Super Bowl 54 Prediction

Conference Championship Record: 2-0 

Overall Record: 5-5

Kansas City Chiefs over San Francisco 49ers: Not since Patriots/Seahawks back in 2014 has a Super Bowl matchup been so difficult to predict. The significant lack of big game experience and potentially exploitable flaws that exist on both teams have turned this into a brutal coin flip that has drained confidence from even the brashest gamblers and pundits that exist in the wonderful world of NFL forecasting.

In essence, this is a showdown between old and new school NFL philosophies. The 49ers can beat you with punishing physicality on defense and an ability to sustain long drives with a strong running game while the Chiefs can beat you with their dynamic speed/athleticism and big play ability that makes them a threat to score at any given moment. History has shown that the team with the better defense tends to have the edge in these matchups, but I have to give the slightest of advantages to the team with the better offense.

Yes, the 49ers have a very real chance of exposing another soft defensive front with their monstrous downhill running attack led by Raheem Mostert-which would help keep the ball out of the hands of Patrick Mahomes and this lethal Chiefs offense. Yes, the 49ers have a deep, imposing defensive front (Dee Ford, DeForest Buckner, Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead) that should be able to cause some problems for the Chiefs average o-line and force to them to run far more than they'd like to. Yes, Jimmy Garoppolo and this underrated 49ers passing attack is being alarmingly overlooked going into this game and could very well do damage against an unsuspecting Chiefs D.

 However as scary as the 49ers are, I just can't pick against a team that's led by a QB in the middle of a hot streak. Mahomes has been absolutely unreal in the past two playoff games (615 YDS, 8 TD, 0 INT, 65.7 CMP%, 131.5 QBR, 106 Rushing YDS, 1 TD) and his escapeability/fearlessness paired with the sheer depth of vertical threats they have at their disposal could prove to be difficult for the 49ers (particularly their stout but not overly fast secondary) to slow down. Plus given the path they've had to this game that was set in motion with the bye they earned courtesy of a stunning Week 17 Patriots home loss to the Dolphins, the football gods might finally be pulling for the Chiefs after 50 straight years of heartbreak-fueled championship futility.         

Super Bowl 53 Prediction

Conference Championship record: 1-1 (Correct: Patriots Incorrect: Saints)
Overall record: 5-5

New England Patriots over Los Angeles Rams:  Recent history is riddled with examples of teams that rode a wave of lucky breaks, whether it was via bad officiating or some kind of miracle play, to a playoff W then turned around and lost their next game (2011 Patriots, 2014 Seahawks, 2017 Vikings). While I feel the Saints inability to score TD's on their early possessions and heinous opening drive in OT that ended with Drew Brees throwing a costly INT that allowed the Rams to kick the game-winning field goal played a sizable role in determining their unfortunate fate, Nickell Robey-Coleman's unflagged mugging/headbutting of Tommylee Lewis undeniably helped the Rams win the NFC Conference Championship Game and has subsequently made them susceptible to the unforgiving wrath of The Football Gods this week.

Even if I didn't let silly superstitions serve as the driving force behind my pick, I'd take the Patriots in this game. The manufactured "NO ONE BELIEVES IN US" card they've been playing since the playoffs started has lit a fire under their asses that's unlike anything I've seen from since at least 2014 when they knocked off the aforementioned Seahawks in Super Bowl 49. The Rams have a lot of vets that have stepped up big during this playoff run (Robert Woods, C.J. Anderson, Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters), but I just don't think they have what it takes from a mental or X and O's standpoint to knock off a team full of trained killers that's this dialed-in.

It also doesn't help that Todd Gurley, who is exactly the type of skilled pass-catching back that could give the Patriots slow linebackers fits, is a shell of himself right now thanks to an undisclosed injury that has severely limited his snaps all playoffs long, Wade Phillips has had very minimal success scheming against Tom Brady's quick release/short-to-intermediate passing game and Jared Goff's tendency to make bad throws while under pressure is exactly the type of fatal flaw Bill Belichick can easily exploit. Sean McVay's creativity as a playcaller and the Rams deep arsenal of receiving threats that match up favorably against the Patriots defensive backs not named Stephon Gillmore should help keep things close, but I just feel like this will end up being another well-earned victory lap for the most impressive dynasty in the NFL, if not professional sports history.    

Super Bowl 52 + 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee Predictions

Conference Championship Record: 1-1 (Correct: Patriots Incorrect: Vikings)
Overall Playoff Record: 5-5 

New England Patriots over Philadelphia Eagles: After 20 weeks of star players suffering major injuries,  Twitter pundits dropping nuclear takes about the cause of the league's declining ratings and penalty flags galore, we've finally reached the climax of the NFL season. Many football fans are dealing with a true nightmare scenario this Super Bowl Sunday as the seemingly immortal dynasty of gridiron darkness (the Patriots) are squaring off against a team (the Eagles) with an infamous fanbase that's largely viewed as the closest thing American sports has to Europe's Futbol Hooligans.

