Yes, I know. It’s only been about a week since the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV. Shouldn’t I let Chiefs Kingdom bask in the glory of being world champions? I should, so congratulations to them for pulling off an incredibly entertaining playoff run that featured three double digit comebacks, all headed by the NFL’s best quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. However, the NFL moves fast and there are already odds released for next year’s Super Bowl. I’ll follow suit and make my picks now, when it is entirely too early.
It is both somewhat easy and incredibly difficult to predict who will make the Super Bowl. There are so many variables to consider, especially with the draft and free agency still months away. Even with all these unknowns there are still obvious contenders who will almost assuredly find themselves in playoff position next season. The Chiefs are a great example of this. Kansas City’s 2018 season came to an end in the AFC Conference Championship, a game away from the Super Bowl. One could’ve easily predicted that they would make the Super Bowl the next year given their superstar signal caller, talented position players like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, and legendary head coach Andy Reid. In fact, a lot of people did.
However, like I said, predicting who makes the Super Bowl is also very hard. We can use the other Super Bowl representative, the San Francisco 49ers, as an example here. San Francisco’s 2018 season ended with a 4-12 record; they didn’t resemble a contender at all. Their starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, was limited to only three games due to an ACL tear, but the rest of the team was still unimpressive. Come 2019, and the 49ers are damn near unbeatable. They finish with a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl appearance. They seemingly came out of nowhere. Sure, one could look at Garoppolo’s return, the addition of Nick Bosa, and the fact that they were a trendy pick to make the 2018 Super Bowl as reasons to believe they would represent the NFC in 2019. However, that still would’ve been considered a little far fetched.
The Picks
Okay, enough with the backstory, let’s get to the picks. Drum roll please… I, Xavier Zamarron, am picking the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in Super Bowl LV.
Seattle Seahawks
Picking Seattle isn’t too much of a reach given their 2019 success. They made the divisional round behind an MVP level campaign from quarterback Russell Wilson and have been playoff mainstays since Wilson entered the league in 2012. Sure, their defense left a lot to be desired. They only garnered 28 sacks, 31st in the league, and had some troubles stopping the run, all of which resulted in the group being rated 22nd in the league by Pro Football Reference. However, Seattle has ample cap space to sign a much needed pass rusher while also retaining incumbent star Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney profiled as the team’s top rusher in 2019, but he dealt with a bevy of core injuries during the season and never was an elite sack artist in the first place. Adding another rusher opposite Clowney would give some teeth to Seattle’s rush which would in turn ease the pressure on the rest of the unit.
Seattle’s offense also looks to improve in 2020. Wilson is still in the prime of his career and will have the solid receiving duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett at his disposal. Not to mention he’ll have a healthy stable of running backs to hand off to. The tail end of the 2019 season saw Seattle’s formidable run game dissolve with the injuries of starter Chris Carson and valuable rotation piece, Rashad Penny. Seattle was forced to rely on sixth round pick Travis Homer and the recently unretired Marshawn Lynch, to carry their run game during the playoffs. Of course, it didn’t work, evidenced by the fact that Wilson was the team’s leading rusher in it’s two playoff games. With Carson and Penny back in the fold, the potential addition of a premier pass rusher, and the continued dominance of Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks profile as a legitimate contender and are my pick to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LV.
Pittsburgh Steelers
While picking Seattle doesn’t stretch the imagination too far, picking Pittsburgh is considerably less popular. The Steelers capped off their 2019 season with a mediocre 8-8 record. Coming into the season they were labeled as contenders, and featured the solid offensive trio of Ben Roethlisberger, James Conner, and Juju Smith-Schuster. Expectations quickly derailed as Roethlisberger was injured in only the second week of the season against, coincidentally, the Seattle Seahawks. Pittsburgh relied on a pair of young quarterbacks in Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges for the rest of the season. The fact that they utilized two quarterbacks instead of just one is evidence enough that neither was suited for an actual starting gig. Not to mention both Conner and Smith-Schuster dealt with injuries throughout the season. All this considered, Pittsburgh’s 8-8 record can actually be seen as a positive.
While their established stars spent time in the medical room, a lot of the Steelers’ depth players got a chance to shine. Guys like James Washington, Dionte Johnson, and Jaylen Samuels became productive players that could potentially contribute to a potent offense. Pittsburgh’s defense also became quite formidable, even with star defensive end Stephon Tuitt out for most of the season. Pittsburgh’s pass rushing duo of T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree helped the team lead the league in sacks with 54. While Dupree is likely to depart from the team in free agency, Watt and the return of Tuitt should keep Pittsburgh’s pass rush stable. Rookie linebacker Devin Bush and in season acquisition Minkah Fitzpatrick, two other key players from last year, will likely improve next season thanks to familiarity with the Steelers’ system. The two already helped Pittsburgh lead the league in takeaways with 38. Combine Roethlisberger’s return with a young and improving defense, and you have a dark horse contender who I’m picking to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LV.
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