2022 Audacy NFL Awards and Super Bowl predictions

Who Will Win the AFC East?

1. Buffalo Bills: 13-4 (X)
2. Miami Dolphins: 10-7 (Y)
3. New England Patriots: 7-10
4. New York Jets: 4-13

For the third consecutive season, we believe that Sean McDermott, Josh Allen and the Bills will win the AFC East. If Tua Tagovailoa is even a top 20 quarterback, the Dolphins are flush with talent and should return to the postseason for the first time since 2016. The outlook is much less rosy in New England and New York.

Who Will Win the AFC North?

1. Cincinnati Bengals: 12-5 (X)
2. Baltimore Ravens: 10-7 (Y)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-10
4. Cleveland Browns: 6-11

In an offseason where the Deshaun Watson saga dominated headlines, Lamar Jackson's contractual situation with the Ravens became precarious and the Steelers looked to find a successor to Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Burrow almost flew under the radar. But he may have an even better team to work with this year than the one that won the AFC title last season. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL. And like Burrow, Joe Mixon will benefit greatly from a vastly improved offensive line. Burrow has changed the culture with the Bengals, who may end up being one of the teams most consistently in the Super Bowl mix over the next 10 years.

Who Will Win the AFC South?

1. Indianapolis Colts: 11-6 (X)
2. Tennessee Titans: 9-8
3. Jacksonville Jaguars: 7-10
4. Houston Texans: 4-13

Matt Ryan still has enough left in the tank to help stabilize the quarterback position in Indianapolis for a few seasons. While the Colts are thin on proven wide receiver depth, the rest of their roster is loaded, with reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jonathan Taylor the best running back that Ryan has ever had at his disposal.

Who Will Win the AFC West?

1. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5 (X)
2. Los Angeles Chargers: 11-6 (Y)
3. Denver Broncos: 9-8
4. Las Vegas Raiders: 7-10

Russell Wilson was traded to the Broncos this offseason, with Davante Adams being dealt to the Raiders. That set up arguably the most loaded division in NFL history. In the end, though, we see Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the revamped Chiefs winning the AFC West for the seventh consecutive season. There's no replacing Tyreek Hill, but Travis Kelce is still one of the NFL's most dominant pass catchers and the wide receiver additions of JuJu Smith-Shuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling and Skyy Moore leave Mahomes with plenty of explosive weapons.

Who Will Win the NFC East?

1. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-6 (X)
2. Dallas Cowboys: 9-8
3. Washington Commanders: 8-9
4. New York Giants: 5-12

With Tyron Smith potentially out for the season and the losses of both Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson in free agency, we expect the Cowboys to take a step back from the 12 wins they had a season ago. Meanwhile in Philadelphia, Howie Roseman had a tremendous offseason, adding A.J. Brown, Haason Reddick, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and James Bradberry to an Eagles team that won nine games in Nick Sirianni's first season. We're comfortable thinking they'll win a lot of regular season games in 2022, potentially even competing for the top spot in the NFC. The question is when it comes time for Jalen Hurts to have to go throw-for-throw with Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford in the postseason, has he grown enough as a passer to be up for the challenge?

Who Will Win the NFC North?

1. Green Bay Packers: 12-5 (X)
2. Minnesota Vikings: 11-6 (Y)
3. Detroit Lions: 6-11
4. Chicago Bears: 3-14

We're especially high on what Kevin O'Connell will do in his first season as the Vikings head coach, to the point that we seriously considered picking Minnesota to win the NFC North. But even without Davante Adams, we're not prepared to bet against Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur, who have led the Packers to 13 wins in each of the last three regular seasons. Green Bay's special teams should be drastically improved under Rich Bisaccia. Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon are one of the best running back tandems in the league. And even if Rodgers will never form equal chemistry to what he had with Adams with another receiver, some combination of Allen Lazard, Christian Watson and Romeo Dobbs is likely to become very productive in 2022.

Who Will Win the NFC South?

