Our Cup Runneth Over

Has there ever been a better time than now to be a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs? Well, any longtime follower of the team (and having been a follower/fan since the mid-1980's I think I qualify as longtime) will tell you the answer to question is very simple: NO! Of course not. The Chiefs have enjoyed their share of regular season success over the past 30 years - several seasons during the Coach Schottenheimer era, one season in particular during the Coach Vermeil era, and several more during the first part of the Coach Reid era. But postseason success? That was elusive, to say the least. Between 1990 and 2017 the Chiefs went a not-very-stellar and often head-scratching 4-14 in playoff games, concluding with that horrible game in the 2017 wild card round, when they blew a 21-3 halftime lead and lost at home to the Tennessee Titans 22-21.

But ever since then Chiefs fans have had smiles on their faces almost continuously for the past 5 years. After going 50 years without a championship, the Chiefs have won 2 of the last 4 Super Bowls, the latest coming 6 months ago with their thrilling 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57 to finish the 2022 season.

Not coincidentally the Chiefs' recent run of postseason success started when some guy named Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018. The Chiefs made the playoffs 4 times in the first 5 years (2013-17) of the Coach Reid era; but they didn't start winning big until Mahomes took over. In his 5 seasons as the starter - during which time he has played in all but 3 games - the Chiefs have gone (including the playoffs) 13-5, 15-4, 16-3, 14-6, and 17-3. That's 5 straight years of 13+ wins after only 4 such seasons in the 40 years before him. With Mahomes at QB the Chiefs have yet to play a true road game in the playoffs, having hosted the AFC conference championship game 5 years in a row. And if not for only a couple of plays they would have won all 5 ......  

In the 2018 title game the Chiefs - after scoring 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to take a 28-24 lead over the New England Patriots - seemingly had the victory clinched after intercepting Tom Brady with 54 seconds remaining. But, as you may recall, the INT was nullified because LB Dee Ford lined up offside on the play. The Patriots kept the ball and eventually won in overtime.

Then 3 years later in the 2021 AFC championship game the Chiefs had a 21-10 lead and the ball at the 1-yard line and were poised to score another touchdown, one that likely would have finished off the Cincinnati Bengals just before halftime. But, as you may recall, on 1st down with 9 seconds to play they threw the ball sideways to Tyreek Hill, and he was tackled both short of the goal line and inbounds. So instead of it being 28-10 and game (probably) over, time ran out and the Bengals ended the half with momentum on their side. The Bengals went on to dominate in the 2nd half, which I don't think they would have done had the Chiefs scored that touchdown. 

So, we're talking about a couple of inches in one game, and one yard in another game - that's how close the Chiefs are to having played in 5 straight Super Bowls. Indeed, Chiefs fans, to say that our cup runneth over is an understatement. And the thing is Mahomes is about to turn 28 years old, so this just might keep on going. This is the same feeling that Patriots fans had for all of the years Brady was their QB - knowing that at the start of every season you have a realistic chance at the championship. But let's just hope the members of the Chiefs Kingdom don't ever become as obnoxious as so many members of Patriots Nation did during their dynasty.

Holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy with Mahomes after Super Bowl 57 (photo at top of page) is Travis Kelce, of course. Arguably Kelce deserves just as many accolades as Mahomes for the Chiefs being so formidable. There's no way they would be as successful as they've been without him. On the field a tight end is often the quarterback's best friend. And Kelce has been exactly that - and more - for nearly a decade. So many big plays. So many clutch plays. Consistent greatness, as in 7 straight seasons with over 1,000 yards receiving. That's unheard of for a tight end. When you have a great tight end in addition to a great quarterback .... well, just look what it did for Tom Brady.