In addition to their shared villain status, the Patriots and Eagles also overcame a bit of adversity on their road to Minneapolis. The Patriots predictably righted the ship and blew through the AFC with very little resistance from any team (with the notable exception of the Jaguars) after a rocky start in which their defense played a historically bad level (an NFL record 6 straight games with over 300 passing yards allowed) while the Eagles proved all of their doubters wrong by making a highly improbable run to an NFC Championship after losing starting quarterback Carson Wentz, the clear frontrunner to win league MVP who was 11-2 as a starter, to a torn ACL in early December.

It's been frequently said in the 2 weeks leading up to this game that the Eagles have pretty much everything you need to beat the Patriots and I absolutely echo that sentiment. Their excellent defense is anchored by a deep front 7 that can get after the quarterback with a 3-4 man rush and stuff the running game with equal proficiency, they have a versatile offense that can attack an opposing defense in anyway imaginable and head coach Doug Pederson is a creative offensive schemer that has a flare for making effective, gutsy play calls. If Wentz was under center, I'd be picking the Eagles to win this game without hesitation.

Unfortunately for the long-suffering fans in Philly, Nick Foles is currently their team's starting quarterback, which significantly decreases their odds of winning this game. While Foles has played well in the playoffs thus far, taking out the most successful quarterback/coach duo in NFL history on the biggest stage in sports is a much more difficult feat than KO'ing the Falcons and Vikings in front of your home fans. Anybody that's watched football since the Patriots solidified themselves as a juggernaut following their 2nd Super Bowl victory in 2003 knows that you have to repeatedly score touchdowns to have a chance to beat them and I just don't have enough Foles' ability to score enough points to fend off this disciplined, battle-tested team that has a remarkable track record of out-executing their opponents in the crunch time situations that almost always decide the outcome of major games.

I'm not going to pretend like the Eagles don't have a chance in this game. If Foles can replicate at least some of the success he had in the NFC Championship game, the defense can prevent Brady and co. from freely moving the ball downfield in key situations and Pederson can avoid being intimidated by the aura of dominance that surrounds the Patriots, this team could pull off. However, I fully expect the Patriots veteran playmakers on both sides of the ball to help them squeak out another 3-7 point victory and complete "the 3 championships in 4 years" feat for the 2nd time during their 17-year reign of dominance.  

Hall of Fame Inductee Predictions (* indicate senior inductee):

Alan Faneca, guard (Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals)

Brian Dawkins, safety (Teams: Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos)
Edgerrian James, running back (Teams: Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks)

Isaac Bruce, wide receiver (Teams: Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers)  

Ray Lewis, inside linebacker (Team: Baltimore Ravens)
Robert Brazille*, inside linebacker (Team: Houston Oilers)
Tony Boselli, tackle (Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans)
Ty Law, cornerback (Teams: New England Patriots, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos)

Super Bowl 50 Prediction

Conference Championship Picks: 1-1 (Correct: Panthers Incorrect: Patriots)
Overall Playoff Record: 6-4

Carolina Panthers over Denver Broncos: For the second time in three years, the top-ranked scoring offense (Panthers) will be facing off against the top-ranked scoring defense (Broncos) in the Super Bowl. Fans and media members across the country seem to think the Broncos- who were involved in the last Super Bowl clash between the top-ranked offense and defense- are going to get manhandled like they did against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. While I think that the Panthers will come out on top, I think the people that are predicting them to win by 30+ points are out of their goddamn minds. This might be hard for some people to grasp, but this isn't the same Broncos team that lost 43-8 to the Seahawks two years ago. The 2013 Broncos defense was vastly inferior to the current incarnation and star outside linebacker Von Miller missed Super Bowl XLVIII with a torn ACL. If the Broncos defense surrenders 40+ points and/or loses by four or more touchdowns with a healthy Miller, Chris Harris Jr, DeMarcus Ware and Brandon Marshall in the lineup, everything I thought I knew about the game of football was wrong.

What Super Bowl 50 is going to come down to is how well the Broncos defense can contain Cam Newton and if Peyton Manning has enough juice left in the tank to string together one last excellent performance before he retires. The Broncos proved two weeks ago against the Patriots that their defense can give elite offenses fits, but this field-stretching, unpredictable Panthers squad presents an entirely different set of challenges. The Panthers formidable rushing and efficient passing attack gives them one of the most balanced offenses in the league and Newton's ability to escape the pocket and makes plays with his legs makes him a tough matchup for any defense. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips did a spectacular job coming up with creative, varied schemes to stop Tom Brady and the Patriots from getting into a comfortable rhythm and there's no doubt he'll need to have a lot of tricks up his sleeve to contain the Panthers lethal, multi-faceted offense.

