With the 14-team postseason field finalized, let’s waste no further time. We’ve taken a good, hard look into the crystal ball, and the results have been unveiled.
With that, let’s dive into our predictions for the entire 2024-25 NFL postseason and winner of Super Bowl 59.
Which NFL team will win Super Bowl 59?
AFC Wild Card Round (2) Buffalo Bills vs. (7) Denver Broncos
For the fourth time in five years, Josh Allen and company enter the postseason as the second seed.
Allen and the Bills have made the work of their opponents easy on Wild Card Weekend, but Bo Nix and the Broncos figure to give the likely MVP winner quite the fight.
Remember, the Broncos won in Buffalo a year ago WITH Russell Wilson as their QB — leading to Joe Brady replacing Ken Dorsey as the offensive coordinator. Bo Nix is miles better than 2023 Russell Wilson, and the Broncos come into this game with the league’s third-best defense.
We expect a nailbiter for 60 minutes, but it’s just too hard to go against the league’s most dominant player of 2024. Allen will put on the Superman cape in the fourth quarter and lead Buffalo to a three-point victory.
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Prediction: Bills 26, Broncos 23
(3) Baltimore Ravens vs. (6) Pittsburgh Steelers
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens closed out the regular season on a four-game winning streak. Russell Wilson and the Broncos closed it out on a four-game losing streak, handing Baltimore the division crown on a silver platter.
Jackson only has two career wins against the Steelers — though he missed several starts due to injury. We understand if this matchup has Ravens fans nervous, but it’s awful to see how they’ll lose this one.
The Ravens had the league’s third-best scoring offense and the No. 9 scoring defense. Pittsburgh’s D struggled against high-powered offenses all season long, and Russell Wilson has been held to under 220 yards passing in five straight games.
Last year’s Ravens didn’t have Derrick Henry, and they still reached the AFC Championship Game. We know matchups between these two teams are always down to the wire, but it just feels like Baltimore is bound to run Pittsburgh out of the building.
Prediction: Ravens 30, Steelers 16
(4) Houston Texans vs. (5) Los Angeles Chargers
The Texans looked like bonafide title contenders in the first half by jumping out to a 6-and-2 start, but they limped to the finish line and concluded the regular season with a 10-and-7 record.
Losing star wideouts Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell for the year were tough blows for the Texans, who were held to under 30 points in each of their final six games.
And then there are Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers, who finished with the league’s No. 1 scoring defense. The Bolts allowed just 17.7 points per game, and they won’t have to account for two-thirds of the Texans’ 3-headed wide receiver monster.
Protecting CJ Stroud has been a problem all season long. The Chargers racked up 46 sacks on defense. Justin Herbert plays behind one of the league’s best o-lines that should hold its own against Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
Add it all up, and you’re talking a double-digit victory for the visitors.
Prediction: Chargers 27, Texans 17
NFC Wild Card Round (2) Philadelphia Eagles vs. (7) Green Bay Packers
A rematch from their Week 1 matchup in Brazil, the high-flying Eagles meet the Packers in the postseason for the first time since 2010 — the year Aaron Rodgers led the Cheeseheads to a Super Bowl 45 championship.
This matchup is awfully juicy for a lot of reasons. Saquon Barkley joined the 2K club in his first season with the Eagles, who also finished with the NFL’s No. 1 total defense.
But don’t sleep on Matt LaFleur’s Packers, either. They had a top-10 scoring offense AND defense, with Jordan Love and newcomer Josh Jacobs leading the way.
Philly won a sloppy Week 1 matchup 34-29. Thankfully, the two teams will play on an actual NFL surface this time. We wouldn’t be that shocked if the Packers pulled off the upset this time, but it’s hard to bet against home advantage, especially in an intimidating environment like the Eagles’ nest.
The Eagles’ D keeps Green Bay’s high-powered offense in check, with a vintage Barkley performance putting the cherry on top.
Prediction: Eagles 28, Packers 20
(3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. (6) Washington Commanders
A resilient Baker Mayfield, coupled with an ugly second-half collapse by the Atlanta Falcons, allowed the Bucs to secure a fourth straight NFC South division crown.
