SPORTS TALK: Houston Texans 2025 Super Bowl champs?

By Greg Buchanan

As week #1 came and went in the NFL this past weekend, it was time to get the old Bucky crystal ball out and pick who could be the big winners this season.

Maybe this is the year the Detroit Lions finally win the Super Bowl.

Or perhaps the Houston Texans?

Or how about the Cleveland Browns, who last won a division crown in 1989?

Part of the NFL’s excitement and appeal is its competitive balance, the notion that so many teams at the beginning of the season feel the Lombardi Trophy is within reach.

In no particular order, here are some teams with a solid opportunity to win it all this season:

Hard to pick against the team with Taylor Swift’s Boyfriend, the Kansas City Chiefs. They are at the doorstep of history, with a chance to win an unprecedented three Super Bowls in a row. With Andy Reid as coach and Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, anything is possible. The team has gotten this far without an outstanding receiving corps, and the Chiefs made changes to that with the addition of Marquise Brown. But as Mahomes goes, goes the Chiefs; any falter and the hopes of 3 in a row may not happen.

The Super Bowl is returning to New Orleans for the first time since the 2012-13 season, when the Baltimore Ravens won the Harbaugh Bowl pitting brothers John (Baltimore) and Jim (San Francisco). The Ravens haven’t been back to that marquee game since, despite having the NFL’s best record in two of the last five seasons. They came close last season, hosting the AFC Championship and getting typically outstanding play from two-time most-valuable player Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Adding four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry is a big deal.

Once 5-0 in Super Bowls, the San Francisco 49ers have lost three in 12 years. They’re dominant in the NFC, though — ask the Rams — and have the league’s reigning rushing champion in the ultra-versatile Christian McCaffrey. Even though standout receiver Brandon Aiyuk missed valuable practice time before his contract situation was resolved, San Francisco is loaded with sure-handed targets for Brock Purdy.

A season after collecting their first postseason victory since 1991, the Detroit  Lions are a vogue Super Bowl pick, and for good reason. Dan Campbell is an ideal blue-collar coach for the team that wears Honolulu blue — that’s what the shade is called — and quarterback Jared Goff looks perfectly at home. The Lions have a slew of offensive stars in receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and second-year tight end Sam LaPorta.

This is my dark horse, and I feel they will be your 2025 Super Bowl champs, The Houston Texans. Not only have the Texans never been to a Super Bowl, but also they never have appeared in a conference championship game. Still, hope springs eternal for the franchise, thanks to the play last season of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud (a budding Superstar). He set an NFL record by beginning his career with 191 passes without an interception. The Texans had rookies of the year on offence (Stroud) and defence (Will Anderson Jr.) and a coach-of-the-year finalist in DeMeco Ryans. This team is for real and now has receiver Stefon Diggs, who was acquired in a trade with Buffalo. Key to meeting the lofty expectations: Can Stroud avoid a sophomore slump?