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Oh, baby, if you don't have the chills, check your pulse. After all the off-season chatter, it is time. It is time to lock in our season picks and predictions for the 2026 NFL season here on Shine Time. Let's go. AFC East. Here's how I stack it. I think the Buffalo Bills will win the division. I have one team from the division making the playoffs. Buffalo. Patriots finish second. The Jets. And in dead last, the Miami Dolphins. Let's go team by team. It is unequivocally Josh Allen's time to shine. I think that Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are ready to rock and roll. You heard Josh Allen all off-season talk about the bad taste in the mouth after what transpired against Denver. Just had him on my Sirius XM radio show. And the vibes under Joe Brady, new head coach. Right guy, right time. They're off the charts. Sean McDermott's won a lot of games. You couldn't win a Super Bowl with him. He had to go. He needed to bring in a new head coach. And he brought in a great new defensive coordinator in Jim Leonard. I'm obsessed with DJ Moore as a new stud wide receiver. Absolutely love Bradley Chubb getting to the opposition's quarterback. Still love James Cook. Dalton Kincaid's going to have the best season he's ever had at the tight end position. Josh Allen is the best quarterback in the NFL for 2026. He will be the best player in the NFL in 2026. I can't wait to watch the Buffalo Bills in their new stadium with their new uniforms rock and roll this season. Look, I think the Patriots going to be good, not great. I think last year was a bit of a fluke. When you take a look at that easy schedule, give them credit. They won a lot of close games. But I just don't believe that Drake May and company can do it again. I love Drake May. I think he's a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. I love AJ Brown. What a phenomenal acquisition. I love Romeo Dobbs. I just think Buffalo's better. I don't love the New England offensive line. I don't love that defense. I don't think it's elite. Plus, the schedule is much more difficult. Easily, the New England Patriots could start this season 0 and 4 when you look at who they play to start the campaign. I think the Jets are going to be fun to watch this year. I have the Jets winning seven games. I think the Jets are going to be a real football team, a team the Jets fans can be proud of. I really believe that Geno Smith, major upgrade. I love Garrett Wilson this year. I think he's going to be a top 10 wide receiver. Love Breeze Hall. I think he's going to be a top 10 running back. Aaron Glenn has to improve after a debacle first year as the Jets head coach. I think the skill positions are excellent. I think the offensive line is solid. I think Demario Davis, who played for Aaron Glenn in New Orleans, will help the professionalism and the execution on defense. I think the Jets win seven games this year, and this will be a step in the right direction to make the playoffs next season. Dolphins are going to be a hot mess, like the worst team in the NFL. I think that they have the right brass with Jeff Halfley and John Eric Sullivan, new head coach, new general manager. I like Malik Willis as a quarterback, but there is nothing around him. No talent in any way, shape, or form other than HN. That's about it. And I think the Miami Dolphins are going to be dreadful. A two-win football team, the Miami Dolphins, when you look at it this season. So how about the AFC North? And listen, I think this division is going to be absolutely positively sensational. I have three playoff teams in the AFC North. I love the Cincinnati Bengals this year. I think Cincinnati is going to live up to all the hype. I love what Joe Burrow has been saying all offseason, in terms of manifesting it and believing it. And it's not just random offseason chatter. The Cincinnati Bengals looked the part in the offseason by doing things that were uncharacteristic for this football team in terms of trading for Dexter Lawrence, giving up a first-round pick, spending money on defense, active in free agency. And Joe Burrow's back. Joe Burrow's healthy. Jamar Chase is unbelievable. Chase and T. Higgins, the best one-two punts with a wide receiver position in the entire league. Line is good. Chase Brown is solid, running the football. Joe Burrow's going to have the best regular season he's ever had. I can't wait to see the Cincinnati Bengals win a minimum of 12 games this season. I'm obsessed with the Baltimore Ravens. Absolutely obsessed. And more specifically, I'm obsessed with Lamar Jackson. Talked to Lamar Jackson on our SiriusXM radio show. And honestly, I talk to him every single August on our show. And this was the best I've ever heard of him. He's foaming at the mouth for this season. He is fired up about Jesse Minter. Thinks that he is, quote, a breath of fresh air as the head coach. And he loves Declan Doyle, the new offensive coordinator. Listen, I think in terms of running the football, in terms of chunk plays, splash plays, big plays, I think this offense for Baltimore is going to be unstoppable. Lamar said he is 100% physically, 100% mentally. Ravens win 11 games. They make the playoffs via the Wild Cup. I dig the Steelers. I've been saying it on Shine Time all offseason. I think Mike McCarthy's the right guy at the right time. Mike Tomlin, phenomenal job. We can look at a couple of decades in Pittsburgh. But they won a playoff game with the Pittsburgh Steelers since they beat Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs. That's a lifetime ago. Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, back together. They will make sweet, beautiful music. And the final season for Rodgers and his legendary career. Still a ton of gas left in the tank. McCarthy, Pittsburgh native. His X's and O's are great. I love Rico Darrell as a pickup at running back. Michael Pittman Jr., love him at the wide receiver position. And Aaron Rodgers is going to go out at the end of the day with a bang. He's going to be all smiles. I think the Steelers make the playoffs. I think they win a playoff game. I think T.J. Watt on the defense will be much better than last year. 11 wins for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they will make the playoffs. The Cleveland Browns are the Cleveland Browns. Deshaun Watson is the quarterback. That's where hope goes to die. The sad thing is, I actually think the Browns have some good parts and pieces on offense around them. Young receivers, and at the tight end, Harold Fannin. And when you look at the running back position, but you