The Bucs will meet perhaps the biggest surprise team of 2024: Jayden Daniels’ Washington Commanders. This is a rematch from their Week 1 tilt at Raymond James Stadium, with Tampa crushing Dan Quinn’s squad 37-20 in Daniels’ NFL debut.
But a lot has changed since then. Chris Godwin, the Bucs’ leading receiver in that game, is out for the year with a dislocated ankle. And, of course, Daniels needed to get himself settled in before enjoying an MVP-caliber rookie year.
That Week 1 game was also a nice learning experience for Washington, who finished with the league’s third-best pass defense.
Always risky betting against the team with a home advantage in the postseason. But Washington matches up well with the Bucs, who lack the defensive personnel to slow down this prolific Commanders offense.
Prediction: Commanders 31, Buccaneers 27
(4) Los Angeles Rams vs. (5) Minnesota Vikings
For the second straight year, Sean McVay’s Rams overcame a terrible first half and rode a strong finish to the postseason. Only instead of being a wild-card team, second-half letdowns by the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks allowed the Rams to secure the NFC West division crown.
Meanwhile, the Vikings made rather unfortunate history as the first-ever 14-win wild card team. Led by Sam Darnold’s unexpected career year, Justin Jefferson and Brian Flores’ defense that allowed the fifth-fewest points, Minnesota finished with its best record since the 1998 squad that went 15-1.
The Vikings are a considerable favorite here, but we’re actually leaning toward the upset. The Detroit Lions’ just laid out the Rams’ blueprint to a victory: Blitz the living daylights out of Darnold.
The Rams also beat Minny here at SoFi Stadium back in Week 8, with Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams all enjoying field days. With home advantage, LA adds to the Vikings’ repertoire of postseason heartbreaks.
Prediction: Rams 24, Vikings 21
AFC Divisional Round (1) Kansas City Chiefs vs. (5) Los Angeles Chargers
There was a time when Justin Herbert vs. Patrick Mahomes looked like one of the next great quarterback rivalries….and to think we’d get it twice a year!
But it hasn’t exactly been a rivalry, with Mahomes posting a ridiculous 7-and-1 mark against his fellow AFC West quarterback. Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has constantly been an issue for Herbert, who has just 15 touchdowns against six interceptions in those contests.
Granted, both meetings this season were decided by a single score: 17-10 and 19-17 victories for Kansas City. And with the Bolts allowing the fewest points during the regular season, there is true upset potential here.
But this is still the Chiefs, and the Chargers have a long history of choking in the postseason. Mahomes has yet to lose a Divisional Round game, and it’s not about starting against a team with little playoff experience and minimal offensive firepower to match KC’s defense.
Prediction: Chiefs 26, Chargers 21
(2) Buffalo Bills vs. (3) Baltimore Ravens
Not sure about you folks, but this would be a real “Game of the Year” candidate.
The Bills suffered their worst loss of 2024 against Jackson’s Ravens in Week 4, with Baltimore cruising to a 35-10 victory on Sunday Night Football. Derrick Henry was unstoppable that day, with two total touchdowns and over 200 yards of offense.
Not only would this be a fascinating showdown between the two MVP front-runners, but we’d love to see how both defenses perform. The Bills and Ravens gave up a ton of yards in 2024, but they finished 11th and 9th in scoring D, respectively.
This game feels like a coin flip…but home advantage figures to be the difference again. Jackson has just one playoff win on the road in his career, and the Bills were undefeated at Highmark Stadium this season.
This game could go either way, but we expect Bills Mafia to be the slight difference in this one.
Prediction: Bills 34, Ravens 30
NFC Divisional Round (1) Detroit Lions vs. (6) Washington Commanders
Wouldn’t this be something? The Commanders haven’t played in the NFC Championship Game since 1991 — when they beat the Lions en route to their most recent Super Bowl title.
For the Lions, the 1991 NFC title loss to Detroit kick-started three decades of misery. The franchise wouldn’t win another playoff game until just last year — when they ousted the Rams in the Wild Card Round.
So, it is a showdown between two long-suffering franchises with feel-good stories. Something has to give.
Look, Daniels and the Commanders have a promising future. Getting to the playoffs and winning 12 regular season games is nothing to scoff at. But we just don’t see a young and inexperienced team like Washington upsetting the NFC’s top team – on their home field, no less.
