SPORTS OPINION: Super Bowl predictions

By Vicente Mendoza
Sports Editor
Published Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024

We are in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season, and to be honest, it is definitely not what I expected. At the time of this writing, the NFL has had a shift in power rankings: the lower teams from years prior are currently leading and the power house teams of last year are struggling to pull off wins.

Teams such as the Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings all had bad seasons, just a season prior; now they are leading their respective divisions. Teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles, all had success in recent years including going to the playoffs since 2021; now they are all struggling to get wins.

For my prediction, I would like to start with the National Football Conference hopeful. I feel like the NFC usually plays better than they did this season. At the time of this writing, the NFC only includes four teams in the top ten, which is surprising because the NFC dominated the power rankings for the past few seasons.

If I had to choose one team of the four to be Super Bowl hopefuls, it would be the Detroit Lions. The Lions just secured a huge win against the Cowboys last Sunday. The Lions dismantled the Cowboys 37-9, and to be honest it wasn’t even fair. The Lions went on nine offensive drives the entire game; all nine resulted in points on the board. I was not surprised by this win.

Though the Cowboys are not one of the stronger teams this year, we did not expect the Lions to absolutely destroy them—especially not to the point where they might just tank this entire season. The way this team is built, it’s definitely one that’s all in and ready to win now. Veteran quarterback Jared Goff leads a high-power offense including star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

The star power does not end there, though. This offense includes a two-headed monster in running backs Jaymarr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Both are deadly when paired with such a great pass game. The way this offense is built, they can take on any playoff defense, any day of the week.

The American Football Conference is where things get tough when predicting a champion, in my opinion. The AFC has six teams who are all quite good and can make a run for the Super Bowl, but if I had to choose one team, I would most definitely choose the Buffalo Bills.

I know the Bills would have to defeat the two-time-defending champions: the Kansas City Chiefs at some point in the playoffs, but I do believe this is the year they finally make it over the hump and take down the Chiefs. The Bills are led by veteran quarterback Josh Allen and he is off to a great season. This is the first year Allen doesn’t have Stefon Diggs as a leading receiver. In my opinion, he has not lost a step.

I feel like this year the Bills focused on depth and acquiring quality pieces around Josh Allen—it has definitely paid off. The high-scoring offense matches a defense that can take on any team.

From the two teams I believe will represent their conference champions, I predict the next Super Bowl will be won by the Lions. It pains me to say this as a Cowboys fan, but I cannot deny that the Lions are the best team in the league right now. They are the most complete team, well-coached and disciplined. I genuinely believe no team can stop them.