By Alex A. Gonzalez
Football season is finally here, and because of that, everyone is going to have a hot take on who is going to hoist the Lombardi Trophy when it’s all said and done at SoFi Stadium. And, for the most part, we know who the serious contenders are and who the rebuilders are.
What we don’t know is who from the middle of the pack is going to make a surprise run in the second half of the season. Or who is going to have an upset victory in the postseason.
Well, now it’s my turn for my own hot take, and whether you agree with the bold predictions or outlandish thoughts, hear me out.
Is the NFC West the best division in football this year? Absolutely.
Do I believe the Patriots will have another magical regular season and make it back to the Super Bowl? Absolutely not.
I don’t even think the Los Angeles Rams will win the Super Bowl, despite being a heavy favorite. Fun Fact: Despite having the best odds since the 2007 New England Patriots, teams who are the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl after the preseason are 0-20.
Also, since 2000, whoever is the favorite to win the Super Bowl makes it to the big game half the time (13 of the last 26). Also, those who do make it have won it only four times (4 of the last 26), according to the preseason odds.
Starting with Wednesday’s season opener between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Lumen Field, up until mid-February, football fans alike are going to be glued to their seats as they toggle between PrizePicks and Yahoo’s Fantasy Sports as they watch football for the next five months.
So let the predictions take place. Below is how each division will finish, along with their final record and playoff seeding in parentheses.
Don’t forget to create a parlay with my individual awards too.
| NFC & AFC North | Chicago Bears (13-4)(3) Detroit Lions (11-6)(6) Green Bay Packers (9-8) Minnesota Vikings (7-10) | Baltimore Ravens (12-5)(2) Cincinnati Bengals (11-6)(5) Pittsburgh Steelers (8-9) Cleveland Browns (2-15) |
| NFC & AFC East | Philadelphia Eagles (12-5)(2) Dallas Cowboys (11-6) Washington Commanders (9-8) New York Giants (7-10) | New England Patriots (11-6)(4) Buffalo Bills (10-7)(7) New York Jets (6-11) Miami Dolphins (2-15) |
| NFC & AFC South | Tampa Bay (10-7)(4) Carolina Panthers (8-9) Atlanta Falcons (8-9) New Orleans Saints (5-12) | Houston Texans (13-3)(3)Jacksonville Jaguars (11-6)(6) Indianapolis Colts (10-7) Tennessee Titans (9-8) |
| NFC & AFC West | Los Angeles Rams (14-3)(1) Seattle Seahawks (13-4)(5) San Francisco 49ers (10-7) Arizona Cardinals (4-13) | Denver Broncos (13-4)(1) Los Angeles Chargers (11-7) Kansas City Chiefs (10-7) Las Vegas Raiders (3-14) |
Wild Card Round
NFC
(1) Los Angeles Rams First Round Bye
(2) Philadelphia Eagles vs. (7) San Francisco 49ers
(3) Chicago Bears vs. (6) Detroit Lions
(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. (5) Seattle Seahawks
AFC
(1) Denver Broncos First Round Bye
(2) Baltimore Ravens vs. (7) Buffalo Bills
(3) Houston Texans vs. (6) Jacksonville Jaguars
(4) New England Patriots vs. (5) Cincinnati Bengals
Wild Card weekend will see four upsets between both conferences. In the NFC, the Detroit Lions will upset their division rival Bears at Soldier Field in the snow. The Seattle Seahawks will continue their Super Bowl repeat run when they take care of business against the Bucs.
In the AFC, a fully healthy Joe Burrow will lead the Bengals to an upset victory against the Patriots, and the Buffalo Bills will continue their success against the Ravens as they move on to the divisional round.
Divisional Round
NFC
(1) Los Angeles Rams vs. (6) Detroit Lions
(2) Philadelphia Eagles vs. (5) Seattle Seahawks
AFC
(1) Denver Broncos vs. (7) Buffalo Bills
(3) Houston Texans vs. (5) Cincinnati Bengals
Championship Weekend will see an NFC rematch between the Rams and the Seahawks, with both defenses suffocating their opposition in the Divisional Round. The Broncos will make it to their second consecutive conference title game with a victory over the Bills, where they will wait for the Texans, as they will be too much for the Bengals to handle.
The Super Bowl will see the Rams play on their home field again, as they did in 2022, when they defeat the Hawks in their rubber match, and the Broncos will benefit from the high altitude as they clinch their first conference championship since 2016.
