How’s this for a 2024 season prediction: Nate Davis of USA Today thinks the Green Bay Packers will lose Super Bowl 59 to Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in New Orleans.
Davis predicted the Packers will go 13-4, win the NFC North and secure the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. In the postseason, Davis has the Packers beating the Detroit Lions in the divisional round and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game, while Rodgers and the Jets rolled through the AFC playoffs — beating the Cincinanti Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs — to set up a potentially incredible Super Bowl.
Jordan Love, in his second year as starter in the post-Rodgers era, vs. Aaron Rodgers, the four-time MVP and future Hall of Famer coming back from missing almost all of last year to play his former team in the big game. The potential storylines would be endless in a Packers-Jets Super Bowl.
It’s clear Davis believes the Packers are Super Bowl worthy after adding even more talent to a young, ascending roster.
Here is Davis’ breakdown of the Packers entering 2024:
What a dazzling statement QB Jordan Love made in his first year as the post-Rodgers starter, driving what was the league’s youngest roster in 2023 to the verge of an appearance in the NFC championship game. This talent-teeming nucleus should continue to ascend, especially if it enjoys the expected boosts from the new set of rookies and free agent additions like RB Josh Jacobs and S Xavier McKinney. But the real delta here could occur courtesy of new DC Jeff Hafley, who’s shifting the scheme and charged with shifting the fortunes of a bunch that’s underachieved despite being armed with seven first-round picks. Fresh rings in Titletown? Could be.
Of course, predictions are just predictions. Last year, Davis predicted the Packers would go 7-10 and miss the postseason. He also predicted the Philadelphia Eagles would beat the New York Jets in the Super Bowl.
Who knows what will happen in 2024. The Packers are a trendy Super Bowl pick for many prognosticators entering the year, but a lot still has to go right for a young team with a quarterback entering only his second season as a starter. All the pieces appear to be in place, but as the Packers know so well, getting to the Super Bowl is an increasingly difficult task, no matter who is at quarterback.