can't take this team seriously this year with Deshaun Watson under center. How about the AFC South? I think the Houston Texans are going to be terrific this season. I think there's one team in this division that will eventually make the playoffs, and it's going to be Houston. I think the Texans with C.J. Stroud, and I think Stroud is going to even out his play. I think you're going to see Stroud and Nico Collins and Nick Caley's offense really just do a much better job than what we saw last year. Nico Collins, to me, is absolutely an elite wide receiver. I think Stroud will be helped by three new offensive linemen. I think he will be helped by Gaben Montgomery, now with the running back position. Team him with Woody Marks. I think that's an upgrade. I think that C.J. Stroud, we will never see what we saw his rookie year, where it was arguably the best rookie season ever in the history of the NFL as a quarterback position. He's coming off of the single worst playoff game in the history of the NFL as a quarterback position. But I like C.J. Stroud. I think he's going to be good. Not necessarily great, but he just needs to make sure he doesn't ever have that kind of performance ever again. His regular season last year was good. I think he'll be even better. I think that eventually they can come to a contractual agreement after this season. I don't think that will happen now. I don't think it makes sense for either side, either Stroud, who's coming off that awful game, If you're Nick Casario and the Texans, you want to wait and see. Listen, I love D'Amico Ryans. I think he is one of the best coaches in the NFL. That defense is the best in the NFL. I love Will Anderson. I love Stingley. I love Hunter. I love him on every single level. Texans win 11 games this year. They win the AFC South. I am going to lose a lot of sleep over not picking the Jacksonville Jaguars. This was my toughest omission. I think Jacksonville, at the end of last year, was the best team in the AFC. Trevor Lawrence, in theory, second year working with Liam Cohen, should be able to take his game and his name to a different level, especially if Thomas can regain his form from his rookie year at the receiver position. I love Jacoby Myers. I think they could run the ball with authority. I think they have a good defense. I felt bad not putting the Jags in the playoffs. Listen, they could end up winning the Super Bowl, and I would have just missed the boat here. But they were my last omission here for my playoff predictions. I think the Colts are kind of the human shrug emoji. I mean, I think they're going to be good. Last year, they were great before Daniel Jones got hurt. They were 8 and 1. I do think Jonathan Taylor is going to have a monster season. Alec Pierce looks like he's on track to be healthy instantly and play right away, which is great. I still don't understand the Pittman trade. I think the defense is good, not great. I will take the Colts to win nine games. And you know the expression, remember the Titans? Forget about the Titans. I had such high hopes for this team. I had such good vibes for this team. You know, maybe you shouldn't overreact to August. I'm going to overreact to August. Robert Sowell looks dazed and confused. Brian Dayball, I don't know what the hell is going on with that offense. I loved Cam Ward out of the U a couple of drafts ago. And I still do. I'm just waiting for something, some kind of sign. Haven't seen it yet. So when you take a look at Cam Ward, yikes. Let's go out west. And honestly, I love the Chargers. And I know that the center is done for the year. And I have to at least process that. But I think that this team is loaded. And I love Justin Herbert. And he needs to be great. And he has to ultimately, when it's all said and done, become a true great quarterback. But I think the signs are there. You have Mike McDaniel now calling the plays. That's a monster upgrade. You have Rashawn Slater, his left tackle, back. You're bringing David Njoku. He's happy with Madison Beer. This all matters here. I think that the line is going to be solid, even without their center. Defense is really strong. Jim Harbaugh is fantastic. So I think the Chargers will win the AFC West. I'm going to take the Broncos to make the playoffs. I think the Broncos have a top three defense in the NFL. I think Sean Payton's going to the Hall of Fame. I think he's a fabulous head coach. I think Jalen Waddle is going to have a monster season. And this guy, look, it's the year of the Knicks. So I can't, at the end of the day, have playoff predictions and not put Knicks in the playoffs. I said I just needed to see him healthy after the ankle surgeries, plural, from the offseason. And he looked healthy in the preseason game against Green Bay. And I told you on Shine Time, that's all I needed to see. Go Knicks, baby. Knicks tape. I'm excited for what the Broncos are going to look like. So that means no Chiefs in the playoffs. Now, I'm not one of these haters. I think that Mahomes is going to be fantastic. I think they'll win nine games. I just don't think the Kansas City Chiefs have the requisite talent. Frankly, when I say nine wins, that's because of Patrick Mahomes. Because of Andy Reid. Because I love Kenneth Walker. I thought that was an excellent pickup. I hate the receiver position. I think there's no depth in talent. I don't think the defense is very good. Travis Kelsey, obviously a little long in the tooth. Just got married. I don't know if you heard about that in the offseason. So I have the Kansas City Chiefs missing the playoffs this year. And look, Kirk Cousins is officially under center for the Raiders to start the season. And that's where hope goes to God. And I'm not surprised by it, obviously. I mean, all the signs were pointing in that direction. And Quinn Kubiak has been outspoken about that, even from the jump. But I just, the Ashton Jenthe injury makes me nervous. And I don't think the Raiders are going to be able to ultimately function this year. And I love the offseason. Love the new head coach. Love Fernando Mendoza. The vibes are not there when you take a look at it for the Raiders. I think they will be a five-win football team this season. So let's recap and take a look at my playoff teams outs of the AFC. We have the Buffalo Bills. We have the Cincinnati Bengals. The Houston Texans. The LA Chargers. Baltimore. Pittsburgh. And Denver as my playoff teams this year in the AFC. Up next, we're going to go to the NFC. Is it going to be Sean McVay's Rams or the field? Plus, stick around for my Championship Sunday and Super Bowl picks. And the award tour.