The 2025 NFL season is set to kick off with the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles playing host to the Micah Parsons-less Dallas Cowboys, and the quest for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara will be officially underway.
With the season about to get started, we've got one last chance to call our shots and look into the proverbial crystal ball. Which teams are making the playoffs this year? Who will be facing off in this year's Super Bowl?
We're going to make one last set of predictions for all 14 playoff teams as well as which teams will take each other on for a Lombardi at Levi's Stadium next February.
Final NFL predictions: All 14 playoff teams and Super Bowl LX Matchup
AFC Predictions
Division Champions
- AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
- AFC South: Houston Texans
- AFC West: Denver Broncos
- AFC East: Buffalo Bills
You've got to call your shot somewhere, and this year feels like as good of a year as any to project a bit of a backslide from the Kansas City Chiefs. Generally, what goes up must come down. The Chiefs have been an unstoppable force in the AFC West for the majority of the last decade, but that can't last forever.
The Denver Broncos seem to be a pretty trendy pick over the Los Angeles Chargers to unseat the Chiefs this year in the AFC West. It would probably take at least 12 or 13 wins, but the Broncos have one of the more balanced rosters in the NFL.
AFC Wild Card Teams
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Pittsburgh Steelers
Last year, we had three teams make the playoffs from the AFC West. This year, we've got three teams from the AFC North. The Cincinnati Bengals narrowly missed out on the postseason last year because their defense was atrocious for much of the season. But even with a poor defense, they went on a run late in the year and almost climbed all the way back in. This year, they'll build themselves a bit of a margin.
The Steelers just feel inevitable at 10 wins, which will put pressure on everyone else. The Los Angeles Chargers are the lone AFC team replaced from last year's playoff squads in this projection.
NFC Predictions
Division Champions
- NFC North: Green Bay Packers
- NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- NFC West: Los Angeles Rams
- NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
The biggest change we have here is the Green Bay Packers taking over the NFC North from the Detroit Lions. The Lions won 15 games last season, but lost both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as well as defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
As talented as the Lions are, they've taken on changes and already have injuries piling up that would drastically impact any team, no matter how good the roster is. We'll see if the Packers, who now have Micah Parsons leading their pass rush, can take that next step after finishing in third place last season.
NFC Wild Card Teams
- Detroit Lions
- San Francisco 49ers
- Washington Commanders
There were a few teams that were really tough to leave off this list. The Minnesota Vikings obviously won 14 games last season and Kevin O'Connell has done an outstanding job of coaching that team. They are breaking in a young quarterback this year and might simply get lost in the shuffle of a deeper NFC than we've seen in recent years. The Vikings look like a 10-win team, but 10 wins might not be enough to cut it in the NFC in 2025.
The other big one here is leaving off the Arizona Cardinals, another team I think could very well win 10 games this coming season. Jonathan Gannon has his best squad yet, and they've improved substantially in each of his first two years with the team.
It's tough leaving those teams off the list, and there could be other breakthrough squads, but the NFC is going to be a tougher conference from top to bottom this year.
Super Bowl LX Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Baltimore Ravens
The two best teams in the NFL going into this season from the AFC and NFC have to be the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles.
Even though the Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning AFC champions, it feels like the Ravens are going to be an absolute buzzsaw this coming season. There's no such thing as a perfect roster, but the Ravens are pretty darn close to having exactly that.
They've got elite balance offensively, which is embodied by their quarterback. Lamar Jackson is an MVP not just because of the spectacular things that he does, but how easy he makes everything look. Jackson's efficiency is off the charts as he's thrown 65 touchdown passes compared to just 11 interceptions over the last two seasons, including a ridiculous 41 touchdowns to just four interceptions last year.
The only other team with the same combination of coaching, top-end roster talent, and overall balance on both sides of the ball is the Philadelphia Eagles. And even though the Eagles don't get the same type of weekly impact out of Jalen Hurts as the Ravens do from Lamar Jackson, they obviously have had way more team success over the past few seasons.
The Eagles are the reigning Super Bowl champions with a healthy amount of roster continuity, but also a lot of new faces to be excited about.
There will be a lot of other teams in the mix to represent each conference in Super Bowl LX, but right now, the smart money feels like it's on a battle of the birds.