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 Super Bowl LX?
JODY SMITH
Going against the grain, I'd like to see a Buffalo Bills vs. Green Bay Packers matchup. Green Bay already had a top-5 defense last season and just added Micah Parsons to the fold. As long as Jordan Love and Josh Jacobs are healthy, the Packers can also score plenty of points. As for the Bills, they've also got balance and a favorable schedule that sets up for them to potentially have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Smith is an analyst and writer at Draft Sharks who is known for compiling some of fantasy football’s most accurate rankings. He has over 15 years of experience in the industry, which includes a stint on the sidelines covering the Houston Texans.
SCOTT ENGEL
Baltimore and Green Bay. Lamar Jackson will finally come through in the clutch in a big way in the AFC playoffs. A healthy Jordan Love can take the Packers on a deep playoff run.
Engel is an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association's Hall of Fame. He is a 4-time FSWA award winner and a 13-time finalist. He is a sports betting writer at Advance Local and a fantasy writer at RotoBaller.com, Seahawks.com and The Athletic. He is also a host at SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio.
JASON WOOD
As a lifelong Eagles fan, I'd like to say the Eagles will be back and they are co-favorites via the oddsmakers, but instead I'll go with the Buffalo Bills finally getting over the hump and facing off against the Green Bay Packers, who put everything together this year thanks to a reinvigorated defense. The Bills and Ravens have both been Super Bowl caliber for many seasons but keep getting hung up by Kansas City. Eventually both Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen should, and likely will, get their rings. In the NFC, I think the Eagles will be in contention but we got so lucky with injuries last year that I suspect another contender will be more fortunate in that regard and eke out a tough playoff game against us.
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.
KEN HOLIZNA
Not a big surprise. I like both odds-on favorites. The Philadelphia Eagles, defending Super Bowl Champions, will face off against the Baltimore Ravens. Defense and running games still win Championships. In this new era of football you also need a game-changing dual-threat QB. The Eagles I think have a slight edge at RB, but the Ravens have a slight edge at QB. The defenses are both championship level. It will be interesting to watch how the season plays out.
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
SCOTT PIANOWSKI
Give me the Ravens over the Packers. It's very tempting to pick the Bills, who have a cushy schedule (plenty of cupcakes, and the three toughest opponents all have to come to Buffalo). But I suspect Buffalo will greatly regret not getting an alpha receiver for Josh Allen (consider that Mack Hollins -- Mack Hollins! -- led this team in touchdown catches last year). Lamar Jackson's playoff resume is hard to look at, but that trend can't continue forever. Jackson's got plenty of help on offense, too. It's your turn, Baltimore.
Pianowski has been with Yahoo Sports since 2008, covering a variety of sports. On the rare occasions when the computer is turned off, he enjoys word games, poker, music, film, game theory, and a variety of condiments. He lives in suburban Detroit. Pianowski was inducted into the FSWA Hall of Fame in 2021.
SCOTT SACHS
While I'm hoping it will be Buffalo vs. Detroit, it most likely will end up Baltimore vs. Philadelphia. Buffalo is ready, Josh Allen is ready, plus they have no real competition in their division. Detroit is loaded, spiritual leader Hutchinson is back, superb offensive skill players. Buffalo & Detroit have never won a Super Bowl, so I would like to see it. However, Baltimore and Philadelphia have outstanding rosters. Ravens: Lamar is on a mission, hard to stop their offense, defense solid. Philly: Jalen Hurts continues to improve, offensive/defensive lines among the best, Tush Push remains legal, very good defense becoming excellent. Edge to the Eagles to repeat.
With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, 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. Follow on X: a href="https://x.com/ffbcoach" target=_new>https://x.com/ffbcoach
MIKE NAZAREK
The Philadelphia Eagles will return to the Super Bowl and play the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens will win the game 34-28 with QB Lamar Jackson being the MVP.
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc, celebrating 30 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 $40K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.
LUKE WILSON
I understand the temptation to predict the next big thing in at least one conference if not both, really I do. I used to do it too! It's way more fun to say that the Texans or the Buccaneers are going to the Super Bowl -- it's cool, it's different, it's edgy. It's also tended to yield wrong answers. Including the final Super Bowl of the Patriots' dynasty in 2019, there have been 12 Super Bowl berths by teams not quarterbacked by Tom Brady. Kansas City, the 49ers, the Rams, and the Eagles have combined to earn ten of them. With five Super Bowl appearances in six years, KC has already done something no team before them ever has. I'm not about to thumb my nose at a self-evidently winning formula by picking the Broncos or even the Bengals for fun.
The NFC has been trickier to predict. Sean McVay has done a fantastic job pivoting the team from the high-flying, bomb-heaving crew of high-priced vets that went all the way in 2021 into a more contemporary one. They'll be tough outs this year, just like they were in Philly in January. The 49ers are still clinging to the old Rams' model, with almost all of their key contributors on top of the market contracts - a recipe for disappointment more and more, it seems. Trust me, as a Cowboys fan I would love to be able to say that I think either of these teams will handle the Eagles four months from now (... okay maybe not the 49ers), but I just don't. The Eagles have elite talent at absolutely all of the game's critical positions, they're young, they're ferociously big, and they know what they are now. They should win the NFC again. But I think KC gambled on Josh Simmons in the first round with the rematch in mind. Kansas City over Eagles, 33-31.
Wilson is a frequent contributor on the Fantasy Index website, and is one of many knowledgeable voices in the Fantasy Index Discord server. He also co-hosts Drinkin' Dynasty, a new beer-themed fantasy podcast.
SAM HENDRICKS
Baltimore vs. Detroit. Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Head Coach John Harbaugh put everything together to make a Super Bowl appearance by defeating Buffalo in the AFC Championship. While the Lions sneak by the Eagles to advance when they have less injuries than last year.
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
I’m going to go with the Ravens. I think they’ve got the best roster, and I think they’ll finally pull it all together. On the NFC side, it feels phony to suggest anyone other than the Iggles. I played around with the idea of the Bucs (who’ve won their last two against Philadelphia); they’ve got the advantage of being in a weaker division. But I think they’ll be adversely affected by losing their offensive coordinator.
Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. He is a member of the FSGA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
ANDY RICHARDSON
Maybe I'm going with my heart here, but also, nobody circles the wagons like... You know the rest. Buffalo is going to cruise through the AFC East and lock up home field advantage in the playoffs, and this year that will be enough to finally get them by Kansas City, and Baltimore. The NFC is trickier, with the strongest teams (I think) in the NFC East and North. Philadelphia, Washington, Green Bay and Detroit look like the final four, and venue and matchups might determine the winner. I would love to see a new face, either Detroit or Washington, but when push comes to shove, I think we'll get the Eagles there again.
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.