No one knows for sure how an NFL season will turn out — who could have predicted we’d talk about football air pressure for seven months? — so Super Bowl predictions always should be met with skepticism.
However, that’s never going to stop anyone from making said predictions.
Our sports society loves predictions. We love making them. We love reading them. Some of us love reading them and then telling whoever wrote them how stupid they are. In all honesty, it’s a bit of a waste of time, but a fun waste of time, nonetheless.
So with that disclaimer, Patriots fans, we’ve got some bad news: No one is really picking the Patriots to win Super Bowl 50 in February. We dug through some NFL preview content from around the worldwide web and the consensus is the Patriots are going to have trouble defending their championship. We’re guessing that’s just the way they (and their fans) like it, though.
Here’s a roundup of some 2015 NFL predictions.
CBS’s Prediction Machine: Packers over Colts
Notes: The CBS “Prediction Machine” simulated the 2015 season 50,000 times. The Packers were spit out as winners 17.1 percent of the time. The machine also sees the Patriots coming up just short of Santa Clara, losing to the Colts in the AFC Championship Game. If you’re wondering what the machine picked last year, it forecasted a Broncos over Seahawks result.
Monday Morning Quarterback’s Peter King: Packers over Ravens
Notes: King notes that he’s “not big at all on picking repeat champs,” pointing to the Patriots’ “weak secondary” and a “Ravens-like lack of depth at receiver” as reasons why the Patriots won’t repeat. Then again, he doesn’t sound entirely confident with his Packers-Ravens pick, so who really knows.
USA TODAY: Colts, Seahawks, Packers
Notes: The staff at USA TODAY likes a variety of Super Bowl winners, most notably the Seahawks (four picks) and the Packers (two picks) with a Colts choice mixed in for good measure. Two writers picked the Patriots to reach the Super Bowl before bowing out to one of the NFC powers.
NFL.com: Packers, Colts, Ravens, Seahawks, Eagles
Notes: Like USA TODAY, the NFL.com staff picks a variety of winners. Like USA TODAY, no one on the NFL.com staff picked the Patriots to win it all. In fact, just one of NFL.com’s 13 pickers see the Patriots escaping the AFC. Even one so-called expert picked the Chiefs to win the AFC berth, so take that for what it’s worth.
ESPN the Magazine: Seahawks over Colts
Notes: If Patriots fans are looking for solace, at least Skip Bayless is picking their team to win it all.
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
