NFL Preview: Division winners, playoff predictions, hot-seat coaches

How do theJacksonville Jaguars follow up their breakout 2025? Do the Seattle Seahawks repeat as Super Bowl champions? Which coaches start the season on the hot seat? Which team will come out of semi-nowhere to make a playoff run?

Here is our NFL primer:

AFC predictions

AFC South: 1. Jaguars; 2. Houston; 3. Indianapolis; 4. Tennessee. The Jaguars win consecutive division titles for the first time since 1998-99 after a season-long duel against the great-on-defense, lousy-on-offense Texans.

MORE FROM RYAN O'HALLORAN: Jaguars' next challenge: Turning breakthrough season into lasting winner

AFC East: 1. Buffalo; 2. New England; 3. N.Y. Jets; 4. Miami. The Bills have a new coach (Joe Brady) and a new defense (4-3 to 3-4 scheme), but quarterback Josh Allen will ease the

transition by doing Josh Allen Things.

AFC North: 1. Baltimore; 2. Cincinnati; 3. Pittsburgh; 4. Cleveland. Things got stale in Baltimore so the Ravens moved on from coach John Harbaugh and hired Jesse Minter, who inherits a win-now roster.

AFC West: 1. Denver; 2. Kansas City; 3. L.A. Chargers; 4. Las Vegas. The Chiefs get quarterback Patrick Mahomes back, but the Broncos have just about everybody back. Edge, Denver.

Playoff seeds: 1. Buffalo; 2. Baltimore; 3. Denver; 4. Jaguars; 5. Houston; 6. Kansas City; 7. L.A. Chargers.

Wild card round: Baltimore over L.A. Chargers, Jaguars over Houston, Denver over Kansas City.

Divisional round: Baltimore over Jaguars; Denver over Buffalo.

Conference title game: Denver over Baltimore.

NFC predictions

NFC South: 1. Tampa Bay; 2. New Orleans; 3. Carolina; 4. Atlanta. Somebody has to win this division and I’ll go with the team with the best quarterback (Baker Mayfield).

NFC East: 1. Dallas; 2. Philadelphia; 3. N.Y. Giants; 4. Washington. Why the Cowboys? Because new defensive coordinator Christian Parker will make a huge difference in improving last year’s worst-ranked group.

NFC North: 1. Chicago; 2. Detroit; 3. Minnesota; 4. Green Bay. Ben Johnson is the NFC’s version of Jaguars coach Liam Coen. He will draw up answers for opponents who think they can contain quarterback Caleb Williams.

NFC West: 1. L.A. Rams; 2. Seattle; 3. San Francisco; 4. Arizona. A brutally tough division for every team (not just the rebuilding Cardinals). The Rams find a way to get the top seed.

Playoff seeds: 1. L.A. Rams; 2. Chicago; 3. Dallas; 4. Tampa Bay; 5. Seattle; 6. Philadelphia; 7. Detroit.

Wild card round: Chicago over Detroit, Dallas over Philadelphia, Seattle over Tampa Bay.

Divisional round: L.A. Rams over Seattle, Dallas over Chicago.

Conference title game: Dallas over L.A. Rams.

Super Bowl prediction

Dallas over Denver. How’s that for going off the grid? The Cowboys haven’t reached the NFC Championship Game or Super Bowl since 1995. But their wait will be over.

Hot seat coaches

Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay: The Buccaneers’ defense, which is Bowles’ wheelhouse, has fallen from seventh to 13th to 20th in points allowed in the last three years and his record in four seasons is 8-9, 9-8, 10-7 and 8-9.

Aaron Glenn, N.Y. Jets: After a total disaster-of-a-first-season (3-14), Glenn is fortunate to be back. This is the spot former Buffalo coach Sean McDermott ends up and is paired with a rookie quarterback.

Dan Quinn, Washington: The Commanders went 12-5 and lost in the NFC Championship Game during Quinn’s first year, but sunk to 5-12. The time to contend is now while quarterback Jayden Daniels is on a rookie contract.

Shane Steichen, Indianapolis: The Colts have gone 9-8, 8-9 and 8-9 and struck out with quarterback Anthony Richardson, Jr., during Steichen’s tenure. Indianapolis could be looking at a total house-cleaning.

Zac Taylor, Cincinnati: Bengals ownership stuck with Marvin Lewis for 16 years (no playoff wins) and Taylor enters his seventh season with three consecutive non-playoff years. How much longer will quarterback Joe Burrow put up with this?

Bet the ‘over’

Jaguars (8 1/2 wins): They won’t match last year’s 13 wins, but will reach double-figures.

Tampa Bay (8 1/2 wins): The Buccaneers will go 5-1 in their AFC South games to achieve a winning record.

Buffalo (10 1/2 wins): Two games apiece against Miami and the New York Jets sends the Bills to at least 12 wins.

Miami (3 1/2 wins): Don’t buy this nonsense that the Dolphins will win 1-2 games. Pro athletes have pride and will play hard (see the 2013 Jaguars that started 0-8 and finished 4-12).

Bet the ‘under’

Cincinnati (10 1/2 wins): Not with its offensive line.

San Francisco (9 1/2 wins): The 49ers got some of their injured players back for Week 1, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay healthy.

Tennessee (6 1/2 wins): I would bet the “under” if it was 4 1/2 wins.

Pittsburgh (8 1/2 wins): During the six-game stretch after their Week 9 bye, the Steelers play at Cincinnati, at Philadelphia, vs. Denver, vs. Houston and at Jacksonville.

Award winners

MVP: Josh Allen, quarterback, Buffalo. Allen will win his second MVP in three years.

Offensive Player of the Year: Jahmyr Gibbs, running back, Detroit. I had the first overall pick in my fantasy football draft and selected Gibbs.

Defensive Player of the Year: Will Anderson, defensive end, Houston. Seasons of seven, 11 and 12 sacks have set Anderson up for stardom.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: KC Concepcion, receiver, Cleveland. The Browns figure to be trailing in a lot of games, which means Concepcion will get a lot of second-half targets.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Caleb Downs, safety, Dallas. He had seasons of 107, 82 and 68 tackles in college and will be an immediate difference maker.

Comeback Player of the Year: Trey Hendrickson, defensive end, Baltimore. Limited to seven games last year with Cincinnati, Hendrickson signed with Baltimore after the Ravens canceled their trade for Las Vegas pass rusher Maxx Crosby.

Coach of the Year: Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas. It doesn’t go to the best regular season team, but the coach of the most improved team.

Jaguars season prediction

September (2-1): Win vs. Cleveland, lose at Denver and win vs. New England. The Jaguars play only six games in Jacksonville and two are in the first three weeks. Must wins.

October (2-1): Win at Cincinnati, lose vs. Philadelphia (London) and win vs. Houston (London). Heading home from England with a 4-2 record puts the Jaguars in great position.

November (4-1): Win vs. Indianapolis, lose at Baltimore, win at Tennessee, win at the New York Giants and win vs. Tennessee. The schedule softens up and the Jaguars take advantage.

December (2-2): Lose at Chicago, win vs. Pittsburgh, lose at Houston and win at Dallas. The Jaguars-Bears game will be fun because of play-callers Liam Coen and Ben Johnson.

January (2-0): Win over Washington and win at Indianapolis. The Jaguars clinch a playoff spot with the win over Washington and the AFC South with a win over the Colts.

Final record: 12-5.

Contact O’Halloran at [e-mail] or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays (4-7 p.m.).

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: NFL Preview: Division winners, playoff predictions, hot-seat coaches