USA Today Predicts the Unthinkable for the Super Bowl
It’s inching dangerously close to the time on the NFL calendar when pundits galore spout off Super Bowl predictions, as the regular season is just 24 days away. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles will square off on Thursday Night Football on September 4th.
USA Today’s latest NFL forecast projects a shocking Super Bowl runner-up that few have shared to date. Here’s the surprising prediction and what it means.
The current darlings in the NFC to win the Super Bowl — the Minnesota Vikings are not quite that darling — are the Philadelphia Eagles (+700) and Detroit Lions (+1100)
But don’t tell that to USA Today‘s Nate Davis, who came along last week to project the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl LX.
Packers Picked to Play in Super Bowl
Oddsmakers have assigned Green Bay +2000 odds to win the whole thing.
USA Today Picks Packers to Reach Super Bowl
Davis’ Super Bowl prediction won’t be the last from NFL media this month and next, but his might be the first to predict Green Bay appearing in the league’s Championship.
Davis defended the selection, “Unlike the rest of their divisional rivals, they should benefit from continuity. And if QB Jordan Love remains healthy, rookie Matthew Golden makes the consistent impact not always provided by this receiving corps and they get off to a strong start — and the early part of the schedule seems to set up nicely — the Pack might just find themselves in the Super Bowl.”
He picked the NFC North shakeout in this fashion:
Green Bay Packers: 12-5
Detroit Lions: 11-6
Minnesota Vikings: 9-8
Chicago Bears: 7-10
Generally speaking, most pundits expect the Lions to win the division for a third consecutive year. Davis on Detroit: “They’re going to have to adapt – without coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn and six other staff members from a team that earned the NFC’s top playoff seed in 2024, to say nothing of the retirement of tough-as-rawhide C Frank Ragnow.”
“Talent remains in abundance here, and the return of DE Aidan Hutchinson should bring a needed jolt to the defense. But finding synchronicity could be tough, especially with four of the first six games on the road.”
But Ravens Take the Chip
According to the USA Today prediction, though, Green Bay will fall short of the ultimate prize, one it hasn’t won since 2010, despite employing Aaron Rodgers for 12 seasons thereafter.
Davis claimed that Green Bay will run through the Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Rams in the postseason tournament but ultimately come short against the Ravens in the big game.
He picked Baltimore over Kansas City in the AFC Championship.
What about the Vikings?
Assigning a mediocre 9-8 record to the purple team, Davis did not include the Vikings in his playoff projection. Kevin O’Connell’s team was an odd man out, evidently the eighth seed on the outside looking in.
He noted on the Vikings: “They’re going to have to adapt — to new QB1 J.J. McCarthy, who lost his entire rookie season with a knee injury and watched Sam Darnold blossom into a Pro Bowler during his on-field absence. Similar to his time at the University of Michigan, McCarthy should have everything a quarterback could want in a supporting cast, including a fantastic coach in Kevin O’Connell.”
“But the Vikes will have to weather WR2 Jordan Addison’s three-game season suspension to start the season. And following their (voluntary) two-week European vacation, they’ll have the Eagles, Chargers, Lions and Ravens lined up on the opposite side of a Week 6 bye. Replicating last season’s 14-3 record — or even something close to it — seems like a long shot.”
Super Bowl Odds
Without any analysts’ two cents, here’s how the betting market sees the league’s Super Bowl contenders with moneylines:
- Buffalo Bills: +700
- Baltimore Ravens: +700
- Philadelphia Eagles: +700
- Kansas City Chiefs: +850
- Detroit Lions: +1100
- San Francisco 49ers: +1900
- Washington Commanders: +2000
- Green Bay Packers: +2000
- Los Angeles Rams: +2000
- Minnesota Vikings: +2200
- Houston Texans: +2200
- Cincinnati Bengals: +2200
Davis on the Ravens
Davis defended his Ravens Super Bowl prediction: “Could this finally be the year QB Lamar Jackson takes his team all the way? An upgraded secondary should address what was Baltimore’s Achilles for much of 2024. And how good is an offense that seems to (somehow) get an improved version of Jackson every year, including 2024 when he was probably robbed of a third league MVP?”
“Consider that recently signed WR DeAndre Hopkins, likely a future Hall of Famer, is probably the sixth option when you consider an attack that has a second tight end like … Isaiah Likely. Yes, I like, like, like these Ravens – and considering they have a midseason stretch when they play two games in 27 days, good way to stay fresh as they pursue a second No. 1 playoff seed in three seasons.”
The Vikings will meet those very Ravens on November 9th at U.S. Bank Stadium.
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