The 2023 NFL Season is upon us and it's shaping up to be a historic year. The talent at QB in the AFC alone is staggering, and some say the best we have ever witnessed. The names read like an MVP chart. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Lawrence, and Lamar Jackson all represent 7 of the top 8 players odds for MVP. Mahomes comes in at +600, Burrow and Allen at +700, Herbert at 9 to 1 and the other 3 come in at just about 16 to 1 odds.
Over in the NFC Jalen Hurts is the leading force for the NFC champion Eagles and few believe they will fall off this year. The NFC seems weaker than it has in years but there are still some powerhouse teams and players. Besides the Eagles, the Niners have the best RB in the league along with a premiere defense. Seattle showed last season not to count out old Pete Carroll, the Saints have a cakewalk division and a new starting QB in Derek Carr, while in the Eagles own division Dak and the Boys return a dynamic defense. Brian Daboll showed a magic touch last year for the GMen, in the North Minnesota gets to watch what other records JJ can break, while optimism might be higher than ever for Detroit .
The NFC will have some surprising teams but when the dust settles most think it will be the Eagles or the Niners standing tall. They lead the NFC odds followed by the Cowboys, who always bring in public money, and then there's those Lions. Detroit has the most tickets to win the Super Bowl of an any team in the league after we saw this young team's grit last season. New Orleans will have a cakewalk schedule but they have some problems that will be exposed during the playoffs and while it's fun to pick an underdog or shocker, it's hard to go against the chalk here. The best value might be the Giants at 25 to 1 to win the NFC. If Brian Daboll can squeeze something else out of Daniel Jones and that defense can get more consistent this could be a shocking year.
Over in the AFC one of the star QBs will not even make the playoffs. Trevor Lawrence is bringing back great MVP odds for what he might do to that schedule. Over the last nine games of the regular season, Trevor Lawrence's stats were incredible. 2,273 yards, 70% completion percentage, 15 TD, 2 INT, 104.6 passer rating. For that reason he could win the MVP, but his weak schedule also should get the Jags the overall #1 seed. Mahomes, Allen and Burrow will be in the playoffs, and likely division winners. Herbert can open up eyes, but his coach still seems over matched. Mike Tomlin still doesn't have a losing season on his resume, Tua to his wide outs might be the most explosive combo in the league, Watson and Chubb could explode, and the last time we saw a healthy Lamar he was at MVP levels.
That leaves us to Mr. Rodgers. The Jets defense is very, very good. The Jets running game looks to be solid and while Rodgers is older and has regressed for 3 straight seasons, he should be in line for a playoff run. The offensive line must hold up though and in this conference there is no room for error. Jets fans might see a 10 or 11 win season, and miss the playoffs. Someone in the AFC might see the same.
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