The NFL playoffs are set. I will do a preview and prediction, but that will have to wait for tomorrow. Today I want to talk about three teams that I was very, very wrong about in my preseason NFL countdown. I get a good amount of stuff wrong, but I do get some stuff right. I also like to think I know a lot about this sport, but sometimes I am just off. That is the case with these three teams I will discuss today.

First, the San Francisco 49ers. I was way, way too low on this team. I do not like their coach, there are some players I am not very fond of and I thought it would be a big learning curve for Trey Lance. It looked like it may go that way the first couple weeks. The 49ers looked a little lost, they had some offensive woes and Lance went down with a season ending injury early on. They could have folded there but they didn't. They have won ten straight going into the playoffs. Not only did Lance get hurt, so did Jimmy Garroppolo. No worries, Brock Purdy has been very serviceable. But it is this team's defense. They are so, so, so good. They fly all over the field. They hit. They make their opponents feel it. They can stop the run and rush the passer with the best of the best. The 49ers have an offensive minded coach, but this team is led by their defense. And their defense is good enough to drag them to another Super Bowl appearance. I still do not like this team, but I have never been a 49ers fan. Not even when I was a kid. But I was too low on this team. And their defense is very elite. I would be nervous to face them in the playoffs.

San Fran is the only team I was down on that I should have been higher on for this piece today. The next two teams are teams I was way too high on, and in hindsight I should have seen this coming.

The first team that I was too up on is the Denver Broncos. I assumed they were ready to make a leap. They fired a defensive minded coach and hired Nathaniel Hackett, Green Bay's offensive coordinator. They also went out and traded for Russell Wilson. I am not a fan of his, but he is a very good quarterback and has one Super Bowl ring already. The defense is also very good and not too old. The Broncos had the makings of a last to first place team, and to be a threat in the AFC to go to the Super Bowl. Well, Nathaniel Hackett was fired before the season ended. Russell Wilson is having his worst season as a pro and looks like he aged overnight. And the defense spends far too much time on the field and they got exhausted from being overworked. The Broncos were very, very bad. I see that they are interviewing a ton of head coaches, Jim Harbaugh included, who they think can work with Wilson. They have a ton to work on. They have a few pieces, like Jerry Jeudy and Bradley Chubb, but not much else. The Broncos are in need of a big rebuild. I don't know where they're drafting, but they should take a young QB. They need a solid running back. They could use some o line help. The Broncos need a good amount of work. They also happen to play in a very tough division. I could not have been more wrong on this team. I have not watched a ton of NFL this year, but I found a game of theirs last week and watched for a bit. Man were they bad. It was a tough watch. The Broncos are a ways away from being competent again.

Finally, I have my team, the Green Bay Packers. I assumed they would win the NFC North with ease. I did not, and still don't, believe in the Vikings. The Bears ended up having the worst record in the NFL. And I was high on Detroit, but I thought it was going to be a year off before they became a real threat. I just figured the Packers would walk. They had pretty much everyone back and they were a good team last year. This team never gelled. They never meshed. They were never good on either side of the ball. Aaron Rodgers, who I loathe more than anyone in the NFL, was flat out bad this year. He looked disinterested, he blamed everyone but himself and he is an idiot. I found it hard to root for this team this season because I despise Rodgers so very much. He had a bad year. I hope he is gone after this season. I'm done with him as the Packers QB. The offense also seemed to abandon the run far too early. You have two guys in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, but the Packers just did not use them enough. It was head scratching. The wideouts have potential, but when Rodgers doesn't work with them and help them out, that is a problem. The defense is a mess. They cannot stop the run, they give up too many big pass plays and they come and go as they please. Jaire Alexander is great, but he needs help. Rashan Gary is a good rush end, but he cannot stay healthy. They have dudes, but they don't have much help. And Matt LaFleur is very blah as a head coach. He is milquetoast. I have no real faith in his play calling ability. And the teams in this division are coming for them. Minnesota is a QB away from being a true contender. Kirk Cousins stinks. For real. The Bears have a great young QB in Justin Fields. They also have the number one pick. They will be back soon. And the Lions are coming. They finished 9-8. They beat Green Bay in Green Bay when they had nothing to play for. They have great pieces on offense. They need a true QB. They also have the makings of a very good defense. The Lions are on a good path. The Packers, on the other hand, stink. They should move on from Rodgers. They should build the offense around Jones and Dillon. Let's move on to the Jordan Love era. The defense has a few guys, they now need some more to help out. The Packers should be bad for a few years, build in the draft and in free agency and wait for 2026 or 2027 to be a threat again. But man was I wrong about them. I feel like I was the most wrong on them.

I was wrong on all three of these teams. They all did the exact opposite of what I thought they would do. It happens sometimes, but this year was so egregious on my end that I had to address it. So, there it is. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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