It is not uncommon for sports’ pundits to make bold predictions of how a team will finish before a season starts, but it is rare that they prognosticate a team, particularly in the NFL, will go undefeated. That’s exactly what Colin Cowherd did, however, on Wednesday’s edition of The Herd, when he predicted that the Baltimore Ravens could finish a perfect 16-0 this season.
“I always do my NFL predictions and I never make anybody undefeated or have them go 0-16,” Cowherd said. “But the more I think about it the more I realize it’s not ridiculous that they (the Ravens) go 16-0.”
Cowherd then outlines his reasons for such a bold prediction.
“First of all, they have everybody back (from a 14-2 team), and they have upgraded their secondary. They now have the best secondary,” he said. “They have the best running game in the NFL and their toughest game is at Philadelphia. They can take a bus there. They don’t have to go out West. They only have to travel 6,000 miles all season. Teams like Seattle have to travel over 30,000.”
Cowherd adds that there are big question marks surrounding the teams in Baltimore’s division.
“They are in a division where Cincinnati has a rookie quarterback, Cleveland has a rookie coach and Pittsburg has an old quarterback coming off an injury who looks like he hasn’t shaved in years,” he said. “I don’t know what to make of the Steelers. I do know what to make of Cincinnati. They are bad and as far as Cleveland, they have a rookie head coach, a new system in a year with a pandemic, no OTAs and an abridged pre-season.”
Cowherd admits that there are two teams that could ruin his prediction of perfection.
“There are two teams on the schedule that have equal talent with Baltimore and that’s Cleveland and Kansas City,” he said. “They host Kansas City on a Monday night and they play at Cleveland to open the season. Cleveland shocked them last year, so Baltimore will be playing with a chip on their shoulder. Baltimore is a rare team for me. I think it is entirely possible that they steamroll Cleveland early and they start rolling and don’t slow down. As good as Kansas City is, they will have three or four missteps. As great as those New England teams were, I never thought they would go undefeated. Predicting an undefeated team just doesn’t make sense, but when you looking at the continuity this Baltimore team has, even with no OTAs, and the fact that they have a great quarterback that appears to be getting better, I don’t think it’s crazy to say we may be looking at a 16-0 football team.”
