A grueling offseason is nearly over, and Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season is only days away.
Before the Falcons and Eagles kick things off Thursday, the CBSSports.com NFL panel is ready to weigh in with exactly how they picture the standings looking at the end of the season, as well as which teams will meet in Super Bowl LIII -- and who will come out on top.
So who should you back in Week 1 of the NFL season? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams are winning more than 50 percent of simulations, all from the model that has outperformed 98 percent of experts tracked by NFLPickWatch.com the past two seasons.
A few notes before we get to the predictions:
- Our panel is in unanimous agreement on several things: The Patriots will win the AFC East. The Steelers will win the AFC North and the Browns will still finish last. The Colts will finish last, too. The Packers and Vikings will both make the playoffs.
- The NFC East was the toughest division to predict, with each of the four teams getting at least one vote as division champion. The Cowboys, Giants, and Washington each got at least one vote for second, third, and fourth place, as well.
- There is, once again, abundant faith in the Chargers. Five of our experts picked them to win the AFC West. Apparently, we're all going down with this ship. Again.
- No two panel members picked the exact same playoff field in the AFC.
- There were 12 teams that received zero votes for the playoffs: Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Colts, Raiders, Broncos, Lions, Bears, Buccaneers, Cardinals, and 49ers. That list includes several of the trendiest sleeper picks for this season.
- Enjoy!
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
AFC Wild Cards
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
NFC Wild Cards