Super Bowl 61
With one team being the favorite to win it all since before the preseason and another with +1800 odds to win the big game, the Denver Broncos will be the ones lifting the Lombardi Trophy in the Rams’ backyard.
Denver Broncos 27
Los Angeles Rams 21
MVP: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Offensive Player of the Year: Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
Defensive Player of the Year: Will Anderson, Houston Texans
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Carnell Tate, Tennessee Titans
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Caleb Downs, Dallas Cowboys
Comeback Player of the Year: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City
Coach of the Year: John Harbaugh, New York Giants
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@SoCal
How did you know? Is this your hobby or do you do this for a living? Curious minds want to know. It’s hard to find and fellow a good handicapper. People say they are after the fact but you called this a day before the game.
You have the NFL going 293-241 against itself. +42 games above .500.
Pretty hard to do, actually its rather impossible.
Here’s what I got.
Rams 15-2 (1)
Niners 11-6 (5)
Seahawks 10-7
Cards 3-14
Lions 12-5 (3)
Bears 11-6 (6)
Packers 9-8
Vikings 7-10
Panthers 9-8 (4)
Bucs 9-8
Falcons 7-10
Saints 4-13
Eagles 12-5 (2)
Cowboys 11-6 (7)
Redskin Commanders 6-11
Giants 6-11
AFC
Broncos 12-5 (2)
Chargers 12-5 (5)
Chiefs 11-6 (6)
Raiders 4-13
Texans 11-6 (4)
Colts 9-8
Jaguars 7-10
Titans 4-13
Ravens 11-6 (3)
Steelers 10-7 (7)
Bengals 10-7
Browns 3-14
Bills 12-5 (1)
Patriots 8-9
Dolphins 3-14
Jets 3-14
All NFL Teams = 272-272 (.500)
Playoffs Rd 1
Niners 31, Panthers 21 (CMac runs wild against his former team)
Lions 28, Bears 26 (Another late Caleb miracle is for not when ex Lion RB Swift drops wide open 2 pt conv)
Eagles 31, Cowboys 27 (Lemon’s 2 late TD receptions leave Cowboys with a sour playoff taste
Rd 2
Rams 24, Niners 20 (Shanahan has 20-10 lead in the 4th Qtr and chokes again as Rams get
back to back strip sack scoop and scores from Garrett and Donald.
Eagles 33, Lions 27 (Lemon & St Brown combine for 320 yards & 4 TDs, buts its the Brotherly Shove
that puts the Eagles back in NFC CCG .
NFC Championship
Rams 45, Eagles 17 (Tied at 10 at the Half, the Rams finally break free from the Philly
domination over the past decade with a 5 TD , 35 unanswered point xplosion in the
2nd Half ignited by Xavier Smith’s 69 yard punt return for a TD.
AFC Rd 1
Steelers 19, Broncos 17 (Rodgers walks off with a Mile High Hail Mary miracle in his last win ever.
Chargers 23, Texans 15 (Herbert gets first ever playoff win, Texans kick 5 FG)
Ravens 34, Chiefs 23 (The Chiefs demise is swift as Kelce retires)
Rd 2
Bills 27, Steelers 14 (A.A.ron’s last game is a rough one in the Buffalo snow, Josh Allen turns a near
Safety into a record tying 99 yard TD run to ice it.)
Chargers 17, Ravens 16 (It’s Dicker the Kicker to the rescue as he hits a 63 yard game winner in BMore)
AFC Championship
Bills 27, Chargers 24 (OT) The NFL knows they are only 15 mins away from a disastrous
all Los Angeles battle for the Super Bowl in SoFi, as Chargers lead 21-13 heading into the 4th.
All kinds of shenanigans are pulled, you have to survive the ground to make the catch until
you don’t, a running clock stops running, and the NFL invents the Cuck rule just to
F the Chargers out of a SB app.
Super Bowl
Rams 39, Bills 33 (Tied at 33, with 0:33 seconds left to play, the Bills look
poised to win their first ever SB when ghosts of Scott Norwood and wide right
happen on a missed triple doink 49 yd FG attempt. The Rams don’t settle for 3 as
Puka makes the greatest catch in SB history simply known as the Hand of God, a
One handed catch with 2 Bills draped all over him in the back of the end zone.
for a SB winning TD strike of 36 yards with 13 seconds to play.
Maybe I don’t see what the experts see, but I think the Rams open up with a loss. So many factors for this to happen