Every NFL team enters the season with dreams of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. And every team knows the odds are stacked against them.
Simple math is the clearest way to convey that. Thirty-one of the league’s 32 teams will fail in their quest. Reaching — and winning in — February tends to require immense talent, incredible coaching and pristine health. Only a few teams will check those boxes.
A lot will change over the next five months. But from where we stand now, at the start of the 2024-25 NFL season, FOX Sports’ staff of football and gambling experts delivered their predictions on who will be left holding a trophy at the conclusion of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans. (Betting odds to win Super Bowl via DraftKings as of 9/4).
Chris Fallica
Chiefs over Eagles (+500)
Last time I checked, Patrick Mahomes was still the Chiefs quarterback, Andy Reid was the head coach and Steve Spagnuolo was the defensive coordinator. KC is better at receiver than it was last year and given the Chiefs will win the weakest division in the AFC, the road to the Super Bowl will again go through Arrowhead. We’ll see if the Eagles’ offseason defensive improvements, both on the field and on the coaching staff, will pay dividends, but in a “meh” NFC, they are my pick.
Jason McIntyre
Lions over Jets (+1200)
The NFC feels like a tossup between the Lions and Eagles, with the aging, beat-up 49ers probably struggling most of the season and then making a big playoff charge. Give me the Lions, whose schedule sets up perfectly. Everyone is going to pick the Chiefs, so I’ll go way off the board with a team that hasn’t made the Super Bowl since the paleozoic era, my Jets.
Dave Helman
Chiefs over Packers (+500)
For the sake of intrigue, I’d be happy to pick anyone but Kansas City. But the crazy truth is that, if you give me the Chiefs versus the field heading into this season, I’m taking the Chiefs. I think the 2024 version is going to be substantially better than the ones that have won the last two Super Bowls. Who they beat this time might be a bit of a surprise, though. I’m a big believer in Jordan Love and all the young talent in Green Bay. The offense should be great, and the defense should at least be better. Add it all together, and I think the Packers get back to another Super Bowl in New Orleans. I’m just not sure they’ll be able to beat Patrick Mahomes & Co.
Ralph Vacchiano
Ravens over Eagles (+1000)
Baltimore’s loss in the AFC Championship Game last year felt like the last step before a big breakthrough, and Derrick Henry is exactly what the Ravens need to plow through that wall. They’ve got an MVP-caliber quarterback, a top defense and the league’s best rushing attack — all the ingredients for a deep playoff run. Meanwhile, the Eagles have built a dream team on offense, and that’ll be good enough to emerge from the NFC.
Henry McKenna
Bills over Lions (+1600)
Dan Campbell and Jared Goff are resilient. They’re hungry. And I think they’ll make their way to the Super Bowl this year. It’s just that this is the season that we start thinking of Josh Allen as a truly great quarterback. NFL players think he’s overrated, according to a rcent ESPN poll. The folks in Buffalo think he’s underrated. But he showed something special in that end-of-season run. The Bills beat the Chiefs in the postseason — maybe even in the AFC Championship — and then Detroit will somehow look like an easier opponent in the Super Bowl.
Eric D. Williams
49ers over Bengals (+600)
The 49ers pushed the Chiefs to the brink, losing in overtime in the Super Bowl last season and have reached the NFC Championship Game in four of the last five seasons. It’s San Francisco’s time. Kyle Shanahan understands how to get the most out of his players and the 49ers are laser–focused on winning it all. It’s hard to pick against Kansas City, but I believe Joe Burrow finds a way to stay healthy this year and the Bengals are one of the few teams that can figure out defensively how to contain Patrick Mahomes in big games.
Patrick Everson
Packers over Ravens (+1800)
Yes, Kansas City is great, as is San Francisco. And Philadelphia could well be back in Super Bowl form. But it’s a long season, and for a betting market like this, I think it’s worth taking a swing at a plausible-but-longer-shot outcome. Green Bay could’ve beaten San Francisco in the NFC divisional round last year. I think the Packers will improve this year. And putting the Ravens in the Super Bowl, rather than the Chiefs, is just my opinion of how hard it is to reach three straight Super Bowls, let alone win three straight. Gimme the Packers over the Ravens, at 100/1 odds.
Sam Panayotovich
Eagles over Chiefs (+1400)
It almost hurts how bullish I am on the Eagles this year. They addressed their most serious issue in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft and added defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Their offense won’t skip a beat without Jason Kelce, either. I think we’re headed for a Super Bowl LVII rematch between Philadelphia and Kansas City with the Eagles getting their revenge.
Greg Auman
Texans over Lions (+1600)
If last year was Houston and Detroit getting back into the playoffs for a taste of postseason success, 2024 can be a huge step forward. Think about the leap players can make in their second year, and think about how good C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson were for the Texans last year, not to mention DeMeco Ryans as a rookie coach. Same in Detroit, where rookies were everywhere last year, from Jahmyr Gibbs to Sam LaPorta to Brian Branch and Jack Campbell. They might not be the top seeds in their conference, but watch them catch fire in January.
Carmen Vitali
Chiefs over Lions (+500)
I learned my lesson last season: I should never doubt Patrick Mahomes and an Andy-Reid-led Chiefs squad. Kansas City only got better since last year, when they won a Super Bowl in a “down season” where Mahomes’ receivers dropped a league-leading 30 of his passes. I do think the Lions are going to have all the motivation in the world to actually make it to their first Super Bowl after coming within a half of doing so last season. They fixed their secondary issues, which was the only blemish on their roster in 2023 and are returning one of the best offensive play-callers in Ben Johnson with a cast of characters that possess all kinds of skillsets. I think Detroit roars into the big game but the Chiefs just barely make history as the first team to three-peat.
Ben Arthur
Ravens over Lions (+1000)
Maybe I’ll regret betting against the Chiefs coming out of the AFC (again), but this feels like it could be the Ravens’ year. Two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson is due for an appearance on the biggest stage, and Derrick Henry — even at 30 — is the kind of running back that can get Baltimore over the hump in the postseason. On the NFC side, a Super Bowl appearance is the next step in the Lions’ ascension, after they reached the conference’s championship game for the first time in 32 years last season. But Jackson and Baltimore’s well-rounded offense is equipped to overwhelm Detroit’s defense, which ranked in the bottom half of the league in yards allowed in 2023.
Geoff Schwartz
Chiefs over Lions (+500)
The Chiefs are winning their third straight Super Bowl, and it will come against the Lions. The Chiefs have a single question about this season: do they arrive into the postseason with a healthy roster? Their offense is better this season with Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown, while the defense should not see much of a drop-off in 2024. The Lions made the NFC Championship Game last season and played the 49ers tough. It’s a well-constructed roster and they are primed for the next step.
Will Hill
Jets over Lions (+1900)
This one wouldn’t be short on subplots, and both teams are elite in terms of overall talent. The Jets have an easier schedule than their AFC competition, and won 7 games with atrocious QB play last year. The liners could have and should have made it to the big game last year and have a young nucleus that is likely to improve. The 49ers have a massive rest disadvantage in their games over the season and have had some key players holding out over contract disputes. Lions-Jets is worth a shot!
Martin Rogers
Chiefs over 49ers (+500)
A boring pick? Yep, about as boring as you can get given that it’s a copy of the outcome of Super Bowls LIV and LVIII. And how unfair to select the 49ers to suffer defeat at the final hurdle once again. Unfortunately, life’s not fair. Sports aren’t fair. Sorry. These are the best two teams in the league, but the Chiefs have the X-factor — and you know his name already.
Michael Cohen
Chiefs over Eagles (+500)
Laken Litman
Chiefs over 49ers (+500)
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