2024-25 NFL Predictions & Super Bowl Picks
NFL Season Predictions - 2025 NFL Playoffs & Super Bowl 59 Odds & Picks to Win & Previews
At this time of year, every sports fan knows what they’ll be doing on Sundays: watching the NFL. The American Football season captivates fans like no other sport. Ahead of the season, all 32 teams have hopes of reaching Super Bowl 59, albeit with some teams more likely to get there than others.
Meanwhile, Stake Sportsbook is providing an ideal platform for fans who are interested in placing bets on the upcoming NFL season . However, before the season gets underway, we figured we’d put together a guideline with everything you might need to know about the 2024 season and what teams have a chance to reach Super Bowl 59 in February.
NFL & Super Bowl History
The history of the NFL dates back to 1920 when the league was called the American Professional Football Association. In 1960, the American Football League (AFL) was started as a rival league. A few years later, the two teams started the process of merging, which included a game between the champions of each league called the Super Bowl.
The first Super Bowl was played in January 1967 between the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL and the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. In 1970, the merger was complete with the NFL now being made up of two separate conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The tradition of the AFC winner and the NFC winner facing off in the Super Bowl continues to this day.
2024-25 NFL Season Predictions
The 2024-25 season could be a historic one for the NFL. For starters, the Chiefs are attempting to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. Last season ended with Kansas City beating the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Field in Super Bowl 58. For the second time in five years, the 49ers and Chiefs played in the Super Bowl with San Francisco holding a second-half lead. However, the Chiefs overcame the deficit and ended up winning in overtime.
The regular seasonwas also highly anticipated after a record number of rookie quarterbacks were selected in this year’s draft. Top-overall pick Caleb Williams is one of six quarterbacks selected within the first 12 picks. Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix were also expected to play as rookies while Michael Penix Jr. sat behind Kirk Cousins, who left the Vikings for the Falcons during the offseason. There has also been plenty of eyes on Bryce Young, last year’s first-overall pick, as well as Justin Fields, who is trying to jumpstart his career with the Steelers.
2025 Playoff Picks & Predictions
Picking NFL playoff teams often looks easy before the season, but once the regular season begins, anything can happen. In the AFC, the Chiefs always looked like a safe bet, as did the Texans after the emergence of C.J. Stroud last season. The same could also have been said of the Ravens, assuming Lamar Jackson could stay healthy. And, at the time of writing on December 31 2024, all three had done so.
Meanwhile, the AFC East looked a little complicated. Conventional wisdom would have said the Bills were favorites behind Josh Allen after winning the division in five straight seasons. However, many believed the tandem of Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill could allow the Dolphins to unseat them. As of December 31, that dream looks to be over for the Dolphins as they look set to miss out, while the Bills have already clinched their playoff spot.
A playoff team in January of 2024, the Steelers have again confirmed their participation for 2025. Continuity is often key for success in the playoffs and Mike Tomlin’s men will take confidence from being one of the first names to book a place.
The Chargers have also landed their spot after Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL. The final side to confirm their participation was the Broncos. Few would have put money on them before the start of the season but a combination of quarterback Bo Nix’s passing yards and running back Javonte Williams’ rushing yards saw them through.
In the NFC, the 49ers remained the team to beat after reaching the NFC Championship Game in four of the last five years. However, there was some uncertainty with the 49ers because of a new defensive coordinator and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk requesting a trade, which unsettled the camp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan had his work cut out for him and they fell well short, meaning they won’t compete in 2025.
The Lions were a team to watch closely after reaching the NFC Championship Game last year. Of course, the Lions did have competition inside their own division from the Packers, who finished strong in 2023, but both confirmed their places before the final game.
In the NFC East, there were high hopes for the Dallas Cowboys but that was largely misplaced as they missed out on a seat at the 2025 table. The Eagles, who were hoping to put their 2023 collapse behind them and get back to the Super Bowl after losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57, also managed to clinch a spot. The Commanders and Rams have also gained a playoff spot. The final side to pick up a playoff spot was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who left it to the final week to do so.
Super Bowl 59 Picks
When it comes to Super Bowl 59, the Chiefs remain many people’s safest choice. As their division leaders and with a first-round bye, they are straight in as a number one pick. The Bills, who may actually be slight favorites after a strong season, the Ravens, and others have proven to be worthy competitors inside the AFC in past years. But there is still a gap between the Chiefs and everyone else, especially given Kansas City’s propensity for winning playoff games in a variety of ways, even in games that they’ve trailed.
