The NFL season is just beginning and there is no doubt that as the season progresses, there will be some surprises that come with it: injuries will occur, teams will have fluke wins and underdogs will have freak performances. As of right now, though, who is going to win the Super Bowl and the awards? Who will be the sneaky underdogs and who will be a letdown this season?
The Los Angeles Rams are the superbowl favorites this year and for good reason; it’s hard to see them losing anything. Their defense is one that has potential to become the greatest of all time, containing single season sack record holder and defending Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Myles Garret, three time DPOY winner, eight-time All-Pro Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement this year, and many other great players like 2023 first-team All-Pro Cornerback Trent McDuffie. A defense like this could put a team in Super Bowl contention by itself. Pair it with an offense run by reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, reigning leader of receiving touchdowns Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, a rising star who had over 1,700 receiving yards last season. The Rams simply have too many elite players for any other team to compete against.
A hot topic of discussion is Josh Allen and whether he can take a team to the Super Bowl, as he has failed so many times before. Josh Allen is an elite NFL talent and will likely win the MVP award this year but, as per usual, he will likely come up short when it really counts. Last year seemed like it was his for the taking: the Chiefs were not in the playoffs, and all he had to do was beat the Broncos, but instead, he had four turnovers, including a game-losing interception, and lost it all. Throughout the years, Josh Allen has proved that he is a force to be reckoned with in the regular season, but he can’t get it done when it matters most. Even though he is being paired with a new great receiver in DJ Moore, he will never be the guy to win the Bills a Super Bowl.
One team that has dark horse Super Bowl dreams is the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts were the number one ranked team in the AFC at the halfway point last season before going through a tremendous slump and missing the playoffs. This is largely because both Quarterback Daniel Jones and his backup Anthony Richardson were hurt and taken out for the season. Many doubt that the team can return to their victorious state as Jones has to recover from a torn Achilles, but behind a good offensive line with an elite running back in Johnathan Taylor, the team can return to its former glory and become contenders.
The Chicago Bears are the opposite of the Colts in the way that, while they exceeded expectations last year, they will fall below them this year. This is because last season, they had a habit of coming back to win games in the fourth quarter in a fashion that can only be described as miraculous. This made for an entertaining game, but is not sustainable, which is why they will probably perform worse this year. Additionally, over the offseason, the defense lost many of its key players such as Kevin Byard, the safety who led the league in interceptions, and Jaquan Brisker. The defense was already extremely inconsistent last year, and without these pillars, it will be even shakier. Because of these problems, the Bears are due for a year of inconsistency.
In a league like the NFL where miracles come through, and dreams are crushed in as little time as a five-second play, it is hard to predict what will happen next. With that being said, these predictions are what will most likely happen in this upcoming season.