The Denver Broncos will beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. OK, before you think that I’m a big homer given I’m a huge Broncos fan and season-ticket holder, most friends of mine will tell you that I’m normally a glass-half-empty guy when it comes to expectations with the Broncos. In fact last year I predicted they would not win more than 8 games, and it cost me three dinners. This year I can’t ignore the obvious. On paper they look like the class of the AFC this year, and will be a slight favorite in the Super Bowl because of the QB position.
New England will be in the mix simply because of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Houston will falter again because Matt Shaub is a 2nd tier QB and the team isn’t going to sneak up on anyone. Teams seldom make it to the Super Bowl, let alone win it, without a top tier QB. That being said, Baltimore won it last year with such a QB. The now highly overrated Joe Flacco will see his rep and team crash back to reality this year. Recall that mid season last year, there was serious talk of whether or not Baltimore would move forward with Flacco. He simply got lucky in the playoffs with the miracle throw against Denver that 95% of the time will be batted down by a DB, and instead of a cloverleaf run through the big game, there would have been talk of his successor. No bitterness or bias here of course. 
Pittsburgh is too well coached, and IMO too well quarterbacked when Tooflessburger is healthy, to be ignored. They will easily be in the mix. Houston will get a wildcard spot, and Cincinnati will just miss out with the upset 6th seed going to a talented Kansas City team with 2nd tier QB Alex Smith a big upgrade at that position. Brady Quinn will be traded to the Jets and win the starting QB spot after an epic battle with the incomparable Mark Sanchez.
In the NFC, San Francisco easily has the most talent roster. Their D-line is outstanding, and their linebacker corps is far and away the best in the NFL. The wildcard is Kaepernick. He could be the real deal, or another Tony Romo. Speaking of Romo, he’ll be good enough to get Dallas a division title, but in the first round of the playoffs he’ll fumble the snap with 1st and goal on the 1 inch line and watch an opposing D-lineman run 99.9 yards to win the game in OT. Washington is a possibility if the impressive RG3 stays healthy. Tom Coughlin will avoid frostbite as the Giants will falter and not make it out of the month of December. But who knows, the Giants are easily the luckiest team of all-time with three Super Bowl wins when they clearly were not the better team. Luck matters, folks.
Green Bay has a 1st tier QB so will likely be in the mix again, but will lose in the NFC Championship game where defense really starts to matter. Atlanta is loaded with talent and will again win their division. The question is, will Matt Ryan overcome choke-itis in the playoffs. The surprise will be an Arizona team that started off strong last year but couldn’t overcome their romper-room QB play. Carson Palmer actually played decent last year and will be a huge upgrade in Arizona. The last wildcard team will go to Megatron and Detroit, but they’ll lose in the 1st round after Ndamukong Suh gets thrown out for stomping on Romo’s medulla oblongata.
Predictions:
AFC East – New England
AFC North - Pittsburgh
AFC South - Indianapolis
AFC West – Denver
Wildcards: Houston, Kansas City
NFC East – Dallas
NFC North – Green Bay
NFC South - Atlanta
NFC West – San Francisco
Wildcards: Detroit, Arizona
AFC Championship: Denver over Pittsburgh
NFC Championship: San Francisco over Green Bay
Super Bowl: Denver over San Francisco
"I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like his passengers!"