Detroit will have enjoyed a well-deserved first-round bye to get their banged-up bodies healthy. They can exploit the Lions with their onslaught of pass-catchers, but we’d expect David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs to lead the way against a Washington team that allowed a whopping 137.5 rushing yards per game.
Lions roll.
Prediction: Lions 31, Commanders 16
(2) Philadelphia Eagles vs. (4) Los Angeles Rams
Trying to think of a crafty title for this potential matchup. How about “The Carson Wentz’s former teams bowl”?
Jokes aside, we’re truly having a tough time envisioning a Rams victory here. The Eagles came into SoFi Stadium in Week 12 and crushed Sean McVay’s squad 37-20. A year earlier, they also won 23-14 in La La Land.
Barkley had a 2,000-yard season. The Rams allowed 130 rushing yards per game. The Rams’ offense relies aplenty on Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. The Eagles allowed a league-low 174.2 passing yards per game, led by the dynamic rookie cornerback duo of Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell.
The Rams’ shaky o-line will also have to account for Jalen Carter, Nakobe Dean, Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith Jr., and Brandon Graham.
Everything adds up to a double-digit victory for Nick Sirianni’s group.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Rams 16
AFC Championship Game (1) Kansas City Chiefs vs. (2) Buffalo Bills
Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen in a playoff game. Where have we seen that before?
Incredibly, it’s been four long years since these two teams last met in the AFC Championship Game. That iconic photo of Stefon Diggs looking on as the Chiefs celebrated their 2020 AFC title victory was supposed to motivate Buffalo to eventually get their comeuppance…but the Bills haven’t been back there ever since.
Of course, that includes two Divisional Round playoff losses to Mahomes’ Chiefs — including last year’s “Wide Right II” game at Highmark Stadium.
The “Gotta see it to believe it” motto applies to any playoff game regarding the Bills and Chiefs, though. Allen has won his last four regular-season meetings against Mahomes, but KC is 3-0 against Buffalo in the playoffs.
While Allen is capable of keeping his Bills in this, we’re also nervous about their leaky pass defense needing to contain the likes of Travis Kelce, Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy on top of the Isiah Pacheco-led ground game.
Buffalo gets back to the conference championship game, but the results stay the same.
Prediction: Chiefs 30, Bills 23
NFC Championship Game (1) Detroit Lions vs. (2) Philadelphia Eagles
For the first time in history, the Lions will host the NFC Championship Game. And their last obstacle to their first Super Bowl appearance is an equally dangerous Philadelphia team.
This matchup would have the makings to be an all-time classic. The Lions’ high-powered offense against Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, and DeVonta Smith? Detroit, owners of the league’s best offensive line, going up against the league’s best front seven?
Though the Lions have been the conference favorites all season long, you can’t fully rule out a well-balanced Eagles team that played in the big game two seasons ago.
But how do you go against a Detroit squad that feels like a team of destiny? Dan Campbell’s guys have been on a mission all year long, and the Eagles will have a heckuva time trying to communicate inside a thunderous indoor venue.
Don’t be shocked if this game goes to overtime, but we’ll pick a Jake Bates field goal on the final play of regulation to send the Lions to their first Super Bowl.
Prediction: Lions 30, Eagles 27
Super Bowl 59: Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs
We know this is the most predictable Super Bowl 59 matchup…but how do you bank on either team losing at home before the Super Bowl?
This was the Super Bowl 59 prediction we made back in December, and we’re sticking with it. We’re also sticking with our prediction that the Lions will end KC’s bid for a three-peat to claim their first Super Bowl.
Like we said, the Lions are a team of destiny. They learned from their costly mistakes in last year’s NFC Championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers. They have more offensive firepower than Kansas City and enough playmakers on defense to ensure Mahomes doesn’t go off again.
Led by Jahmyr Gibbs’ two touchdowns and a 300-yard outing from Jared Goff, the Lions went an all-time thriller to secure their first Super Bowl. Bite off those kneecaps, Lions Nation.
Prediction: Lions 28, Chiefs 24
Also Read: 5 Dream Matchups We WANT TO SEE For Super Bowl 59… And 5 We Definitely DON’T WANT
