I said “I do” with the Giants in 2002 and until the day I die they will always be my favorite NFL team. However, the NFL is the one league I really follow fairly closely beyond just my favorite team and so every year as the regular season approaches I make a full slate of predictions. Typically limited to my personal Facebook and Twitter pages this is the first one hosted by Big Blue Talk. So let’s hope it’s my best one yet and get right to it!
PREDICTED 2024 REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
AFC NORTH NFC WEST
(1) PIT 13-4 (1) SF 12-5
(5) CIN 12-5 LAR 9-8
BAL 10-7 SEA 6-11
CLE 9-8 ARI 5-12
AFC EAST NFC EAST
(2) NYJ 12-5 (2) PHI 10-7
(6) MIA 11-6 (6) DAL 9-8
(7) BUF 11-6 (7) NYG 9-8
NE 4-13 WSH 6-11
AFC WEST NFC SOUTH
(3) KC 11-6 (3) ATL 10-7
LVR 7-10 TB 7-10
LAC 6-11 NO 7-10
DEN 6-11 CAR 4-13
AFC SOUTH NFC NORTH
(4) HOU 11-6 ( 4) GB 10-7
IND 9-8 (5) DET 10-7
TEN 7-10 CHI 9-8
JAX 5-12 MIN 5-12
PREDICTED 2024 SEASON PLAYOFF RESULTS
WILD CARD WEEKEND
(4) HOU def. (5) CIN
(3) KC def. (6) MIA
(2) NYJ def. (7) BUF
(5) DET def. (4) GB
(6) DAL def. (3) ATL
(2) PHI def. (7) NYG
DIVISIONAL ROUND
(3) KC def. (2) NYJ
(1) PIT def. (4) HOU
(5) DET def. (2) PHI
(1) SF def. (6) DAL
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
(1) PIT def. (3) KC
(5) DET def. (1) SF
SUPER BOWL LIX
(5) DET def. (1) PIT
2024 NFL INDIVIDUAL AWARD PREDICTIONS
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Caleb Williams, QB, CHI
Defensive Rookie of the Year: T’Vondre Sweat, DT, TEN
Offensive Player of the Year: Derrick Henry, RB, BAL
Defensive Player of the Year: T.J. Watt, LB, PIT
Comeback Player of the Year: Aaron Rodgers, QB, NYJ
Assistant Coach of the Year: Steve Spagnuolo, DC, KC
Coach of the Year: Raheem Morris, ATL
MVP: Jalen Hurts, QB, PHI
TOP TEAMS I’M ROOTING FOR
5. New York Jets: This spot was tough. Russell Wilson and Mike Tomlin might be the most underappreciated QB and Coach in the league respectively and I have them winning the AFC so I could have picked them. I’m a huge Anthony Richardson fan and banged the table as hard as possible for Alec Pierce coming out of college so Indy is another team on the cusp. But ultimately I went with the only pro sports franchise whose official account follows me on Twitter. The Rex Ryan era Jets were an absolute blast to watch and I rooted for them hard until some friends who are Jets fans started using the Jets success to bash the Giants. Super Bowl 46 gave me the last laugh there though. I’ve never liked Rodgers because of how smug and arrogant he seemed not just on the field but even more off of it. But the way he gets “gis guys” jobs and how good of a teammate he came across on Hard Knocks last year made me hate him a lot less. I may regret this and Jets fans might become an insufferable disgusting, Eaglea fan-like group should the Jets ever get a ring but I’d like my fellow New Yorkers who picked the wrong team to also feel that joy I’ve felt twice just one time.
4. Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens have probably made this top 5 list more frequently for me than any non-Giants team. I initially fell in love with them during the Ray Lewis, T-Sizzle and Ed Reed years but then every year without fail they draft guys who I wanted on the Giants. From guys who have panned put like Tyler Linderbaum and Lamar Jackson to guys who haven’t like Tom Zibikowski and Arthur Brown they always grab guys I’m high on. Part of me is still shocked Zay Flowers isn’t a Giant. Then they went and added Derrick Henry in free agency this year who is the most Brandon Jacobs like back since Jacobs and a guy I had hoped the Giants might be in on and drafted Adisa Isaac in the third round who, being the father of an autistic daughter myself, I can’t ever root against knowing he has multiple disabled siblings. It’d be nice to see Lamar finally get over the hump. Sadly the only team in recent years to steal as many guys as I wanted for the Giants is the franchise that calls Philly home. But they’ll never make this list.
3. Detroit Lions: Being 35 I shouldn’t feel as old as I do but I vividly remember the coverage of the 0-16 Lions and Matt Millen getting the vitriol from the entire NFL that Dave Gettleman has gotten from Giants fans. I saw this team waste the entire primes of both Megatron and Matthew Stafford so to finally see those fans in the D get to experience the highs we Giants fans used to be accustomed to just felt good. Jared Goff being written off even after winning an NFC title also gives me an extra layer of appreciation for this team and Dan Campbell always crediting the Giants with getting his NFL career off the ground makes him a guy I have to root for.
2. Buffalo Bills: I’ll never know what it felt like to be a Bills fan during those 4 straight Super Bowl losses. But between Daboll & Schoen and how fun Bills Mafia has been they’ve basically become like family to the Giants and I’ve seen the pain of them constantly not being able to get over the hump and I feel for them. Plus Josh Allen just seems like a fun guy and Keon Coleman is the most entertaining WR off the field since Ochocinco. If it can’t be the Giants I’d like to see it be the Bills.
1. New York Giants: As long as I’ve been a fan of football I’ve been a fan of the New York Giants. As long as I’m a fan of football I will always be a New York Giants fan. No matter how bad they are and how frustrating rooting for them may get they’re my #1.
