Now that the NFL season has come to a close and the downtime between the Superbowl and the draft has begun, I want to make predictions about a bunch of different things that may or probably won’t happen over the next slate of NFL games.
Super Bowl 60 – Detroit Lions vs Cincinnati Bengals
Once again, I am biased as a Lions fan, but the Lions had one of the best offenses of all time, and the defense was incredible when healthy. By the end of the season, the Lions had 22 players on injured reserve, nearly all of them on the defensive side of the ball. This season became a major what-if to all Lions fans because this team was complete and ready to compete for a Lombardi trophy.
The Bengals also had a season full of massive what-ifs with Joe Burrow having an insane season and Jamar Chase winning the triple crown for receptions, yards, and TDs. However, the Bengal’s defense was the exact opposite of the offense being abysmal. The defense for the Bengals cost them multiple games like the Commanders, Chargers, and even the Patriots all ending in embarrassing losses. The Bengals would end the season 9-8 and would barely miss the playoffs to the Denver Broncos.
People expected the Bengals to bounce back to Super Bowl levels after Burrows’ injury in 2023. I expect the Bengals to revamp their defense after such a disastrous season completely. The Chiefs will finally take their foot off the gas and lose out in the playoffs to let another team go to the Super Bowl. Teams like the Bills, Ravens, and Bengals are all looking for the elusive Lombardi Trophy to cement their team and quarterback among the Elites of their time.
The Lions and Bengals are both looking toward the future, and their paths will likely cross in February at Super Bowl 60 in San Francisco.
Bo Nix becomes the franchise guy of the Denver Broncos
After Peyton Manning won the Superbowl in 2015 and put up the sheriff boots for good, the Denver Broncos tried for 9 years to find a proper franchise QB again. I just don’t have the space to list guys like Trevor Siemian, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater, and a lot more, but I just don’t have the space to list them out here. In 2022 the Denver Broncos made a bold move by trading a huge haul of draft picks and a few players for Russell Wilson. Wilson was seen as the final piece for a Broncos team looking to make a deep playoff run. What happened next was the complete opposite of that. The Broncos would go 5-12 that season and Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired after just 15 games with the team, joining a very exclusive list of first-time HCs to be fired in the middle of the season.
In 2024, the Broncos drafted Bo Nix out of Oregon with the 12th overall pick. At the time, this was seen as a reach by the Broncos because most teams did not value Bo that highly. In theory, the Broncos would have traded back and gotten more draft picks while still getting their guy. But in reality, the Las Vegas Raiders were right behind the Broncos and also desperately needed a quarterback, so the trade-back probably wouldn’t have worked.
Despite being seen as a bottom-feeder team throughout that off-season, Nix would show his Rookie year by throwing for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Bo Nix was in contention for Rookie of the Year against Jayden Daniels and Brock Bowers. The Broncos went 10-7 and made the playoffs, both firsts for the team since the 2015 season.
I think that a lot of people are expecting Nixs to have a similar drop-off to CJ Stroud but I don’t think you can count him out with Sean Peyton at the helm and a defense that can carry a team to a win despite a poor outing from Bo. Depending on how the cards fall with Kansas City and the LA Chargers, I could see the Broncos potentially winning the AFC West next season (though even I’m not crazy enough to predict against Mahomes)
CJ Stroud comes back to life and the Texans make the AFC Championship
Stroud has a similar story to that of Jayden Daniels with both of them being drafted #2 overall by dumpster fires of teams with brand-new HCs. Then both proceed to light the league on fire and win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Both of them went to the playoffs and won against great teams. While Jayden’s 2nd season is unclear as of right now, CJ Stroud didn’t have a great sophomore year. While Stroud’s numbers took a hit (3727,20,12 from 4108,23,5) the numbers don’t tell the story because CJ had 0 offensive line protecting him the whole season. Laremy Tunsil would draw 17 penalties this season which is at least top 5 in the league. CJ would take 52 sacks this season compared to 38 in his Rookie campaign.
If the Texans can build an offensive line, they have all the pieces they need to make a run to the Super Bowl. Joe Mixon is a great running back, and the wide receiver core is loaded with talent. However, the health of Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, who suffered severe injuries last year, has raised a few questions. I could easily see the Texans making a deeper playoff run. I’m not sure if Lombardi is in contention this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised, either.
The Chicago Bears still stink
There are a lot of words that could describe the Chicago Bears as a team and an organization but I can’t say any of them in a school article. Ever since 1985 when the Bears won their one and only Lombardi Trophy against the Patriots, it has been downhill ever since. Dozens of incompetent head coaches and wasted QB potential have haunted the Bears. The NFC championship game in 2010, the double doink of 2018, and the Matt Eberflus experience of 2024 all haunt Bears fan’s souls.
But now everything is different in Chicago, Lions OC Ben Johnson became a traitor to everyone in Detroit by crossing enemy lines to become the new Bears HC. Caleb Williams can be the franchise’s QB for years to come and the defense has the pieces to be a great unit… but it’s the Bears. Other than the fact that they stole Ben Johnson from us I just don’t believe that one offense will be able to fix that dumpster fire of an offensive line. Caleb Williams was sacked over 60 times in 2024, which isn’t the record for most sacks taken by a rookie QB, which is incredibly depressing when you think about it.
Every season, every new quarterback and head coach leads to the same hope for Bears fans. But it always fails, whether hilarious or sad, and I expect no different this season.
