2025-26 Super Bowl Predictions: Experts Pick Who Will Play in and Win SB LX

FOX Sports NFL Staff

Every NFL team enters the season with dreams of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. And every team knows the odds are stacked against them.

Simple math is the clearest way to convey that. Thirty-one of the league’s 32 teams will fail in their quest. Reaching — and winning in — February tends to require immense talent, incredible coaching and pristine health. Only a few teams will check those boxes.

A lot will change over the next five months. But from where we stand now, at the start of the 2025-26 NFL season, FOX Sports’ staff of football and gambling experts delivered their predictions on who will be left holding a trophy at the conclusion of Super Bowl on Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara.

(Betting odds to win Super Bowl via DraftKings as of 9/3).

Chris Fallica
Kansas City Chiefs (+850) over Detroit Lions

As much as people hate to admit it, the road to the Super Bowl still goes through Arrowhead in the AFC. Expect to see a very motivated Chiefs team this year after the Super Bowl embarrassment to end last season. Remember when coordinator changes were supposed to affect the Eagles adversely? Well, all they did was win the Super Bowl. Fast-forward to this season and the Lions, who were ripped apart by injuries late last year, couldn’t get back to the NFC Championship Game, then lost both coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson this offseason. The schedule is tough, but the Lions still have loads of talent on the offensive side of the ball. With the bandwagon less full, they may achieve their Super Bowl dream this year.

Ralph Vacchiano
Baltimore Ravens (+600) 34, Green Bay Packers 31

It would be really easy to pick the Chiefs and Eagles again, since they’ve been the Super Bowl matchup twice in the last three years and both teams return all their key players. But it feels like time for a change, especially in the AFC, where the warning signs were flashing on the Chiefs’ dynasty last season. In fact, a good argument could be made that the Ravens were the best team in the AFC last year, with their should-have-been-MVP quarterback, Lamar Jackson, ageless running back, Derrick Henry, and a top-10 defense. They return just about everybody and should be just as dangerous, especially on offense.

The case against the Eagles in the NFC isn’t as clear, but the Packers can make a good one with a terrific young quarterback (Jordan Love), a powerful running game (led by Josh Jacobs) and a top-five defense that just added Micah Parsons in one of the biggest NFL trades in years. That alone could push them over the top. And don’t forget, the only teams that beat them last season, outside of the meaningless regular-season finale, were the three best teams in the NFC (Minnesota Vikings, Lions, Eagles), and four of those games were by five points or fewer. Now they add Parsons to the defense, and Love, in his third season as a starter, is ready to step into the elite ranks. Sure, it’ll take some regression from the Chiefs and Eagles for this matchup to happen, but the Ravens and Packers are perfectly positioned to take their place.

Henry McKenna
Buffalo Bills (+600) 25, Philadelphia Eagles 24

I might be kicking myself (again) for picking Josh Allen to finally beat Patrick Mahomes, but it feels like Allen is inching closer to taking Mahomes down in the postseason every year. And so, every year I say: This is the Bills’ year. I’m doing it again. Buffalo gets its first Super Bowl win in franchise history by taking down the Eagles.

When looking at the rest of the NFC, there are too many questions — big ones — around the other teams. But for Philly? The Eagles are returning the key cogs on their Super Bowl roster, even if they lost some quality on defense in free agency. The biggest thing is their offensive stars are sticking around: Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and the elite offensive line. And while that’s enough to get the Eagles into the big game, I think Allen and coach Sean McDermott put together a special performance, with each guy championing their side of the ball. And Allen finally enters the discussion as one of the league’s great quarterbacks.