As for Manning, he's surprised a lot of people (myself included) with his respectable playoff performances in the Broncos first two playoff games. Manning has accepted his physical limitations and embraced his new role as a game-manager, making mostly low-risk, short-to-medium throws and not hurting the team with costly turnovers. The problem is that while Manning has been decent over the past two games, decent isn't going to be enough to produce multiple scoring drives against the Panthers tough defense. The Panthers manhandled a far-superior Cardinals offense in the NFC Championship game two weeks ago, allowing just 15 points and manufacturing six takeaways and given the Broncos middling offensive production with Manning at the helm this season, it's hard to envision a situation where the Broncos put up more than 17-21 points. While a strong performance from Manning would certainly increase the chances of the Broncos coming in and pulling off the upset, the success or failure of the Broncos offense could very well lie on the shoulders of their erratic running back tandem of C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman. The Panthers rush defense has been a bit vulnerable of late and if Anderson and/or Hillman can get going, this offense could end up overachieving. The Broncos have a championship-caliber that is capable of taking over games and are going to be hellbent on helping Manning end his career on the highest possible note, but I believe the Panthers collective offensive and defensive prowess will ultimately be enough to earn them their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history.

Super Bowl XLIX Prediction

Conference Championship Week Record: 2-0
Overall Playoff Record: 8-2

Seattle Seahawks over New England Patriots: After weeks of smack talk, cheating accusations and general anger from a lot of fans across the country about the Super Bowl matchup being between the two most hated teams in NFL, the game itself is finally here. It's been inexplicably lost amongst all of the Deflategate and "Why doesn't Marshawn Lynch talk to the media?" coverage, but this is a contest between two very evenly-matched squads. The game has the potential to be a serious battle and could very well be decided by a handful of plays. Though I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if either team won, I think the Seattle Seahawks are going to come out on top. The Seahawks may not have as much big game experience as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but in their few years of greatness, they've proven they excel in pressure situations, especially when they're being doubted. This knack for stepping in the clutch was evidenced by their highly improbably comeback against the Packers in the NFC Championship. Russell Wilson was able to overcome a truly horrible game in which he threw 4 INT's and stepped up when it mattered most to lead his team to victory. Coming of a ghastly performance like that, Wilson is going to be even hungrier than usual to prove himself on the biggest stage against elite competition. Aside from their big-game proficiency, they have favorable matchups against the Patriots on both side of the ball. The Patriots don't have anyone outside of Rob Gronkowski that can hold up against the physicality of their defense, their lack of a pass rush should allow Wilson to make full us of his rushing and passing-on-the run ability and running back Marshawn Lynch is a problem for pretty much any defense in the league, especially in the playoffs. As long as the Seahawks can keep Brady and Rob Gronowski in check and the Legion of Boom can successfully overcome the injuries to Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor,  I firmly believe they'll be walking out of Arizona with their second consecutive Super Bowl title.

Keys to victory for Seattle:
-Contain Rob Gronkowski
-Get pressure on and limit Tom Brady's options in the passing game
-Establish a balanced attack
-Expose the holes in the Patriots secondary
-Give Russell Wilson time to work his magic
-Don't allow the Patriots to creep back into the game if you get an early lead

Keys to victory for New England
-Establish the run
-Continue to test the health of the injured players in Seattle's secondary
-Stop Marshawn Lynch
-Keep Russell Wilson in the pocket
-Don't fall behind early

Super Bowl XLVIII Prediction

Conference Championship Week Record: 1-1 (Correct: Seahawks Incorrect: Patriots)
Overall Record: 5-5

Seattle Seahawks over Denver Broncos: Seahawks/Broncos was the dream Super Bowl matchup that a majority of football fans wanted and predicted all year long. That matchup is becoming a reality tonight and I fully expect it to live up to the hype as one of the most Super Bowl battles of all-time. When you have the top-ranked offense in the Broncos and the top-ranked defense in the Seahawks squaring off, sparks are going to fly and the results are probably not going to be pretty. Despite all the firepower and experience of the Broncos, I like the Seahawks in this matchup. The Seahawks defense brings a level of physicality that the Broncos aren't really used to. The Colts secondary were able to disrupt the Broncos wideouts with physical play and jamming them off the line of scrimmage earlier this year and the Seahawks' Legion of Boom does that better than anyone in the league. On the other side of the ball, I think Russell Wilson will use this major stage to shine. Wilson hasn't put up big numbers in the playoffs, but has made the big throws when he needed to. The Broncos are without a doubt going to focus on stopping Marshawn Lynch and this should give Wilson the ability to make some more plays in the passing game (If Percy Harvin can stay healthy for the entire game, he could be a huge X factor.) The Seahawks lack of experience has also come into question for the entirety of the past two weeks and I think this status as an underdog will light a serious fire under them. This is a young squad that plays with a maturity and intensity that is well beyond their years and that will pay dividends against a battle-tested and incredibly talented Broncos team. As long as the Broncos don't go ahead by a large margin early and Peyton Manning is contained, the Seahawks should be able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and silence their legions of doubters in the process.