Taking in the confetti shower together just after the win over the Eagles are DBs Justin Reid (#20), L'Jarius Sneed (#38) and Nazeeh Johnson (left photo above); and DE Mike Danna (right photo above) in a moment by himself. And smoking the victory cigars a little later are rookie RB Isiah Pacheco (right photo below) and LB Darius Harris (left photo below). It's the 2nd Super Bowl ring for Harris - although he didn't really do much to earn the first one, as he was on the NFI list for his entire rookie season in 2019 when the Chiefs won Super Bowl 54. But he contributed much more to this one, playing in all 20 games. Reid and Sneed both started all 20 games, finishing 4th and 2nd respectively on the team in tackles. Sneed also tied for the team lead in interceptions with 3. Danna tied for 3rd on the team with his 5 sacks.

No doubt that cigar was extra tasty for Pacheco. In his first NFL season he won more games than he did during his entire 4-year career in college at Rutgers, as the Scarlet Knights went 11-35 between 2018 and 2021. The Chiefs' 7th round draft choice, Pacheco ranked 5th on the team with 5 regular season touchdowns. And he added one more in the postseason ..... which just happened to come in the Super Bowl. His 1-yard run to cap the Chiefs' 2nd half opening drive (photo below) and cut the Eagles' lead to 24-21 was one of three touchdowns scored for the Chiefs by players with dreads. LB Nick Bolton had a 36-yard fumble return for a TD in the 2nd quarter, and WR Kadarius Toney scored on a 5-yard reception in the 4th quarter, making it the first Super Bowl ever with as many as 3 TD by players with dreads. And Toney nearly made it 4. Just 90 seconds after his TD catch gave the Chiefs their first lead of the game at 28-27 early in the 4th, he nearly took a punt return to the house. But his 65-yard return - the longest punt return in Super Bowl history - came up just short, as he was knocked out of bounds at the 5-yard line. Bolton's TD was the first by a player with dreads in a Super Bowl in 5 years - since LeGarrette Blount scored for the Eagles against the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 - and was the first defensive TD ever scored in a Super Bowl by a player with dreads.

Prior to the touchdowns by Bolton, Pacheco, and Toney there were a total of only 9 Super Bowl TD by players with dreads, with Devin Hester scoring the first of those for the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl 41. Previously the most TD by players with dreads in one Super Bowl came in Super Bowl 43, when Larry Fitzgerald had 2 TD catches for the Arizona Cardinals in their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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The Chiefs' championship in 2019 was correctly predicted by my crystal ball. But not this one. CB2 tried to sell you that the Chiefs' season would end in heartbreak after a loss in Week 18 left them out of the playoffs. I hope you didn't buy it. What a bunch of nonsense that was. The team CB2 picked to win Super Bowl 57 actually was looking good for most of the season, as the Buffalo Bills were near or at the top of the AFC standings all season. But despite defeating the Chiefs in Kansas City for the second regular season in a row, the Bills once again had to stomach the Chiefs hosting the conference title game. And how it happened in 2022 was particularly galling for Bills fans. The Bills moved into the #1 seed in the conference in Week 13 and maintained it in Weeks 14, 15, and 16. But then came Week 17 and the fateful Monday night in Cincinnati.

It looked like a regular, routine play when Bills S Damar Hamlin tackled Bengals WR Tee Higgins just past the midway point of the 1st quarter. Maybe a little more violent than normal, as Higgins surged forward and slammed into Hamlin's chest (photo on left) and knocked him down. And it wasn't all that unusual when Hamlin got up after the play but then went right back down. Injuries happen all the time. I already had the sound turned down, so I then turned my full attention to something else (probably a basketball game - that was the night Donovan Mitchell was scoring 71 points on the Bulls). But when I looked back and saw the ambulance on the field and some of the Bills' players were crying, the first thing I thought was I hope that Hamlin wasn't dead. Well, it turned out he was dead, having suffered a cardiac arrest, before thankfully being brought back to life by CPR. 

