11 bold predictions for the 2017 NFL season

With the 2017 season almost upon us, theScore's football editors make 11 bold predictions about the upcoming campaign.

Kaepernick throws more TDs than Josh McCown

McCown is an injury-prone interception machine, and it's only a matter of time before the Jets are playing someone else under center. Meanwhile, as league-wide quarterback injuries continue to mount, someone will give Kaepernick the chance his skills clearly deserve. Once on a roster, Kaepernick will show why it's absurd that nobody signed him this offseason. - Dane Belbeck

Patriots go 16-0 but ...

The defending Super Bowl champions will breeze through the regular season and make a case to be the greatest team of all-time ... until disaster strikes.

Pats lose Super Bowl to Seahawks

Pitted against a club that routinely gives them difficulty, the Patriots will succumb to a Seahawks team that's hell-bent on revenge, losing in the final seconds with Bobby Wagner preserving the upset during a heated goal-line stand. - Arun Srinivasan

Vikings' Hunter breaks sacks record

Finally, Michael Strahan's tainted single-season sacks record will be no more. Danielle Hunter is a supremely talented edge rusher who put up 12 sacks in just his second NFL campaign. With the Vikings' defense more consistent in 2017, Hunter will blow away expectations and finish the campaign with 23 sacks, easily winning Defensive Player of the Year honors. - Jack Browne

Bills end playoff drought

The Buffalo Bills appear to be in full rebuild mode after some shocking trades last month, but that doesn't mean they can't string together nine wins and sneak into the playoffs in a weak AFC. LeSean McCoy rushed for 1,267 yards last season and is sure to be a force once again in 2017. The Bills will also have the luxury of playing a plethora of winnable games, including two against the Jets, who have arguably the worst roster in the NFL, and two against the Dolphins, who've already lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury. - Michael Amato

Peterson finishes season off Saints' roster

With rookie Alvin Kamara being drafted to serve in the pass-catching role out of the backfield, and Mark Ingram still being an efficient rusher and the goal-line back, Adrian Peterson will struggle to provide consistent value in the Saints' pass-heavy offense. There's a chance he'll be traded for a late-round pick, but with little perceived value around the league, he'll likely be cut and left alone on the waiver wire. - Esten McLaren

Rodgers breaks single-season records for yards & TDs

Aaron Rodgers will continue the inhuman passing pace he established last season - only this time, he's in position to post even more ridiculous numbers. The addition of Martellus Bennett will do wonders for Rodgers' red-zone efficiency, while chemistry will continue to build with Davante Adams. The lack of a power-running attack will force even more passing attempts than usual, allowing Rodgers to surpass Peyton Manning's single-season records of 5,477 passing yards and 55 touchdowns. - Mitch Sanderson

Jets don't finish with league's worst record

That's right. Despite their best efforts, the Jets won't have the worst record in the NFL this season. There's a surplus of awful teams (Bills, Browns, Jaguars, 49ers, Bears) also looking toward the future, and even after their roster purge, the Jets own enough prideful veterans who will keep the team competitive. Scam for Sam will be a failure. - Michael McClymont

Chargers go from worst to 1st in AFC West

Nine of the Chargers' 11 losses last year came by one possession, meaning they were victimized by some bad luck, and probably some bad coaching. The latter was rectified by canning Mike McCoy, while the former should sort itself out somewhat. A Phillip Rivers resurgence will help L.A. go from worst to first in what might be the league's toughest division. Stay classy, San Diego. - Alex Chippin

A wide receiver wins MVP

The league's top-tiered trio of Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, and Odell Beckham Jr. are all capable of becoming the first-ever receiver to take home MVP honors, but winning the award will likely require one of them to top the single-season yardage record and catch 15-to-20 touchdowns. If there was ever an era in the league in which this would be possible, it's the pass-heavy one of today. - Dan LeBaron

Cutler leads Dolphins to AFC East title

The Patriots have held a divisional stranglehold for years, and the injury to Ryan Tannehill seemed to all but cancel out any hope the Dolphins had of changing that. Enter, Jay Cutler. While he may have a lot to prove, the Dolphins do offer an array of talented options including Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker for him to utilize. The Patriots have already lost Julian Edelman for the season, and with Tom Brady another year older, any more key injuries could start a landslide that will shake the foundations of the division. - Dylan Perego

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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