Past and present Hogs Haven writers predict division winners, individual award honors, the Super Bowl champion and more for the 2024 NFL season

This year, I was able to pull together the opinions of nine current and former staff writers at Hogs Haven in order tap into their vast football knowledge for predictions of the future. In the twelfth annual edition of this series, the site’s writers and analysts were asked to guess team and individual award winners for this season.

But before we jump into that, we need to crown last year’s winners. Both Scott Jennings and Andrew York hit correctly on 10 out of 27 categories. In full disclosure, I finished in last place with a measly 4 correct. Congratulations to Scott and Andrew for their prescience, and I’ll try to be better this go around.

Enjoy the predictions below, and please add your own in the comments as well, as we prepare to embark, once again, into the most wonderful time of the year.

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Commanders and NFC East Predictions

• The writers nearly achieved consensus on who would win the NFC East this year, the Eagles. But, the Cowboys did get one vote. For reference, in 2023, no writers predicted Washington would win the East. In 2022, two writers predicted Washington would win the East. In 2021, all the writers expected Washington to win, and in 2020, the only time in Ron Rivera’s tenure the team actually did win the division, none of the writers predicted it. Tough times seem to have set fairly low expectations for Washington this year.
• Estimates for the Commanders’ record ran the gamut this year, ranging from a low of 5-12 (Bill) to 8-9 (Mark and Andrew). Six writers predicted a record of either 6-11 or 7-10.
• There was consensus on one point: None of the writers expect Washington to make the playoffs this year.
• In the individual superlative categories, Jayden Daniels was the only Commander to collect votes (four for Offensive Player of the Year). Former Washington players, Kirk Cousins and Montez Sweat, garnered votes in the Comeback Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year categories, respectively.

Super Bowl Picks

• In both conferences, there were no clear favorites to make it to the Super Bowl. On the NFC side, five writers selected the Lions as the eventual champion, with the 49ers getting two votes (and the Packers getting one). In the AFC, four writers predicted the Chiefs will take the conference championship, with the Ravens next in line with three votes (both the Dolphins and the Bills received one).
• Super Bowl picks were split very evenly, with the top predictions for Super Bowl winner being the 49ers and Chiefs (3), followed by the Ravens (2), and Bills (1).

Other Prediction Trends

• This year, there were two categories where there was unanimous agreement: That the Chiefs and 49ers will win their divisions. Last year, there were no such categories. In 2022, there was one such category. In 2021, there were four such categories.
• A plurality (4) of the writers picked the same player for Comeback Player of the Year, Aaron Rodgers. Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow were the other two selections.
• A plurality (4), again, of the writers picked the Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh as the likely Coach of the Year. Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels tied (4 apiece) for Offensive Rookie of the Year, with the Colts’ Laiatu Latu the top vote-getter (5) for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
• Like last year, no player got more than two votes for Offensive Player of the Year, but three players hit that mark (Lamar Jackson, Tyreek Hill, and Breece Hall). The defensive side of the ball was similarly fractured, with TJ Watt and Maxx Crosby the only defenders getting multiple votes.
• Hogs Haven writers estimated Patrick Mahomes’ odds of becoming MVP very highly, with six writers (67%) selecting the Chief.
• The New England Patriots were the leading prediction (3 votes) for the worst team in the NFL in 2024.

So there you have it; we’ve made all of our best guesses for the forthcoming NFL season. Now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors and finally get to sit back and watch some football, and hopefully see the Commanders play well enough to make us proud.

After the confetti drops at Super Bowl LIX, I’ll be back to do a full accounting, at which time you can either mock us for our fortune-telling failures or erect virtual statues to praise and worship our infinite wisdom and foresight.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of our picks and share your predictions for the season in the comments section. Happy season kickoff day and HTTC!