As the players stood on the field in various states of disbelief, shock, horror, and sadness (CB Tre'Davious White, photo on right, seemed to be the most grief-stricken) and as it became increasingly more apparent they were too emotionally spent to be able to continue to play, the more selfish and insensitive of us (and you can include me) were concerned because this was a game that really, really needed to be played, and that the finish to the season was going to be messed up if they didn't. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, the NFL cancelled the game altogether instead of just suspended it until the next day, leaving the league with the thankless job of figuring out what to do. And what they did was come up with a solution that was unsatisfactory and unfair to the teams it affected:

-----  The Chiefs. The decision not to finish the Bills-Bengals game robbed the Chiefs of their chance to clinch the top AFC seed undisputed, which they would had gotten had the Bills lost and finished with a 13-4 record. The NFL's solution was to name the Chiefs (who ended up 14-3) the #1 seed but not allow them home advantage if the Bills (13-3 without the loss to the Bengals) advanced to meet them in the conference title game. Rather than playing in KC they would have met at a neutral site (are you kidding me?).

----- The Baltimore Ravens. Had the Bengals and Bills played and the Bengals lost, the Ravens would have been in position to clinch the AFC North division crown with a victory over the Bengals in Week 18. The decision not to play left them with no chance of finishing in 1st place.

----- The Bengals. Had the Bengals beaten the Bills, not only would they have clinched 1st place in the AFC North, they also would have moved ahead of the Bills (both teams 12-4 through Week 17 with the Bengals ahead on the tiebreaker) up to the #2 seed. So the decision not to play cost them a chance to gain home advantage in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

----- And last but certainly not least, the Bills. Obviously, had the Bills beaten the Bengals, they would have maintained the top seed in the AFC. So the decision not to play cost them their chance to get a 1st round bye for the playoffs and also made their 2nd round game more difficult, as an assignment against the #3 seeded Bengals would have been less desirable than facing the #4 seeded Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mercy, Damar, see all the commotion you caused? Next time tell your heart not to ever do that again! ...... All kidding aside, Hamlin's cardiac arrest was a fluke accident. It wasn't a heart attack - there wasn't anything previously wrong with his heart. It was a longshot blow to his heart at the exact wrong time that caused it to stop. He was in critical condition for a long time but I am so very happy that not only was his life saved, his quality of life was also preserved. Meaning that after recovering things seemingly have gone back to normal. He participated in the Bills' offseason summer practices and was in uniform and on the field for all 3 of their 2023 preseason games (making 10 total tackles). 

There's no telling what would have happened had that game been played. Personally I thought the Bengals were going to win. But what if the Bills had won? Things could have been a whole lot different. We probably would be talking about them, not the Chiefs, defeating the Jaguars and then playing at home in the AFC championship game. Nothing can be done now, but the Bills just lost a great chance to win a Super Bowl.

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In my post from last September titled "Bills Due" my crystal ball incorrectly predicted the Bills would win their first NFL championship; so they're still due. It wasn't the only thing CB2 got wrong. But hey, what's new? Since beginning their NFL forecasts back in 2008, neither one of my crystal balls have been able to achieve a grade of higher than a B-. That was in 2009 and everything since than has been a C or worse. So CB2's 2022 forecast was the same old same old. 

CB2 was at its best picking the last place teams, getting 6 of those 8 correct. It was also a not-too-bad 9 for 14 in the correctly predicting the playoff teams. It correctly picked the exact records of three teams: Steelers, Cowboys, 49ers. But on the negative side it got an F (for missing the mark by 4 or more games) for a whopping 10 of the league's 32 teams. WTF? Its worst misses were the Jaguars (9-8) and Las Vegas Raiders (6-11) being 6 games off their predicted records of 3-14 and 12-5 respectively.

Here now is a look at the entire report card ...... 

AFC EAST

     predicted               actual

  

   1. BUF 14-3          1. BUF 13-3

   2. MIA 12-5           2. MIA 9-8

   3. NE 7-10            3. NE 8-9

   4. NYJ 3-14          4. NYJ 7-10

The only division that CB2 got the order of finish exactly right. Grade should have been higher, but Jets far better than expected. 

