The No. 1 seeds of the AFC and NFC will meet in Super Bowl 50, but before the regular season began in September, a matchup of the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos in February is one that none of the major experts predicted.
Of the 64 predictions compiled from just before the beginning of the regular season, only three experts picked the Broncos to make it to Super Bowl 50 and all three picked them to lose. But not a single expert predicted the Panthers would make it to the NFL's biggest stage after losing Kelvin Benjamin in training camp.
Some of the most popular teams picked to go to the Super Bowl were the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and even the Philadelphia Eagles, who were picked by nine experts to win it all. We weren't any better here at SB Nation, pegging the Packers to beat the Colts.
Name | Site | Super Bowl winner | Super Bowl loser |
Eric Allen | ESPN | Seahawks | Dolphins |
Josina Anderson | ESPN | Ravens | Seahawks |
Joe Banner | ESPN | Eagles | Ravens |
Judy Battista | NFL.com | Packers | Colts |
Michelle Beisner | ESPN | Colts | Packers |
Jarrett Bell | ESPN | Colts | Packers |
Stephania Bell | ESPN | Packers | Broncos |
Matthew Berry | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
Chris Berman | ESPN | Seahawks | Ravens |
Jerome Bettis | ESPN | Colts | Seahawks |
Brian Billick | NFL.com | Ravens | Seahawks |
Andrew Brandt | ESPN | Eagles | Colts |
Gil Brandt | NFL.com | Packers | Patriots |
Bucky Brooks | NFL.com | Seahawks | Colts |
Mark Brunell | ESPN | Packers | Steelers |
Tedy Bruschi | ESPN | Packers | Ravens |
Frank Caliendo | ESPN | Packers | Patriots |
Adam Caplan | ESPN | Ravens | Seahawks |
Cris Carter | ESPN | Packers | Patriots |
Charley Casserly | NFL.com | Eagles | Colts |
Jeffri Chadiha | NFL.com | Colts | Seahawks |
Ryan Clark | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
John Clayton | ESPN | Seahawks | Broncos |
Nate Davis | USA Today | Seahawks | Colts |
Dave Dameshek | NFL.com | Seahawks | Chiefs |
Brian Dawkins | ESPN | Eagles | Patriots |
Trent Dilfer | ESPN | Cowboys | Chiefs |
Mike Ditka | ESPN | Packers | Patriots |
Mark Dominik | ESPN | Colts | Packers |
Herm Edwards | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
Robert Flores | ESPN | Packers | Ravens |
Ashley Fox | ESPN | Eagles | Ravens |
Dan Graziano | ESPN | Patriots | Cowboys |
Jon Gruden | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
Elliot Harrison | NFL.com | Packers | Colts |
Tim Hasselbeck | ESPN | Seahawks | Colts |
Merril Hoge | ESPN | Steelers | Cardinals |
Tom Jackson | ESPN | Packers | Ravens |
Ron Jaworski | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
Keyshawn Johnson | ESPN | Patriots | Cowboys |
Peter King | Sports Illustrated | Packers | Ravens |
Suzy Kolber | ESPN | Packers | Patriots |
Chris Mortensen | ESPN | Ravens | Packers |
Wendi Nix | ESPN | Colts | Cowboys |
Sal Paolantonio | ESPN | Eagles | Chiefs |
Antonio Pierce | ESPN | Colts | Seahawks |
Pete Prisco | CBS Sports | Packers | Patriots |
Rick Reilly | ESPN | Patriots | Packers |
Louis Riddick | ESPN | Eagles | Broncos |
Phil Savage | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
Adam Schefter | ESPN | Eagles | Ravens |
Adam Schein | NFL.com | Packers | Colts |
Mark Schlereth | ESPN | Packers | Patriots |
Marc Sessler | NFL.com | Eagles | Colts |
Michael Silver | NFL.com | Packers | Colts |
Jim Trotter | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
Ed Werder | ESPN | Seahawks | Ravens |
Trey Wingo | ESPN | Packers | Colts |
Colleen Wolfe | NFL.com | Colts | Packers |
Darren Woodson | ESPN | Seahawks | Colts |
Damien Woody | ESPN | Cowboys | Patriots |
Steve Wyche | NFL.com | Seahawks | Steelers |
Field Yates | ESPN | Seahawks | Patriots |
Steve Young | ESPN | Packers | Ravens |
The "point and laugh" award probably goes to ESPN's Ashley Fox, Joe Banner and Adam Schefter, who all picked the Eagles to beat the Baltimore Ravens. They were three of the nine experts to pick the Eagles to win the Super Bowl and three of the 14 to pick the Ravens to win the AFC, but the only ones to project two teams that finished with losing records.
The moral of the story is that the only safe prediction in the NFL is that it is always wildly unpredictable.