Okay folks, now its time for the fun part. All of the previews are written, the preseason is over, and the regular season finally here. This edition of “No Huddle,” will be an attempt to tell you how the season will play out before it even happens. While I missed out on getting ahead of the Dallas resurgence, Atlanta’s big run and whiffed on my Arizona Cardinals pick for the Super Bowl. That’s the fun of football though. Just when you think you have a read on things, the regular season turns what you know on its head. I still got three of the final four teams correct and seven of the twelve playoff teams, so it could have been a lot worse.

We’ll go through my picks for each division winner and the wild cards, who I think reaches the conference title game, and finally who I believe will win the Super Bowl. This year I’ll give a thought or two on why I’m making the pick but this will be quicker hitting than the division previews. So here we go, my predictions for the 2017 season.

AFC East – New England Patriots (14-2)

Possibly the easiest pick I will make this season. The Patriots own this division and this might be the best roster since 2007. They will easily secure home-field advantage en route to their 15^th division title under Bill Belichick.

AFC North – Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)

While the AFC North is always tough to win, the Steelers are head and shoulders above the rest of this division. Big Ben has all of his weapons healthy and ready to go. This defense will surprise some people too.

AFC South – Tennessee Titans (10-6)

The Titans finally get over the hump this season and will power through the Texans to a division title. Marcus Mariota will take the leap to superstardom with an improved offense around him. Red-zone dominance and just enough production on defense will get the Titans to the division crown.

AFC West – Oakland Raiders (11-5)

The defense scares the living bejesus out of me. Thankfully the Raiders have one of the best offenses and a quarterback who will be in the thick of the MVP race. Beast Mode will add another dimension to this offense and the Raiders will keep finding a way to win tight ball games.

AFC Wild Cards – Kansas City (10-6), Los Angeles Chargers (9-7)

Kansas City will narrowly lose the race for the AFC West crown but will still find themselves in the postseason. Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt will be vital to their success. The Chiefs defense won’t be as good but will still be a formidable unit. Meanwhile the Chargers will finally stay relatively healthy, but struggle to beat the Raiders and Chiefs. Luckily, they will get a big season out of its defense and allows this offense to thrive playing from ahead.

NFC East – New York Giants (11-5)

With all of the off-field issues in Dallas, the Giants will use a stout defense and a more consistent offense to take the NFC East. While this offensive line will still be an issue at times, the Giants will have enough to win this division in the final weeks of the season.

NFC North – Green Bay Packers (12-4)

Aaron Rodgers will be the difference for the Packers taking the NFC North. This offense will be potent all season long, and will use an attacking style on defense to get more possessions for Rodgers. They won’t win the division as comfortably as they would hope but still get the job done.

NFC South – Atlanta Falcons (10-6)

There won’t be a Super Bowl hangover in Atlanta this season. The offense won’t be as good, but will still be one of the NFL’s best. Dan Quinn’s defense will be what prevents the Falcons from falling out of the playoffs.

NFC West – Seattle Seahawks (13-3)

Seattle won’t have much of a problem winning this division. However, the Legion of Boom will carry an offense that will be hot and cold. Russell Wilson will have a tremendous season overall despite another down year for this offensive line.

NFC Wild Cards – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6), Minnesota Vikings (10-6)

Tampa Bay fulfills their potential using a top-ten offense to catapult them into the postseason. Tampa’s defense will be a huge difference maker as the season progresses. Minnesota will get back to playing incredible defense, while this offense will be much improved from a year ago. Both will make incredibly dangerous wild card teams.

AFC Championship – New England over Pittsburgh

Not the sexiest pick ever, but you have to call it the way you see it. Yes, Julian Edelman’s injury is a blow for New England but they have plenty of talent to overcome that loss. Pittsburgh could be the most talented team in the league but are one injury away from being in a spot. The Patriots have the Steelers number and that trend will continue in January.

NFC Championship – Green Bay over Minnesota

Green Bay narrowly goes over Minnesota in the NFC title game in January. Minnesota clears the way for the Packers by upsetting Seattle and New York along the way. The Vikings defense will get them there, but Sam Bradford won’t be able to beat Aaron Rodgers at the end. Minnesota will come up just short of becoming the first team to play a Super Bowl at home.

Super Bowl LII – New England over Green Bay

A clash of the top-two quarterbacks in the NFL will be the perfect cap on what will be one of the wildest seasons in recent memory. Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers in a game for the ages. Unfortunately for Rodgers, his defense won’t be able to stop Brady in this game where the Patriots will slowly pull away in the fourth quarter.

Okay so let’s quickly go over tonight’s regular season opener in Foxborough between the defending champion Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. While the Chiefs have had some success against the Pats, this will be an uphill climb in front of what will be a raucous crowd tonight.

The key for Kansas City will be the pass rush against Tom Brady. They don’t have to rack up a ton of sacks, but they will have to be disruptive. Rob Gronkowski will be a major concern for the Chiefs as they could be vulnerable over the middle tonight. Keep an eye on how New England looks to attack the middle, as they could be setting the Chiefs up to go deep to Brandin Cooks or Chris Hogan.

Kansas City will have their hands full with the New England offense, which means they will have to be methodical on offense. We all know that New England plays a bend but don’t break style, which has worked wonders against the Chiefs in the past. We’ll get our first look at Kareem Hunt tonight, and see if he is worth the insane amount of hype he has gotten since the NFL Draft. If you recall, the Falcons were able to run the ball well against New England in the Super Bowl and this is where this defense is vulnerable again this season.

If the Chiefs want to have any chance though, they will have to excel in the red-zone. The biggest weakness of the KC offense is in this area and it is the strength of Bill Belichick defenses. Andy Reid has had all offseason to figure out a plan to beat the Patriots, but it remains to be seen how they will breakthrough here.

The Patriots will start the year off on the right foot in a game that might be closer than most experts expect. I’ll start off the year taking the Patriots (-8) tonight.

That’s it for me today. Enjoy the game tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow to recap the game and get you ready for the rest of Week 1, including my ATS picks. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.