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 12-5 (X)
2. New Orleans Saints: 9-8 (Y)
3. Carolina Panthers: 8-9
4. Atlanta Falcons: 5-12

Tom Brady may have preferred to play in Miami in 2022. He may have taken a strange 11-day absence from the Buccaneers in Training Camp. This may be his last year in Tampa Bay, and perhaps in the NFL. But once Week 1 comes, we expect the noise to dissipate. Todd Bowles, in his second head coaching opportunity, has a loaded defense to work with. Brady still has Mike Evans, will get back Chris Godwin and recruited both Russell Gage and Julio Jones in free agency. From here, Tampa Bay is the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Who Will Win the NFC West?

1. Los Angeles Rams: 11-6 (X)
2. San Francisco 49ers: 10-7 (Y)
3. Arizona Cardinals: 8-9
4. Seattle Seahawks: 5-12

Elbow problems that Matthew Stafford dealt with into Training Camp are something to monitor, but if he's healthy, the Rams have a chance to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. An already star-studded roster added Bobby Wagner and Allen Robinson this offseason. The potential for a reunion with Odell Beckham Jr. -- currently recovering from a torn left ACL suffered in the Super Bowl -- still looms. The 49ers have at least as good of a roster as the Rams, but Stafford over an unproven Trey Lance (or even Jimmy Garoppolo) is the tie-breaker in the NFC West.

NFL MVP: Josh Allen

We recognize that this isn't a very creative pick, but sometimes making the obvious selection is the right move. Allen finished runner-up in MVP voting in 2020, and had about as dominant of a two-game postseason stretch as we've ever seen in 2021. The Bills are our pick to win the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and the quarterback on one of the top seeds typically becomes the favorite for the MVP.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

The possibility for Michael Thomas to return is intriguing, but the Saints aren't as dependent on it as they were a year ago. Olave put together four tremendous seasons at Ohio State, with the Saints selecting him with the No. 11 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Gone is Sean Payton, but offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael remains, as do Jameis Winston and Alvin Kamara. Olave should be a consistent target, and if Thomas is healthy and Jarvis Landry is successful in his first season with the Saints, this could once again be a potent offense.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions

Hutchinson had 14 sacks and 16 1/2 tackles for a loss in his final season at Michigan, and stays in the state after being taken No. 2 overall by the Lions in the NFL Draft. He's already become a star on "Hard Knocks," and we expect he and the Lions will take a major step forward in 2022.

Comeback Player of the Year: Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

There's quite the list of candidates for this award, but again, sometimes it's smart to make the obvious pick. Henry led the NFL in rushing in both 2019 and 2020, and was on pace to do so again in 2021 before a foot injury cost him the final nine games of the regular season. Eventually, an insane workload is going to catch up with Henry. But we're not going to bet against the 28-year-old, who is trying to bolster his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Coach of the Year: Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings

There's worse ways to start your head coaching career than being an offensive mind that has Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn at your disposal. We think the Vikings have a chance to compete for the NFC North title in 2022, and do damage in the postseason under O'Connell.

Playoffs

AFC
1. Bills (bye)
2. Chiefs
3. Bengals
4. Colts
5. Chargers
6. Dolphins
7. Ravens

NFC
1. Buccaneers (bye)
2. Packers
3. Eagles
4. Rams
5. Vikings
6. 49ers
7. Saints

AFC Wild Card: Chiefs over Ravens, Bengals over Dolphins, Chargers over Colts

NFC Wild Card: Packers over Saints, 49ers over Eagles, Vikings over Rams

AFC Divisional: Bills over Chargers, Chiefs over Bengals

NFC Divisional: Buccaneers over 49ers, Packers over Vikings

AFC Championship: Bills over Chiefs

NFC Championship: Buccaneers over Packers

Super Bowl: Bills over Buccaneers

If there are any remaining doubts about Josh Allen, slaying Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady in back-to-back games en route to the franchise's first Super Bowl title would put them to bed. This is one of the most physically-gifted quarterbacks that the sport has ever seen, and he'll cement his place among the league's most dominant players in 2022.