GRADE: C+ ..... Best grade: B- in 2009 ..... Worst grade: D in 2020, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2008 .....  L5Y (grades for the last 5 years, starting with 2021 and going back to 2017): C, D, C, D+, C-

CB2 whiffed on its pick that RB James Cook would become the first players with dreads for the Bills to score in double figures in TD and that he would score more TD than any rookie with dreads. Cook had a very respectable 1st season but scored only 3 TD, way fewer than the 10 that CB2 predicted. RB Kenneth Walker of the Seahawks led all rookies with dreads with 9 TD. 

CB2 was correct forecasting that Tyreek Hill, with his hair in dreads for the first time since the opening game of the 2019 season, would have a big 1st season in a Dolphins uniform. Hill was the top scoring AFC East player with dreads - as expected - although he finished with only 9 TD, 4 fewer than the 13 predicted.

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AFC NORTH

     predicted               actual

   1. BAL 12-5          1. CIN 12-4

   2. CIN 10-7           2. BAL 10-7

   3. PIT 9-8              3. PIT 9-8

   4. CLEV 8-9          4. CLEV 7-10

Not quite the correct order, but this is CB2's highest graded division for 2022 and its highest grade ever for this division. No hangover for Super Bowl loser Bengals. Steelers rallied from 5-8 record to make it 19 straight seasons without a losing record.

GRADE: B- (tied for best ever)..... Previous best: B- in 2022 and 2011 ..... Worst: F in 2008 ..... L5Y: D+, C+, D, C. C

CB2's pick that the Steelers would take the team crown for the most TD by players with dreads turned into a disaster. It supposedly was a safe pick, but they really struggled to score, finishing with only 29 TD, only 12 of which were by players with dreads, which was 14 fewer than the 26 predicted. The total of 12 was good for 9th place. Najee Harris (scoring his 6th TD of the season vs. the Colts in Week 12 in left photo above) did lead the team with 10 TD as expected, 2 fewer than CB2 predicted. 

CB2's pick that rookie Martin Emerson would lead all NFL players with dreads in interceptions with 7 was also just a bit outside. Drafted in the 3rd round, Emerson was on the field for 72% of the snaps for the Browns defense and made the most of them, finishing with 15 PBU, third most in the league. But he didn't get any interceptions. If he could have turned his PBU late in the 4th quarter in Week 12 (right photo above) into an INT, it would have been one of the plays of the year, as he very likely would have returned it 55 yards to the house for the game winning TD on the last play of the game.

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AFC SOUTH  

     predicted               actual

1. IND 9-8               1. JAC 9-8

2. TENN 9-8            2. TENN 7-10

3. JAC 3-14             3. IND 4-12-1

4. HOU 1-16           4. HOU 3-13-1

Only thing CB2 got right here was the division champ finishing with a mediocre record - but it was the Jaguars, not the Colts. Not close on anything else. 

GRADE: D ..... Best: B- in 2019 ..... Worst: D- in 2018, 2012, 2010, and 2009 ..... L5Y: C-, C, B-, D-, D+

CB2 said you could count on Titans RB Derrick Henry to lead all NFL players with dreads with 17 TD. Wrong again, although he did come close. His 13 TD, including this 1-yard run vs. the Chiefs (photo above) in Week 9, were the 2nd most among players with dreads, just 1 behind the leader. But at least - thankfully and finally - Derrick let his dreads loose and let us see how long they really are.

CB2 had Mo Alie-Cox of the Colts increasing his TD scored from 4 in 2021 to a career high 7 in 2022 and repeating as the highest scoring tight end with dreads in the league. But instead he dropped to 3 TD, including a 7-yard reception vs. the Titans in Week 4 (photo below), which tied for 4th place among tight ends with dreads. Jordan Akins of the Texans was in 1st place with 5 TD.

