As teams made their cut down to their 53 man roster on Friday, thoughts turn to the start of the season on Wednesday. Here are the first predictions for the 2012-13 season.
Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants
Last year's Super Bowl winner opens their season against division rival Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys finished last season with a disappointing 8-8 record and out of the playoffs. Giants beat the Cowboys in both divisional match ups last year. With Jason Witten hurt expect the Giants to win this home opener. Prediction: Giants
Miami Dolphins vs Houston Texans
The Miami Dolphins are still in a quarterback flux. David Garrard is supposed to be named the starter prior to Sunday's game. Though it is possible Ryan Tannehill will play. The team is expected to struggle this season. The Texans meanwhile reached their first playoffs in the team's history. Look for them to have an easy win here. Prediction: Texans
Atlanta Falcons vs Kansas City Chiefs
The Falcons look to improve upon last year's season. Their defense has improved and Ryan is healthy so they should have a good season. Chiefs had a disappointing season with Cassel as the quarterback. They should do better this season but they will not win their home opener. Prediction: Falcons
Philadelphia Eagles vs Cleveland Browns
Eagles were predicted to do well last season but finished a mediocre 8-8 record. This season they hope to improve by improving their offensive lines and defense. They should have a much better sesason. Browns should continue to improve if they can keep McCoy healthy this season but dont expect them to get a win in week 1. Predicition: Eagles
Washington Redskins vs New Orleans Saints
Redskins are on a complete rebuilding phase. With rookie RGIII at the healm the Redskins should have a farily good season. The Saints are looking at a rough season without their head coach Sean Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis or LB Jonathan Vilma for the entire season and assistant coach Joe Vitt for the first six games. Regardless Saints to have a prolific offense behind the gun of QB Drew Brees so should still do well in their division. Prediction: Saints
New England Patriots vs Tennessee Titans
Patriots are still a dominant force in the AFC and with a healthy offensive line and Tom Brady at QB should have a great season. Titans have named Jake Locker as their starting QB and while he's shown signs of great potential, do not expect them to do dominate their division. They will not win their home opener. Prediction: Patriots
San Francisco 49ers vs Green Bay Packers
The 49ers had a suprising tremendous season last year. They look to build upon that success under 2nd year head coach Jim Harbaugh. In a week NFC West division they should still be the team to beat. Packers meanwhile had a good but disappointing season for them. They look to hopefully get back to the Super Bowl this season. This should be the game of the week. Prediction: Packers
Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets
The Bills started off fast and strong last season before having a complete meltdown. They need their defense to stay healthy if they have any chance of a decent season. The New York Jets have a great team on paper that somehow does not match up on the field. This team has a strong defense but a questionable offense which may make this a rough season for them, but against the Bills they should have no problems. Prediction: Jets
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Minnesota Vikings
These are two teams with very young QBs. Both should have a better season than last, but still will need to prove themselves in this league. Jags have finally gotten Maurice Jones-Drew into camp but with him being out all preseason it may take him a few weeks to get up to his full potential. Vikings should have a better season with QB Christian Ponder in his second season and Adrian Peterson healthy. They should win their opener. Prediction: Vikings
Indianapolis Colts vs Chicago Bears
The Colts are in a rebuilding year. After a disastrous season last year they drafted QB Andrew Luck. He has shown great potential in his preseason so the Colts should have a better season than last year. The Bears struggled last year due to a lot of injuries on both sides of the ball but with everyone back healthy they should have a good season in the tough NFC North division. Prediction: Bears
Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals
These are 2 teams with QB issues. Neither team is predicted to do well this season but the Seahawks under Pete Carroll should do better than last season. Prediction: Seahawks
St. Louis Rams vs Detroit Lions
The Rams addressed their offensive line issues during the off-season in hopes of keeping Sam Bradford healthy this season. They will still struggle on defense but may be competitive in a weak NFC West division. The Lions had a great season last year that ended in disappointment, but building on last year's success this team should do well if Stafford stays healthy. Prediction: Lions
Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The NFC South should have a great race this year with all 4 teams making vast improvements. Panthers have last year's rookie of the year QB Cam Newton in his second year and if his running game behind Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart can play up to their full potential should at least get them to .500 this season. Bucs had some struggles towards the end of the season last year but QB Josh Freeman has the gun to keep them in games if he can avoid another injury. Prediction: Panthers
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Denver Broncos
The Steelers made it to the playoffs last year but this year are in a rebuilding phase. They will face a much tougher year though should still do well in the AFC North division. Broncos had a surprisingly superb year and made it to the second round of the playoffs last year under QB Tim Tebow. Tebow is now gone and the teams hopes lie upon a newly healthy Peyton Manning. This team has the potential to have an even better season than last year if they can keep Manning healthy. Prediction: Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals vs Baltimore Ravens
Bengals surprised many last season by making the playoffs behind the fantastic play of QB/WR combo of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. This team should have an even better season this year. Ravens are still the dominant team in the AFC North. Until proven otherwise, they are still the team to beat in this division. Prediction: Ravens
San Diego Chargers vs Oakland Raiders
Chargers have been a complete disappointment the last 2 seasons. Last season was plagued with injuries on their offense but if they can keep their receivers healthy the Chargers should be back to their winning ways. The Raiders also found themselves decimated by injuries all season long last year. Palmer has not looked sharp in the preseason but the Raiders have been a suprising team down the stretch so should do decent in the weak AFC West division. Prediction: Chargers
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