With the NFL's 100th season upon us, we had a panel of experts from ESPN's NFL Nation give us their predictions for the year and checked them against Football Power Index's prognostications.
PANEL PREDICTS ...
Forty-five writers and editors from ESPN's NFL Nation weighed in with their predictions for the 2019 season. And they foresee another TD-packed Year of Mahomes.
AFC division champs: Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Chiefs
Wild cards: Chargers, Texans
AFC Championship: Chiefs over Chargers
NFC division champs: Eagles, Bears, Saints, Rams
Wild cards: Falcons, Packers
NFC Championship: Saints over Eagles
Super Bowl winner: Chiefs
MVP: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
Offensive player of the year: Mahomes
Defensive player of the year: Aaron Donald, Rams
Rookie of the year: Kyler Murray, Cardinals
FPI PROJECTS ...
Football Power Index is right there with the experts, giving last season's semifinalists a major leg up on the pack.
AFC East
New England Patriots (Projected wins: 10.4 | Overall FPI rank: 4 | Offense rank: 4 | Defense rank 12)
New York Jets (Projected wins: 7.2 | Overall FPI rank: 26 | Offense rank: 26 | Defense rank 22)
Buffalo Bills (Projected wins: 6.7 | Overall FPI rank: 27 | Offense rank: 31 | Defense rank 11)
Miami Dolphins (Projected wins: 5.6 | Overall FPI rank: 32 | Offense rank: 32 | Defense rank 28)
AFC North
Cleveland Browns (Projected wins: 8.8 | Overall FPI rank: 15 | Offense rank: 17 | Defense rank 7)
Baltimore Ravens (Projected wins: 8.5 | Overall FPI rank: 16 | Offense rank: 23 | Defense rank 4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (Projected wins: 8.5 | Overall FPI rank: 17 | Offense rank: 8 | Defense rank 25)
Cincinnati Bengals (Projected wins: 6.0 | Overall FPI rank: 29 | Offense rank: 27 | Defense rank 31)
AFC South
Indianapolis Colts (Projected wins: 9.1 | Overall FPI rank: 5 | Offense rank: 10 | Defense rank 6)
Houston Texans (Projected wins: 8.6 | Overall FPI rank: 8 | Offense rank: 12 | Defense rank 8)
Tennessee Titans (Projected wins: 8.0 | Overall FPI rank: 13 | Offense rank: 16 | Defense rank 10)
Jacksonville Jaguars (Projected wins: 7.5 | Overall FPI rank: 18 | Offense rank: 25 | Defense rank 1)
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs (Projected wins: 10.4 | Overall FPI rank: 1 | Offense rank: 1 | Defense rank 15)
Los Angeles Chargers (Projected wins: 8.8 | Overall FPI rank: 6 | Offense rank: 6 | Defense rank 9)
Denver Broncos (Projected wins: 7.0 | Overall FPI rank: 22 | Offense rank: 28 | Defense rank 2)
Oakland Raiders (Projected wins: 6.5 | Overall FPI rank: 23 | Offense rank: 21 | Defense rank 27)
NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles (Projected wins: 9.3 | Overall FPI rank: 10 | Offense rank: 9 | Defense rank 19)
Dallas Cowboys (Projected wins: 8.3 | Overall FPI rank: 19 | Offense rank: 14 | Defense rank 16)
New York Giants (Projected wins: 6.3 | Overall FPI rank: 24 | Offense rank: 24 | Defense rank 32)
Washington Redskins (Projected wins: 6.2 | Overall FPI rank: 28 | Offense rank: 29 | Defense rank 26)
NFC North
Chicago Bears (Projected wins: 9.1 | Overall FPI rank: 7 | Offense rank: 13 | Defense rank 3)
Green Bay Packers (Projected wins: 8.6 | Overall FPI rank: 12 | Offense rank: 5 | Defense rank 20)
Minnesota Vikings (Projected wins: 8.5 | Overall FPI rank: 11 | Offense rank: 20 | Defense rank 5)
Detroit Lions (Projected wins: 7.0 | Overall FPI rank: 24 | Offense rank: 22 | Defense rank 30)
NFC South
New Orleans Saints (Projected wins: 10.1 | Overall FPI rank: 2 | Offense rank: 2 | Defense rank 23)
Atlanta Falcons (Projected wins: 8.4 | Overall FPI rank: 9 | Offense rank: 7 | Defense rank 17)
Carolina Panthers (Projected wins: 7.7 | Overall FPI rank: 20 | Offense rank: 15 | Defense rank 18)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Projected wins: 6.4 | Overall FPI rank: 25 | Offense rank: 19 | Defense rank 29)
NFC West
Los Angeles Rams (Projected wins: 10.0 | Overall FPI rank: 3 | Offense rank: 3 | Defense rank 13)
Seattle Seahawks (Projected wins: 8.3 | Overall FPI rank: 14 | Offense rank: 11 | Defense rank 14)
San Francisco 49ers (Projected wins: 7.7 | Overall FPI rank: 21 | Offense rank: 18 | Defense rank 21)
Arizona Cardinals (Projected wins: 5.5 | Overall FPI rank: 31 | Offense rank: 30 | Defense rank 24)
Super Bowl chances (make, win):
Chiefs (27.80%, 16.00%)
Saints (26.45%, 15.74%)
Patriots (23.12%, 12.06%)
Rams (21.87%, 11.49%)
Colts (10.73%, 5.55%)
Eagles (9.80%, 4.36%)
Bears (9.55%, 4.48%)
Chargers (7.68%, 3.76%)
Texans (6.74%, 3.32%)
Packers (5.91%, 2.62%)
FPI is a forward-looking measure of team strength based on the expected points added from offense, defense and special teams. Using preseason FPI as of July 29, ESPN Stats & Information has projected each team's strength of schedule rank as well as its chances to win each game on its schedule.