Eric D. Williams
Buffalo Bills (+600) 30, Washington Commanders 23

It’s time. Josh Allen earned his first league MVP Award last season. Now, he’s primed to lead the Bills to the team’s first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Buffalo finally figures out a way to get past Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City in the postseason, doing that in storybook fashion by earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and clinching a trip to the Super Bowl by winning the AFC Championship Game at Highmark Stadium. In the Super Bowl, Allen leans on versatile running back James Cook to help carry the offense in the Super Bowl, while an improved Buffalo defense helps tame Washington’s dynamic second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Patrick Everson
San Francisco 49ers (+2000) 31, Buffalo Bills 24

The top of the Super Bowl odds board is plenty attractive, with the Bills, Ravens, Eagles and Chiefs. The Lions, who have been outstanding straight up and against the spread the past 2 1/2 seasons, are also intriguing.

But I’d rather reach just a touch deeper, hoping for a better return at the pay window. So I’m taking the San Francisco 49ers (+2000) to win the Super Bowl. The Niners have the easiest strength of schedule in the NFL this season.

If they can just stay healthy, then maybe I’ll get there. Gimme the Niners over the +700 favorite Bills, 31-24, in Super Bowl LX.

Sam Panayotovich
Buffalo Bills (+600) 28, San Francisco 49ers 20

I’m buying San Francisco stock the same way I bought Philadelphia stock last summer. The Eagles are the team to beat in the NFC, but they’re beatable. A healthy Christian McCaffrey changes the dynamic, and I trust Robert Saleh to shore up the Niners’ defense. That said, I’m picking the Buffalo Bills to win Super Bowl LX. They made championship-level moves on defense by adding Joey Bosa and Tre’Davious White, not to mention drafting depth in the trenches. All the heavy hitters return for their elite offense, too. It’s MVP Josh Allen’s time to shine.

Greg Auman
Baltimore Ravens (+600) 35, Philadelphia Eagles 31

The big storyline all year will be whether one of the AFC star quarterbacks — Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow — can emerge from Patrick Mahomes’ shadow. I believe they will, and what’s the fun in picking them to get to the Super Bowl if they can’t win when they’re there?

I think I’m picking this on Baltimore’s defense as much as Jackson finally taking the big leap, but I can see the Ravens past the Chiefs, Bills and the defending champion Eagles for a compelling championship push. For John Harbaugh, two Super Bowl wins with the same franchise, 13 years apart, is a wild accomplishment. Buffalo wouldn’t shock me here either, and the Bills finally getting a championship might be the most interesting season storyline of all.

Ben Arthur
Baltimore Ravens (+600) 27, Detroit Lions 24

I think this is the year that Lamar Jackson finally breaks through. Getting back No. 1 receiver Zay Flowers, who missed the playoffs last season due to injury, will be huge for a Ravens’ offense that is already dominant. There’s something special brewing on the other side of the ball with defensive coordinator Zach Orr, too.

League observers want to count the Lions out because they lost coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, but the reality is that this is still the team that many people expected to reach the Super Bowl last season. They have all the same star power personnel-wise, with Aidan Hutchinson back healthy.

With that said, in the Super Bowl, I don’t think the Lions will have an answer for Derrick Henry, who is historically dominant late in the season and playoffs.

Geoff Schwartz
Buffalo Bills (+600) 31, San Francisco 49ers 27

The Buffalo Bills are poised to out-muscle the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LX. Josh Allen’s dual-threat dominance gives Buffalo an edge. The Bills’ emerging defensive line, with pass rushers like Greg Rousseau and Joey Bosa, can neutralize Brock Purdy’s passing attack, forcing turnovers. Joe Brady is poised to feature a high-octane offense, averaging 30.9 points per game last season, and should be even better this year. In a close one, Allen’s clutch play-making seals it. Trust the process, Buffalo.

Will Hill
Buffalo Bills (+600) 27, Philadelphia Eagles 20

Has the time finally come for the Bills to hold up the Lombardi Trophy? Perhaps their five toughest games this season (Bengals, Ravens, Chiefs, Eagles and Bucs) are all at home. This gives the Bills, with a fairly manageable schedule otherwise and a good a chance to earn the No. 1 seed and the lone bye in the AFC. The Bills devoted a lot of their offseason resources to improving a defense that can seemingly never stop Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in January. An easy schedule and a revamped unit on that side of the ball just may be enough to get the Bills over the hump this time.

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