Tuesday, July 21, 2009

2009 NFL Predictions: By the Numbers

By Andrew Jones

25. Number of touchdown passes Jay Cutler will have to throw to show he'll survive in Chicago.

24. Number of years it will take before the Raiders win the AFC West.

23. Number of losses in a row the Lions will accumulate before beating the St. Louis Rams at home on Nov. 1.

22. Number of overtime games we will see this year.

21. Number of running backs who will rush for 1,000 yards this season.

20. Touchdowns Michael Turner will have to have in one season before people quit talking about how great Matt Ryan is and realize Turner is way more impressive.

19. Sacks James Harrison will have to lead the NFL.

18. Number of games (regular season and playoffs) Tom Brady will start for the Patriots before losing to Colts.

17. Teams that will be alive for the playoffs when Week 17 begins.

16. Number of wins (regular season and playoffs) Peyton Manning and the Colts will have on the road another Super Bowl victory.

15. Touchdown passes Calvin Johnson will catch from Matthew Stafford.

14. Touchdown passes Jason Witten will catch without Terrell Owens whining for the ball.

13. The most exciting week for the NFL featuring Tennessee at Indianapolis, Dallas at New York Giants, New England at Miami on Sunday night, and Baltimore at Green Bay on Monday night.

12. Number of wins Brett Favre will have to have to satisfy Viking fans.

11. Number of losses you can expect from a dying Denver Broncos franchise.

10. Wins I expect out of the Arizona Cardinals, which will win them their division and break the curse of the Super Bowl losers.

9. Wins I'm expecting out of San Francisco in 2009.

8. Number of fumbles Adrian Peterson is allowed before Viking fans call for Chester Taylor.

7. Number of wins it will take for San Diego to win the AFC West this year.

6. Number of wins you can reasonably expect out of Matt Cassel and the Chiefs.

5. Touchdowns Thomas Jones will have in 2009 (that's 10 less than 2008, but three more than 2007).

4. Number of teams that will be at or above .500 in the NFC East once again.

3. Number of times Pittsburgh and Baltimore will face each other once again.

2. Number of times Aaron Rodgers will have to beat Brett Favre for full vindication.

1. Number of times Matthew Stafford has to win to be an improvement at QB for the Lions.