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AFC WEST 

     predicted               actual

1. LV 12-5               1. KC 14-3

2. LAC 11-6            2. LAC 10-7

3. KC 10-7              3. LV 6-11

4. DEN 6-11            4. DEN 5-12

In mystifying season Raiders blew a 10-point lead and lost an unbelievable five times - and three of those were 17-point leads. At least CB2 was right about the Broncos being lousy.

GRADE: C- ..... Best: A- in 2010 ..... Worst: D- in 2018 ..... L5Y: D, C-, D+, D-, C

CB2 was certain that the Raiders would end their 3-year drought of having no TD scored by players with dreads; and they did. But their team total of 16 TD by players with dreads was 4 short of the 20 predicted by CB2. However, CB2 absolutely nailed its pick of Davante Adams leading all players with dreads with 14 TD catches. Adams' 14 TD catches (his 7th of the season in left photo above coming in Week 9 and giving the Raiders a 17-0 lead over the Jaguars - a lead which they blew, of course) were the most by anyone in the league - dreads or not. And his total of 14 TD were the most by anyone with dreads in the league, one more than Derrick Henry's 13. 

Just like with the Steelers, CB2 was way too ambitious in predicting the Broncos would lead the AFC West with 24 TD scored by players with dreads. They scored only 29 total TD all season, and only 9 of those were by players with dreads. Helping ruin the pick was Javonte Williams (right photo above), who scored 0 TD in the first 3 games before tearing an ACL in Week 4 and finishing with 0, which was 9 fewer than predicted.

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AFC actual records

BUF 13-3       CIN 12-4       JAC 9-8          KC 14-3 

MIA 9-8         BAL 10-7      TENN 7-10      LAC 10-7

NE 8-9           PIT 9-8          IND 4-12-1     LV 6-11    

NYJ 7-10       CLEV 7-10    HOU 3-13-1    DEN 5-12

AFC TIEBREAKERS

Chargers clinched #5 seed due to better record than Ravens in games vs. conference opponents (LAC 7-5, BAL 6-6)

Dolphins clinched #7 seed due to head-to-head victory over Steelers (Week 7)

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NFC EAST 

     predicted               actual

1. PHIL 12-5           1. PHIL 14-3

2. DAL 12-5            2. DAL 12-5

3. WASH 6-11         3. NYG 9-7-1

4. NYG 4-13           4. WASH 8-8-1

A testament to how quickly things can change in the NFL. In 2020 Washington went 7-9 and won the division; two years later they go 8-8-1 and finish last.

CB2 nailed Cowboys pick, but other three teams much better than expected.

GRADE: C ..... Best: B- in 2011 ..... Worst: D- in 2020 ..... L5Y: D+, D-, C, C+, C

CB2 believed Quez Watkins (left photo, celebrating his TD vs. the Colts in Week 11) would challenge incumbent CeeDee Lamb (right photo, scoring his 2nd TD of the season on a 30-yard reception vs. Commanders in Week 4) for the lead as the NFC East's top scoring player with dreads. Didn't happen. Watkins had a career high in touchdowns, as CB2 predicted. But he scored only 3 TD, 4 fewer than the 7 predicted. Nobody challenged Lamb for the crown, which he has now held for all 3 of his seasons with the Cowboys. He scored 9 TD in 2022, 4 fewer than the 13 predicted. Closest to him were Cowboys teammate Michael Gallup and Giants WR Richie James, both of whom had 4. CB2 also predicted that 12 of Lamb's 13 TD would be TD catches and that the total of 12 would lead the entire NFC. Close but no cigar. CeeDee's 9 TD catches were tied for third most in the NFC, 2 behind the 11 made by both A.J. Brown of the Eagles and George Kittle of the 49ers. 

CB2 also had Giants S Xavier McKinney finishing with 6 INT for the second straight season and dethroning CB Trevon Diggs as the NFC player with dreads with the most interceptions. Uh, no. McKinney missed 7 games due to injury during the second half of the season and had no interceptions in the 8 games before that. He finished with 0. Diggs dropped (no surprise) from 11 INT in 2021 to 3 in 2022 and was dethroned by S C.J. Gardner-Johnson of the Eagles and rookie CB Tariq Woolen of the Seahawks, both of whom had 6 INT - good for not only the most among NFC players with dreads but also good for a 4-way tie with Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick and Broncos S Justin Simmons for the most by anyone in the entire league, dreads or not.

