NFL preview week: 10 bold predictions for the 2015 season

NFL preview week: 10 bold predictions for the 2015 season – Yahoo Sports (blog)

The Shutdown Corner NFL predictions are up. They’re fun. But come on, those aren’t bold.

Maybe someone got a little crazy and picked Ben Roethlisberger over Andrew Luck for MVP. Or picked the Green Bay Packers and not the Seattle Seahawks to take the NFC. Ooooohhhhh, way to be out on that limb fellas!

You want something off the wall and bold? Well here’s 10 bold predictions for the NFL season. Just remember where you read them first:

The Kansas City Chiefs will get a touchdown from a wide receiver

I know, that’s probably too bold. Let’s dial it back a bit, get a little more realistic.

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Fewest yards for a rushing champ in 25 years

In 1990, Barry Sanders led the NFL with 1,304 rushing yards. Since then, every rushing champ has rushed for at least 1,474 yards. Nobody will reach 1,474 yards this season.

It’s an era of passing and committee backs. There are still some traditional workhorses, like Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch, but I think rushing offense takes an even bigger dip this season.

The Miami Dolphins will have a three-game lead in the AFC East for a Week 8 game at New England

The Dolphins have a really easy early-season schedule. The Patriots at least have Tom Brady back, but their early schedule is pretty tough. Wouldn’t it be fun for a 6-0 Dolphins team to be coming into New England for an Oct. 29 Thursday night game against the 3-3 Patriots?

We’ll have two 20-sack players, even though J.J. Watt and Justin Houston won’t get there

Watt and Houston each reached 20 sacks last season, the first time in NFL history that two players reached 20 sacks in the same season. That will repeat, but with two different players. Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake will have his career season with Ndamukong Suh occupying blockers, and Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller is going to have a heck of a contract year in Wade Phillips’ defense.

Indianapolis Colts will break Denver Broncos’ record for points in a season

The mark is 606 points, set by the 2013 Broncos. It would take a big leap for the Colts to get there, but this offense is going to be a lot better. Hakeem Nicks was replaced by Andre Johnson. Trent Richardson was replaced by Frank Gore. Speedy receiver Phillip Dorsett was added in the first round. Quarterback Andrew Luck is going to get 5,000 yards, and the Colts are going to score more than 606 points.

Johnny Manziel establishes himself as Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback of the future

We know Manziel is going to play this season. It’s just a matter of when. The only things that would prevent that are Josh McCown having a great season or the Browns winning so much they feel they can’t make a change. So, yeah. I liked what I saw out of Manziel this preseason. He obviously understands he needs to play a certain way, within the offense, or this isn’t going to work out. Maybe he doesn’t wreck the league when he gets his shot, but for the first time in a long time the Browns will enter an offseason knowing exactly who their quarterback is.

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Adrian Peterson will have a disappointing season

Peterson has been going in the top three in most fantasy leagues, as people assume the Minnesota Vikings‘ running back will pick up right where he left off. That’s no guarantee. Peterson is 30 and didn’t play for the last 15 games of last season. It’s impossible to know what effect the layoff will have, and only 23 players in NFL history have rushed for more than 1,200 yards at age 30 or older. Peterson isn’t going to fall off a cliff, but he will disappoint fantasy owners.

There will not be an NFL team in Los Angeles in 2016

Here’s another bold prediction: Even after no team moves to Los Angeles after the hysteria of relocation for yet another offseason, the NFL’s strategic media leaks will lead to more breathless “There will be two, NO THREE, NFL teams in L.A. in 2017!” headlines.

Peyton Manning pulls a Ray Lewis, tells the Denver Broncos before playoffs this is his last season

At some point, we’ll all stop asking Manning when he’s retiring because he’s actually going to do it. I wonder if Manning has considered what Lewis did, telling the Ravens he was making 2012 his last season and watching Baltimore ride that wave to a Super Bowl title, and tries the same thing with the Broncos. Denver is a team that has gotten the reputation for not having enough fire in the playoffs. Maybe that would be the push the Broncos need.

New England Patriots will miss the playoffs

Most years, a team that’s a consensus pick to walk into the playoffs has the wheels fall off and misses out on the postseason. It seems crazy to think that a team like the Patriots, who are so well coached with an all-time great quarterback, could just miss the playoffs, but ask Sean Payton and Drew Brees about that. I didn’t pick the Patriots to miss the playoffs (though I didn’t pick them to win the division), but you can talk yourself into a scenario in which it happens.

The Patriots are a Rob Gronkowski injury from having a pretty unimpressive group of skill-position players around 38-year-old Tom Brady. Their cornerbacks have taken a big drop, from the great Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner to a lot of unproven commodities. The AFC East is the toughest division in football, and every team is gunning for the Patriots. And there’s a reason last season’s Seahawks were the first defending Super Bowl champ to win a playoff game since the 2005 season. It’s hard to keep that championship focus after winning it all. If another AFC East team takes a big step forward and wins the division, maybe this is the year the Patriots aren’t in the playoffs, no matter how strange that seems.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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