If the Broncos overcome the Bills in the Wild Card round, they will do themselves no harm in making it to the AFC Conference Championship game. They're largely seen as rank outsiders to be claimed Super Bowl champions, but that could be remedied with an impressive win against a team largely seen as one of the best-of-the-rest contenders. In fact, only the Ravens are more highly favored of the sides without a bye, and they will come up against weak opposition in the Steelers in the Wild Card round.
Of course, the NFC is a little more competitive because the 49ers would historically have been a strong pick but have now missed out entirely. However, given the way the Lions have improved year by year under Dan Campbell, this could finally be the year that Detroit reaches the Super Bowl for the first time and they have been installed as the firm favorites on the NFC side of things following confirmation of their first-round bye in the final regular season game week. Their emphatic 31-9 win over the Vikings has many tipping them as outright top picks.
Of the rest of the NFC, only the Eagles are seen as standing any real chance of winning. It would be the first win in eight years but after finishing the regular season 12-1 in their last 13, they come into the postseason in red-hot form and could provide some stiff competition for the Lions. Expect those two to face off in the Conference Championship game.
Awards
Outside of team performance, individual awards are always an intriguing part of the NFL season. Lamar Jackson is the reigning MVP, an award that goes almost exclusively to quarterbacks. That means he has plenty of competition from Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, and others.
Offensive Player of the Year was won last year by Christian McCaffrey, who remains the best non-quarterback in football. However, given the NFL’s pass-happy nature, several wide receivers figure to be in contention for the award this season, most notably Tyreek Hill, who nearly beat out McCaffrey last year, and Justin Jefferson, who was on a record-setting pace last year before getting hurt.
Finally, Defensive Player of the Year is one of the most intriguing awards each year. There is a handful of elite pass-rushers in the league, including last year’s winner Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, and T.J. Watt. The competition to be the Defensive Player of the Year is intense with several notable candidates usually emerging.
NFL Betting Tips, Odds & Preview
There are several factors that bettors should always consider before betting on an NFL game. The most obvious advice is to bet with your head and not your heart. Fans who bet exclusively on their favourite team don’t tend to do well because they can’t be objective when making picks.
Aside from that, the location of the game is the first consideration. While home teams tend to do better, the amount of travel by the visiting team can be important. This is particularly important with West Coast teams that play early games on the East Coast. Teams in this situation are more likely to struggle and look sluggish.
The injury report is also critical when making American football picks. If a key player is hurt, it can have a meaningful impact on the outcome of a game. Also, the NFL betting odds at an online sportsbook like Stake can often change during the week based on injury news or if a majority of the betting favors one team over another. It’s best to monitor changes because it can show you where other bettors are leaning before placing your bet.
Head on over to our blog for the latest picks, predictions and betting guides on the NFL and general sportsbook guides . You can even check out our predictions from the last NFL season and Super Bowl 58 !
Types of Bets & How to Bet on NFL
Another good NFL betting strategy is to diversify your bets. The good news is that there are several types of bets for NFL games.
Moneyline - A moneyline bet is an outright bet on the winner of a particular game.
Total - Rather than betting on the winner and loser, a total bet is based solely on the total points scored between both teams.
Handicap - A handicap bet is also called betting against the spread . This helps to even the betting odds for each team, meaning that the favored team must win by a certain amount of points. Otherwise, the underdog will win the bet, even if they lose the game.
Game Props - There are many potential prop bets during an NFL game, including specific score predictions and bets on certain events, such as if the game will go to overtime.
Player Props - Player props relate to the stats a specific player collects during a game. Most of these props relate to the yardage of a running back or receiver, as well as the passing yardage or touchdown passes by a quarterback.
Live Bets - Even after an NFL game begins, it’s possible to continue placing live bets on the game, either on the final score or specific events within the game.
Parlay - With a parlay , bettors can combine multiple bets into one larger bet, which increases the payout but also makes it hard to cash because every bet in a parlay must win or else the entire parlay loses.
Live Stream NFL Online
Bettors at Stake Sportsbook can watch a live stream of any NFL game on the Stake platform if they place a bet on that game. This doesn’t require any additional payment or an added subscription. Rather, if you bet on a game, you’ll be able to live stream that game on the Stake website or app. This makes it easy to track an ongoing bet or place additional live bets on that game.
Bet on American Football with Best Odds at Stake Sportsbook
Stake Sportsbook has proven itself over many years to be a great place to bet on American Football. It offers a wide range of betting markets and competitive odds, as well as ongoing promotions and bonus bets. This includes a special VIP club and various VIP levels based on how active bettors are on the site. At the same time, Stake cares about educating its users with Stake Smart , which can help bettors understand how to practice responsible gambling habits .