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NFC NORTH

     predicted               actual

   1. GB 12-5          1. MINN 13-4

   2. MINN 9-8        2. DET 9-8

   3. CHI 5-12         3. GB 8-9

   4. DET 5-12        4. CHI 3-14

 

One question: For the whole season the Vikings were outscored by their opponents by 3 points, 427-424; does that sound like a 13-4 team to you?

First to worst - This was CB2's highest-graded division in 2021 .... and lowest in 2022. Way off on 3 of the 4 teams, and not one of them finished in their predicted position.

GRADE: F (worst ever) ..... Best: B in 2021 and 2009 ..... Previous worst ..... D- in 2018 ..... L5Y: B, C+, D+, D-, D

CB2 thought Rashan Gary would continue his rise to stardom and finish with 14 sacks to lead all players with dreads. Well, he was on his way, getting 6 sacks in the first 9 games (including a strip sack of Patriots QB Bailey Zappe in Week 4, left photo) before a torn ACL in Week 9 ended his season. He finished tied for 7th among players with dreads. Finishing 1st among players with dreads for the 2nd straight season - and tied for 4th in the entire league - was Matthew Judon of the Patriots with 15.5.

CB2 also thought that Dalvin Cook, after scoring only 6 TD in 2021, would bounce back and hit double figures in 2022 and finish with one more TD than little brother James Cook of the Bills, 11-10. As mentioned earlier, James finished with 3 TD. Dalvin, on the other hand, almost hit CB2's forecast on the head, finishing with 10 TD (including a 5-yard run vs. the Bears in Week 5, right photo).

CB2 also forecast the Vikings would lose the team crown for the most TD by players with dreads to the Steelers. But that did not happen. Not only were they not dethroned by the Steelers, no other team did it either, as the Vikings repeated as the team with the most TD scored by players with dreads with 21, one more than the 20 by the Titans.

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NFC SOUTH 

     predicted               actual

   1. TB 10-7           1. TB 8-9

   2. NO 10-7          2. CAR 7-10

   3. CAR 8-9          3. NO 7-10

   4. ATL 8-9           4. ATL 7-10

TIEBREAKERS

--- Panthers clinched 2nd place due to best head-to-head record in games vs. other two tied teams (CAR 3-1, NO 2-2, ATL 1-3)

--- Saints clinched 3rd place due to head-to-head sweep of Falcons (Weeks 1 and 15) 

CB2 picked the teams to be a whisker away from finishing in a 4-way tie (at 9-8). And wouldn't you know it? They very nearly did end up tied! But all the teams were worse than expected.

GRADE: C ..... Best: A in 2009 ..... Worst: D in 2020, 2019, 2013, 2011, and 2008 ..... L5Y: B, D, D, B, C+

CB2 figured it would be another outstanding season for Alvin Kamara, predicting he would score 14 TD to lead all NFC players with dreads. But it most definitely was not. He scored a career worst 4 TD. In fact, he had just as many fumbles as he did touchdowns, including this big one (left photo) at the 1-yard line in the 4th quarter vs. the 49ers in Week 12. After making the Pro Bowl in each of his first 5 NFL seasons, he missed for the first time. Alvin's 4 TD put him tied for 10th among NFC players with dreads. Dalvin Cook finished 1st with 10. 2021's 1st place finisher, Cordarrelle Patterson of the Falcons, nearly repeated, finishing with 9 TD.

