 |
New England 38 New York Giants 35 |