Super Bowl LII predictions: revisited and revised!

Before the 2017 NFL regular season kicked off, a number of Steel City Underground contributors put forth their two cents and made some predictions as to who would play on the world’s largest stage when all was said and done.

Today we revisit those picks, as well as make some new predictions at the start of the postseason. Each of our panelists justifies what they picked and why they are picking (somewhat) differently now.

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Christina Rivers

Original Prediction: Packers by six points or less
New Prediction: Steelers over Saints

The 2017 regular season was a wild one. Many of the teams that looked stacked with the personnel for victory were decimated by injuries. The blow to the Packers when Aaron Rodgers remained on IR was just too much for them to completely recover from.

The NFC now looks primed for a sleeper to slip into the champion spot. The Eagles look good with Wentz, but not quite as threatening with Nick Foles leaving the door wide open for the Jared Goff-led L.A. Rams (who’d have thought!?) and Drew Brees-led Saints to duke it out to the top of the heap.

As for the AFC, the Steelers and Patriots were early favorites and battled all season, despite losses to teams they should have beaten, as a precursor to another showdown. The Jaguars earned my “surprising team” of the season award after catching many off-guard for wins…similar to how the Vikings did in the NFC. I’d love to see Vikings-Steelers but feel Brees & Co. have the edge.

With the Bills, Titans, and Chiefs struggling heavily with inconsistency, the Steelers-Patriots Part Two looks nearly inevitable.

Mike Pelaia

Original Prediction: Steelers over Packers
New Prediction: Steelers 31 – Vikings 30

With Carson Wentz gone for the season, the Vikings are the clear favorite to me to come out of the NFC and will become the first team to ever play in and host the Super Bowl at the same time. Their offense is solid and their defense gets the job done too.

This won’t be the first time these two faced off earlier this season, the Vikings playing an essential home game will put up a battle for the black and gold. The Steelers will finally get over their New England curse and beat them in Foxborough to earn a right to play in the big game.

It will come down to the Killer B’s with a final drive by Ben, Brown, and Bell and a Field goal as time expires off the toe of Boswell to win it. Ben rides off into the sunset with his third ring and Pittsburgh finally has number seven overall.

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Brian E. Roach

Original Prediction: Steelers over Packers
New Prediction: Steelers over Vikings

While I had the Eagles winning the NFC East, I didn’t think they would be as good as they were this season. I don’t feel bad about the Green Bay pick, considering they looked ready to prove me right if Aaron Rogers doesn’t go down – twice.

I’m still feeling very comfortable with the Steelers being one half of the Super Bowl matchup though.

At this point, the NFC team could be the Rams or maybe even the Saints. I expect both of those teams to win their first game and maybe end up in the championship game against each other.

That being said I think the Vikings probably end up winning it in the NFC. Setting up a rematch of the Steelers very first Super Bowl appearance and ending with the Steelers hoisting their 7th Lombardi.

Terry Fletcher

Original Prediction: Steelers 27 Packers 24
New Prediction: Steelers 35 – Saints 31

The Saints seem to be grinding out wins on the back of their stats-seeking quarterback. Their rookie running back Alvin Kamara paired with journeyman Mark Ingram Jr. is giving them a running game we haven’t seen in years, which allows the balance a predictable passing game of Drew Brees has been missing.

I believe it will be the old guys Big Ben and Drew in the Super Bowl with the youngsters like Wentz, Goff, and Carr sitting at home with their popcorn learning what it is to be a Hall of Fame quarterback and Super Bowl winning team on the big stage.

Yes, the Steelers may have to literally go through Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to get there but with the return of Joe Haden and all of their offense healthy they got this.

Joe Kuzma

Original Prediction: Steelers over Packers
New Prediction: Steelers over Saints

I originally felt the Packers may have put the right pieces in play to make a Super Bowl run, but with Aaron Rodgers going down, it was not to be.

The Eagles also lost their star quarterback (Wentz) so I’m not feeling an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl. Instead, the other two seed, the Minnesota Vikings, might have the inside track to the title game.

That could be a nightmare for the Steelers, as the Super Bowl is being hosted at the Vikings home stadium!

I’m going to go with my instincts and say the experienced and savvy QB gets to the big game: give me the New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees against the Steelers for it all.

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Tommy Jaggi

Original Prediction: Patriots over Packers 34-31
New Prediction: Patriots over Saints 31-27

At the beginning of the year, I predicted the Patriots over the Packers in Super Bowl LII. Since then, a lot has changed. Aaron Rodgers went down for most of the season with a collarbone injury and the Packers fell off a cliff.

The Steelers have come on strong recently, but without home-field advantage, I see yet another difficult road in their future.

In the NFC, I believe the Saints are the team that should be the most feared right now. They have a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Drew Brees, a two-headed monster in the fun game with Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, and a defense that is finally making strides.

Therefore, I’m predicting a Saints, Patriots Super Bowl. One that will be a high scoring affair, but one that will once again end with the world’s best coach and quarterback coming out on top.

Zachary Celedonia

Original Prediction: Steelers 31 Buccaneers 23
New Prediction: Steelers over Saints

I’m sticking with the Steelers as the AFC representative. They have found their offensive stride in the second part of the season and the emergence of Juju Smith-Schuster has officially put their offense over the top, into the elite category. Martavis is finally playing like we all had hoped, and not a minute too soon. Le’Veon is healthy for the playoffs for the first time (not counting last year, because he assumingly busted his wheel against Miami).

Ben is playing like the Hall of Famer he will be, and the cherry on top is that Antonio Brown should be back soon.

All of that plus the defensive pieces they have now that they didn’t last year give me a lot of confidence in picking the Steelers over the Patriots… even without Ryan Shazier. Mike Hilton, Joe Haden, T.J. Watt, and Cameron Heyward are difference makers and they will prove me right this postseason.


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