CB2 picked the Panthers to be the NFC team with the most TD by players with dreads with 22; but they finished tied for 5th with 10. Panthers RB D'Onta Foreman was predicted to finish with a career high 10 TD. He scored a career high 5, including a 12-yard run vs. the Falcons in Week 10 (right photo). And CB2 also had WR Andre Roberts taking at least one (kickoff or punt) return to the house for the Panthers. But he missed 14 games with a knee injury suffered in Week 1 and ended up with only 6 returns all season, finishing with 0 TD.

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NFC WEST

     predicted               actual

   1. SF 13-4           1. SF 13-4

   2. LAR 10-7         2. SEA 9-8

   3. SEA 6-11         3. LAR 5-12

   4. ARIZ 6-11        4. ARIZ 4-13

Losses to 3 last place teams (Bears, Falcons, Broncos) cost 49ers #1 seed in NFC and probable conference title.

Second time under Coach McVay that Rams go from playing in the Super Bowl one year to missing the playoffs the next.

GRADE: C ..... Best: B+ in 2014 and 2012 ..... Worst: F in 2018 ..... L5Y: D+, D, C, F, D+

CB2 had Brandon Aiyuk and Marquise Brown finishing in a tie for the top scoring player with dreads in the NFC West with a career high 10 TD each. And the winner was ...... neither of them. Kenneth Walker's 9 TD scored for the Seahawks were the most by anyone with dreads in the division. Aiyuk did have his best season so far, finishing with career highs of 1,015 yards receiving and 8 TD, including a 34-yard reception vs. the Rams in Week 8 (left photo) on a pass from RB Christian McCaffrey on a trick play that completely fooled the defense. Brown finished with a career low 3 TD, going scoreless after his 25-yard catch and run vs. the Eagles (right photo) in Week 5.

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NFC actual records

PHIL 14-3       MINN 13-4       TB 8-9         SF 13-4

DAL 12-5        DET 9-8           CAR 7-10    SEA 9-8

NYG 9-7-1      GB 8-9             NO 7-10       LAR 5-12

WASH 8-8-1   CHI 3-14          ATL 7-10      ARIZ 5-12         

NFC TIEBREAKERS

49ers clinched #2 seed due to better record than Vikings in games vs. conference opponents (SF 10-2, MINN 8-4)

Seahawks clinched #7 seed due to head-to-head victory over Lions (48-45 in Week 4)

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DIVISION WINNERS

After getting a best ever 5 of 8 correct in its 2021 forecast, CB2 dropped to 4 out of 8 right in this one.

GRADE: C ..... Best: B- in 2021 ..... Worst: F in 2008 ..... L5Y: B-, C-, C-, D, D

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PLAYOFF TEAMS

AFC

     predicted       actual

      

    1. BUF           1. KC

    2. LV              2. BUF

    3. BAL           3. CIN

    4. IND            4. JAC

    5. MIA            5. LAC

    6. LAC           6. BAL

    7. CIN            7. MIA

NFC

    predicted       actual

   1. SF              1. PHIL

   2. PHIL          2. SF

   3. GB             3. MINN

   4. TB              4. TB

   5. DAL           5. DAL

   6. LAR           6. NYG

   7. NO             7. SEA

A decent showing for CB2, getting 9 of the 14 teams correct.

GRADE: B- ..... Best: B in 2011 ..... Worst: D+ in 2018 ..... L5Y: C, B-, C-, D+, C-

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SUPER BOWL

• predicted: BUF over SF
• actual: KC over PHIL

GRADE: F ..... Best: A in 2012 ..... Worst: F in 2022, 2021, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2011, 2010, and 2008

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OVERALL GRADE

Taking the average of the 11 grades and using my secret formula (lol) the overall grade comes out to a 1.67 - slightly worse than 2021's 1.72, but still the same grade as for 2021.

GRADE: C- ..... Best: B- in 2009 ..... Worst: D in 2018 and 2008 ..... L5Y: C-, D+, C, D, C-

Well, at least you can say that my crystal balls have been consistent over the years - consistently below average, that is. Nevertheless, CB2 will take another crack at it for the soon-to-begin 2023 season.