Shoutouts & Callouts

Am I ready to get hurt again? 

While last year’s NFC divisional round loss at San Francisco stung, especially given how it slipped away from the Green Bay Packers in the second half to the eventual NFC champs, I did not leave that game nearly as distraught as I was following the last few Packers postseason flameouts. 

Considering how the Packers had to go on a “run the table” streak like they did in 2016, did it with one of the youngest rosters in the league and thoroughly dismantled the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round, last season felt like a window opening for the Packers, rather than closing as it had the previous few years.

So, am I ready to get hurt again? Am I ready to go all-in on the Packers and believe they have what it takes to make a deep run in the NFL playoffs and perhaps bring the Vince Lombardi Trophy back home this season?

I don’t want to be, but I just might have to be.

That was the conclusion I came to this week as I embarked on my yearly exercise of going through the NFL schedule game-by-game to make my predictions for the upcoming season. I tend to grade the Packers harder than most teams in this exercise, knowing the team’s shortcomings and inevitably expecting them to stub their toes at some point during the season when most wouldn’t. 

But, going through game by game and doing the math, someone must have slipped me some green-and-gold-tinted contacts.

Will the NFC North be a slam dunk? Absolutely not. Folks in Detroit are asking the same questions regarding their pride after also nearly knocking off the 49ers last year and nearly reaching their first Super Bowl. Chicago fans think Caleb Williams is second coming of Justin Fields … or is it Mitch Trubisky? or Jay Cutler? or Rex Grossman? Perhaps Jim McMahon? Whatever the case, they’re ready to party like it’s 1985 and all of the sudden it’s the Vikings that can’t catch a quarterbacking break after losing Kirk Cousins to an Achilles injury last year, letting him walk in free agency only to see their heir apparent, JJ McCarthy, suffer a season-ending injury in preseason camp.

It almost makes me feel sorry for the Purple People Eaters — almost. 

It will be put up or shut up time for Jordan Love who definitely earned a new deal after his performance replacing Aaron Rodgers last year. Did he earn a deal that makes him the richest quarterback in league history? That’s where the jury’s still out and the proof will be in not only how he performs in the regular season — but once the Packers get to January and, lord willing, February. 

The Packers also have a new tailback in Josh Jacobs, a new (and hopefully better?) defense. 

While the Packers have some very difficult games on their schedule — including tonight’s opener against Philadelphia in Brazil, at the L.A. Rams in Week 5, plus games against the Texans and 49ers on the cards — 12-5 doesn’t seem overly unreasonable for this squad. Where it goes from there, let’s just say there’s a guarded optimism I haven’t had the past few seasons. 

As for the rest of the league:

NFC North

Detroit has Super Bowl hopes as well, and for good reason. The Lions are solid. The question will be how does Detroit fare playing a first-place schedule and in the role of favorite, as opposed to underdog. As for the Bears, we’ve heard this hype before. I’ll believe they have a franchise quarterback when I actually see it with my own two eyes. Meanwhile, one can’t help but feel bad for Aaron Jones who, in two short years, has gone from taking handoffs from Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love to Sam Darnold. Oof. 

Green Bay* 12-5, Detroit* 11-6, Chicago 6-11, Minnesota 5-12

(*denotes playoff qualifier)

NFC East

As if Mike McCarthy’s was not already getting licked by the flames of Jerry Jones’s blowtorch, a tough early season schedule could make his seat sear hotter than a T-bone on top of a bed of burning mesquite. But things aren’t so sunny in Philadelphia, given the way last year ended, and the Giants and the Commanders are still part of this division. Don’t be surprised if McCarthy does well enough to earn another year in JerryWorld. 

Dallas* 12-5, Philadelphia* 12-5, Washington 6-11, N.Y. Giants 5-12

NFC South

ESPN’s preseason Football Power Index does not have a single NFC South team in its top 14. Meaning, in the computer’s eye, none of these squads are good enough to make the playoffs. Yet one of them is going to, and feathers seem to come in handy in a pillow fight.

Atlanta 8-9, Tampa Bay 8-9, New Orleans 7-10, Carolina 4-13

NFC West

San Francisco has all of the attention after four straight NFC title game appearances. What people forget is the L.A. Rams were so beat up that they started Brett Rypien at quarterback when they played the Packers last year and then got healthy — and hot — toward the end of the season. 

L.A. Rams* 11-6, San Francisco* 11-6, Seattle 8-9, Arizona 6-11

AFC North

The Pittsburgh Steelers somehow managed a winning record in football’s toughest division last year despite an abysmal quarterback situation. It was so abysmal that they felt Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were upgrades at the position despite their paltry 2023 performances. Things are likely different this year now that Cincinnati and Cleveland are fully healthy at quarterback. Oh, and Lamar Jackson’s still cooking in Baltimore. 

Baltimore* 12-5, Cleveland 10-7, Cincinnati 10-7, Pittsburgh 7-10

AFC East

Remember how Buffalo went from playoff outsider to passing Miami for the AFC North title in the final month of last season? Given that the Bills play at Miami, Baltimore, Houston and the N.Y Jets in the first six weeks, don’t be surprised if it happens again. Meanwhile, over in New York, the Jets are praying they get more than five snaps out of Aaron Rodgers this season.

Buffalo* 10-7, N.Y. Jets* 10-7, Miami* 10-7, New England 3-14

AFC South

Just a few years ago, the AFC South, not its NFC cousin, was considered the cupcake of the league. With Houston’s emergence last year, Jacksonville still solid and a healthy Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis, the AFC South has the makings of a sneaky-tough division.

Houston* 12-5, Jacksonville 10-7, Indianapolis 9-8, Tennessee 3-14

AFC West

While Kansas City has a couple of tough road games (at San Francisco Week 8 and at Buffalo Week 12), the NFL schedule seems to have given Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Swifties a pretty favorable home slate with dates against Baltimore, Cincinnati and Houston. Meanwhile, the L.A. Chargers hope that by getting Jim Harbaugh to sign on as coach, they’re stealing one of the best football minds in the game (Connor Stalions not included).

Kansas City* 12-5, L.A. Chargers* 10-7, Las Vegas 6-11, Denver 5-12

POSTSEASON

Perhaps some of Aaron Rodgers’s leftover ayahuasca slipped into my bloodstream when I was in Green Bay during the preseason, but at 12-5 and with a No. 2 seed in the postseason, it’s not far-fetched to believe the Packers could make a run. My bracket has them needing to get through Detroit in the Wild Card round and Philadelphia in the divisional round, both at home. I have Dallas as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but the Cowboys are bound to do Cowboy things in January and it will be those pesky 49ers the Packers will have to get through at Lambeau to reach the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, over in the AFC, Kansas City is the No. 1 seed and nobody overcomes Mahomes magic at Arrowhead in January. 

So it’s finally the rematch of Super Bowl I come February in New Orleans. Perhaps that’s a good omen, considering the Packers are 28 years removed from winning Super Bowl XXXI there. But Kansas City is Kansas City and we’ve yet to address the big elephant in the room for the Packers — special teams. Brayden Narveson was picked up from Tennessee after neither Anders Carlson or Greg Joseph were able to cut it in camp. Unless Narveson is the second coming of Mason Crosby, I’m going to have an uneasy feeling if our season ultimately ends up on his leg — especially if it’s in the final seconds of a Super Bowl.

Kansas City 28, Green Bay 26

I guess all this exercise proves is that —when it comes to pigskin picks — I can even do it with a broken heart.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].