ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Who will meet in the Super Bowl next February?
SAM HENDRICKS
Ravens versus 49ers. Baltimore simply because they represent the best threat to KC's dominance and potential 3-peat. KC has been to the last six AFC Championships. They have won 4 of those 6. That speaks volumes to HC Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes. Last year the Ravens had them at home, but costly turnovers and penalties (and lack of run game) sent them packing. This year they have Derrick Henry. They may have lost a few OL but at least they have someone to run the ball. 2024 will be Baltimore's year. Just as SF has been to 4 of the last 5 (won 2 of those 4) NFC Championships, I see them returning and avenging last year's loss.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 30-year fantasy football veteran who participated in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013 and 2018.
IAN ALLAN
Packers and Texans. They’re similar teams. Both have young quarterbacks, and both returned to the postseason last year. Both have done further work on their defenses in the offseason. I wasn’t crazy about Houston’s decisions to go after Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs, but that looks like a team that’s ready to ascend. I like the coaching staffs in both cities. Matt LaFleur is a proven offensive coach. DeMeco Ryans has an offensive coordinator (Bobby Slowik) who’ll be landing a head coaching job in a year or two.
Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. Since that time, he’s written and edited most of the content published in the magazines, newsletters and at www.fantasyindex.com. Allan is a member of the FSGA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
JASON WOOD
In order to avoid being chalky, I'll go with the Jets and the Lions. Detroit came within 3 points of the Super Bowl last year, and things lined up perfectly for them to get over the hump. Ben Johnson -- who won't be calling plays in Detroit in 2025 -- rejected multiple head coaching opportunities and keeps the offense intact. All the key players are signed and healthy, and the vibes around Jameson Williams are finally great. As to the Jets, this is a binary belief that Aaron Rodgers stays healthy and has another MVP-caliber season in his arm. The Jets roster is lowkey stacked with talent at most positions, and just needs the steadying, experience hand at the helm to unlock their vast potential.
Wood is Senior Editor at Footballguys.com and has been with the company since its start in 2000. For more than 20 years, Footballguys has provided rankings, projections, and analysis to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.
SCOTT SACHS
Miami versus Detroit would be a great matchup in the Super Bowl. Both should be top 5 scoring offenses on the ground and in the air. They both feature multiple top-level skill players and a great mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent. Defenses are not elite, so they will rely heavily on the offenses to outscore opponents in high-scoring contests. Total point total over/under would probably be around 55.
With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Scott Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text Advice. He is a 3-time winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Auction League, as well as a previous winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll.
LUKE WILSON
On the AFC side, I'm gonna have to go with the boring answer: Predicting a team other than the Patriots to come out of the AFC had a losing record for many years, and I'd say Kansas City has earned the right to be the presumptive favorites at this point. The Bengals, Ravens and Texans are all potentially compelling challengers, but if Mahomes could find a way to get it done it last year with Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney heavily involved for much of the season then it just doesn't feel right placing bets against him when that problem seems to have been addressed.
The NFC is where things get interesting. The 49ers are definitely the bullies on the block, but I just can't shake the feeling that the Eagles have slipped from that lofty perch. The Lions had the 49ers well and truly on the ropes in the conference championship last year, and they could finally break through here. The Rams are a team that probably nobody wants to draw in the playoffs. But I think it could be the Packers. The NFL's youngest roster last year found a gear that allowed them to pummel Detroit in their late season matchup, absolutely demolish Dallas in the wild card round, and then give the 49ers just about all they could handle in the divisional. With the deepest complement of receivers in the NFL and now Josh Jacobs in the fold, if Jordan Love picks up where he left off last year? Yeah, look out. Lock it in: KC-Packers, a Super Bowl I rematch 58 years in the making!
Wilson is a Fantasy Index contributor who also hosts the FI Podcast and weighs in with fantasy advice regularly in the FI Discord server. He's not the former Seahawks tight end, but he is the proud father of two large boys.
DAVID DOREY
Most Super Bowls have a "of course" team and a "really?" team. Of course KC has become the "of course" team and I would never, ever bet against Patrick Mahomes. Look at last year. Maybe it takes overtime, but who else can pull it out. So Kansas City for my money -- they finally have a great defense, an always-great offensive line, and in the end, Patrick Mahomes. For the NFC, I like the Lions to finally make the final push to reach the Big Game. They have a diverse and potent offense that can lose a player or two and still keep on the path. The defense is good enough and is placed into favorable situations thanks to their offense. And in the end, yeah, three-peat.
Dorey co-founded The Huddle.com in 1997. He's ranked every player and projected every game for the last 26 years and is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. David has appeared on numerous radio, television, newspaper and magazines over the last two decades.
MIKE NAZAREK
Kansas City will defeat the Detroit Lions, 31-27. A true Dynasty will be born!
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc, celebrating 29 years online! His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, weekly in-season newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its website, www.ffmastermind.com. He has been playing fantasy football since 1988 and is a four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a former columnist for SI.com. He's also won $36K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.
KEN HOLIZNA
It is hard to go against the odds on favorite Chiefs. They are vying for an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl victory. They join three other NFL teams in an elite exclusive AFC East group. Miami Dolphins 1971-1973, Buffalo Bills 1990-1993, and the New Patriots 2016-2018. None of them has won three consecutive. They really don’t have a weakness. They could be stronger at wide receiver, but Mahomes' mad talent makes up for it. My NFC representative is their opponent in last year’s Super Bowl. They also do not have any glaring weaknesses. They have been knocking on the door four of the last five years in four of the last five NFC Championships. The only thing that would derail them would be an unhealthy McCaffrey. They seem to be a team of destiny. If there is a Mahomes injury my backup AFC team is the Baltimore Ravens. If McCaffery can’t stay healthy my backup NFC team is the Detroit Lions. My AFC sleeper team is Houston Texans. My NFC bronze medal winner is not a sleeper team, but maybe an overrated team that if an aging oft-injured RB, and questionable defense comes through could represent the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Holizna is a 29-year fantasy football enthusiast and founder of Faith-Family-Fantasy Football in 2019, a family-friendly, faith-based, G-rated fantasy football platform. Rankings contributor to the 2023 Fantasy Index magazine. Find him on Twitter @holihandicapper
ANDY RICHARDSON
The safe, logical choice is Kansas City. I don't doubt that they're going to be great, again. But things broke their way in the playoffs last year, and I think that this year, they won't. The Baltimore Ravens, led by Derrick Henry, are going to get that elusive playoff win over Kansas City this year, and if not them, it will be the Buffalo Bills. The NFC, meanwhile, seems wide open. I can see multiple reasonable teams in three NFC divisions. But this year, I don't think it's going to be an NFC West team; too many bad draft picks (or traded away picks) will ultimately short-circuit the 49ers and Rams. I think teams that have hit on more of those picks, the Packers and Lions, will be playing for a trip to the Super Bowl. And maybe it's wishful thinking, but I think the Lions are finally going to get there.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He writes a weekly gambling newsletter, Index Bets, during the NFL season and also previews all the games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays.