By Donovan West, Sports Editor
@DWest_courant
Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, and more, players doing whatever it takes to score. The 2022 NFL season was one of continuous thunder; what will this year hold, I wonder? Below are my predictions for how the 2023 NFL season will unfold.
MVP: Justin Herbert
Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekler- Justin Herbert unequivocally has the weapons to succeed. Add an excellent offensive line and a new offensive coordinator, and the Chargers’ offense could be dynamite this year. The defense is pretty good, but that’s it. The games will be high-scoring, and Justin Herbert will be forced to throw the ball and score touchdowns. I have no doubt the statistics will be there for Herbert’s MVP campaign; the only question is if the team will be good enough.
OPOY: Tyreek Hill
Mediocre defense plus a weak running game. What does that equal: passing the rock. Tyreek Hill’s over/under for receiving yards this season is 1,300- but I think he can soar over that number. If both Tua Tagovailoa and Hill can stay healthy, which is a big if, there is no reason that Tyreek Hill can’t dethrone Justin Jefferson and win this award. With Jaylen Waddle on the other side of the field, removing the possibility of double-teaming Tyreek Hill, the “Cheetah” will pounce.
DPOY: Micah Parsons
This one seems simple to me. Parsons is one of the best defensive players in the world, and he hasn’t won the DPOY yet. Voter fatigue is real, and unless given no choice (like Aaron Donald), the voters want to change things up. Going into his third season, Micah Parsons is primed to continue his ascent to the top of the league and should have no trouble posting at least 13 sacks this season. With the addition of star corner Stephon Gilmore, opposing quarterbacks will be forced to hold the ball longer, giving Parsons more time to deliver his dominant destruction.
COY: Doug Pederson
Doug Pederson was undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the league in Philadelphia, yet he failed to win this prestigious award. Behind a new and improved Jaguars team with high expectations, this could finally be the year Pederson wins it. An extremely talented Jaguars team playing against an extremely easy schedule should place them easily in the top three seeds of the AFC, giving first-year Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson the resume he needs to take home Coach of the Year.
Super Bowl Matchup: Bengals vs. 49ers
It is hard to go against the Chiefs here. Still, with a week one injury to Travis Kelce, which could be a sign of things to come for the aging superstar, in addition to the Chris Jones holdout, I’ll go with the Bengals to win the AFC. The Bengals are a young team with the talent and experience to make a postseason run. Led by a top three quarterback in the league, Joe Burrow, throwing to arguably the best wide receiver core in the league, the offense will be dangerous. Although there are question marks on the offensive line and defense, I think the Bengals should do enough to get into the playoffs with 10-11 wins, and then “Joe Brrr” will do the rest.
The 49ers are in a very different position but are just as talented. While they don’t have the superstar quarterback like the Bengals, the 49ers are stacked at every other position on the field. The only weak spot is second-year quarterback Brock Purdy, who I think should be good enough as a “game manager” to guide his team to success. In a much weaker NFC Conference featuring the most prominent choke artist in the league, the Cowboys, and a team that could deal with the “Superbowl hangover,” the Eagles, I think the 49ers will win the NFC.
Super Bowl Winner: Bengals
Once a team makes the Superbowl, their most significant weaknesses stick out like sore thumbs. While I could see this being like the 2021 Superbowl, where the Buccaneers were able to exploit the lackluster offensive line of the Chiefs, in this matchup, the better quarterback will win. Joe Burrow will cement himself as the second-best quarterback in the NFL, and the Bengals will win their first-ever Lombardi Trophy.
