Super Bowl 2025 is now less than one month away.
The NFL playoffs are finally here, after 18 weeks of collisions, drama and dazzling plays. The six-game “Wild Card Weekend” schedule begins Saturday afternoon with two matchups, both in the AFC.
All paths lead to New Orleans and the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9 with the Super Bowl, a game the Detroit Lions have never played in — the lone NFC team with the distinction and the only NFL team to play continuously in the Super Bowl era yet to reach the ultimate game. But these Lions are different after a franchise-best 15-2 season and enter the postseason as Super Bowl 59 favorites.
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Here are the Super Bowl picks from six Detroit Free Press writers, with each predicting the Lions to make it to New Orleans.
Dave Birkett
I picked the Lions to play the Chiefs in the Super Bowl leading into the season in September, and there’s no reason to change my prediction — except for the winner of the game. The Lions may be down a few key players on defense, but still have the best roster in the NFL, the NFC’s most explosive offense and the loudest fans in football. The pick: Lions 31, Chiefs 24.
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Carlos Monarrez
The Lions feel like a team of destiny, but the Chiefs are a team of history as they bid to become the NFL’s first team to win three straight Super Bowls. Kansas City is already the team of the decade with three titles and four Super Bowl appearances in the past five years. That’s simply too much championship experience to overcome for a team making it’s long-awaited Super Bowl debut. The pick: Chiefs 30, Lions 26.
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Jeff Seidel
This magical season will end with a wild scene in New Orleans. Jared Goff will lift the Super Bowl 59 MVP award. There will be a twinge of awkwardness, as the Lions say goodbye to a couple of coordinators. And Taylor Swift will be singing the blues. The pick: Lions 35, Chiefs 31.
Shawn Windsor
If the Lions get to the Super Bowl despite all the losses on defense, then it’s their time, and they will make the play, and/or fate will keep the Ravens from making one of their own, even though the Ravens have the better team. Some years are just like that. The pick: Lions 31, Ravens 30.
Jared Ramsey
As they hoped, the Lions will end the season at the Superdome. The state of Michigan and Lions fans everywhere will be teetering with anticipation for two weeks for a matchup with the Ravens, who are also hungry for a Super Bowl with Lamar Jackson. The game will live up to the hype, but the Lions will come home still in search of their first Lombardi Trophy. The pick: Ravens 35, Lions 27.
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Rainer Sabin
Back in December, many saw the Lions’ Week 15 showdown with the Bills as a preview of the Super Bowl. Buffalo won that afternoon, 48-42, in a game that was not as close as the final score indicated. But this time it will be different. The Lions and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn capitalize on the extra week of preparation to devise a better game plan that limits the Bills’ maestro of a quarterback, Josh Allen. A late field goal by Jake Bates makes Detroit’s once-improbable dream become reality as the Lions hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history. The pick: Lions 31, Bills 28.
NFL playoff schedule 2025
- Wild-card round: Saturday-Monday.
- Divisional round: Jan. 18-19.
- Conference championships: Jan. 26.
- Super Bowl 59: Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
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Stay tuned for the best Lions coverage throughout the playoffs and all year long at freep.com/sports/lions.
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