Dutch Lion’s 2024 Pro Football Spectacular

Dutch Lion’s 2024 Pro Football Spectacular

If you recently read our “2024 College Football Spectacular“, you know the story. We call each and every one of our football season previews the “Spectacular” as a tribute to Sports Illustrated Magazine’s 1980s series called the “College & Pro Football Spectacular”.

Last year, we called for the Buffalo Bills to win the Super Bowl. This year we’re picking somebody else. Keep reading to find out who we settled on. Before we get to our expert predictions, we’re going to provide our All-Pro team and our list of the greatest head coaches in NFL history.

And for those of you up North, or anyone who follows the Canadian League (CFL), we have our Grey Cup prediction also. (We know the season is already half over).

As always, I want to give credit to my sources. This year, we used the Lindy’s Pro Football 2024 Preview and Aaron Schatz’s FTN Football Almanac 2024. These guides are tremendous resources that I highly recommend.

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2024 NFL All-Pro 1st Team

OFFENSE

QB1 Josh Allen/Buffalo

QB2 Lamar Jackson/Baltimore

RB Christian McCaffrey/San Francisco

RB Derrick Henry/Baltimore

WR CeeDee Lamb/Dallas

WR Tyreek Hill/Miami

TE George Kittle/San Francisco

LT Trent Williams/San Francisco

LG Quenton Nelson/Indianapolis

C Creed Humphrey/Kansas City

RG Zack Martin/Dallas

RT Penei Sewell/Detroit

DEFENSE

DE Nick Bosa/San Francisco

DT Chris Jones/Kansas City

DT Quinnen Williams/N.Y. Jets

DE Micah Parsons/Dallas

EDGE/OLB T.J. Watt/Pittsburgh

ILB Roquan Smith/Baltimore

ILB Fred Warner/San Francisco

EDGE/OLB Khalil Mack/L.A. Chargers

CB Trevon Diggs/Dallas

CB Sauce Gardner/N.Y. Jets

SS Kyle Hamilton/Baltimore

FS Antoine Winfield/Tampa Bay

Special Teams

K Justin Tucker/Baltimore

P Bryan Anger/Dallas

KR Marvin Mims/Denver

PR Derius Davis/L.A. Chargers

Other Superlatives

Best current Head Coach: Andrew “Andy” Reid/Kansas City

2024 Head Coach of the Year: John Harbaugh/Baltimore

Best OC/Playcaller: Kyle Shanahan/San Francisco

Best DC: Vic Fangio/Philadelphia

2024 MVP: Josh Allen/Buffalo

2024 ROY: Brock Bowers/TE/Las Vegas

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The Greatest Coaches in NFL History

1. Vince Lombardi – Green Bay Packers (1959-’67), Washington Redskins (’69) – (96-34-6 regular season, 9-1 postseason, 5 NFL Championships including 2 Super Bowls)
2. George “Papa Bear” Halas – Chicago Bears (1920-’67, coached 40 years, with some random breaks in those 48 years) – (318-148-31 regular season, 6-3 postseason, 8 NFL Championships)
3. Bill Belichick – Cleveland Browns (1991-’95), New England Patriots (2000-’23) – (302-165 regular season, 31-13 postseason, 6 Super Bowl Championships)
4. Chuck Noll – Pittsburgh Steelers (1969-’91) – (193-148-1 regular season, 16-8 postseason, 4 Super Bowl Championships)
5. Don Shula – Baltimore Colts (1963-’69), Miami (1970-’95) – (328-156-6 regular season, 19-17 postseason, 2 Super Bowl Championships)
6. Paul Brown – Cleveland Browns (1946-’62), Cincinnati Bengals (1968-’75) – (213-104-9 regular season, 9-8 postseason, 3 NFL Championships)
7. Bill Walsh – San Francisco 49ers (1979-’88) – (92-59-1 regular season, 10-4 postseason, 3 Super Bowl Championships)
8. Andy Reid – Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2012), Kansas City Chiefs (2013-present) – (259-144-1 regular season, 26-16 postseason, 3 Super Bowl Championships)
9. Tom Landry – Dallas Cowboys (1960-’88) – (250-162-6 regular season, 20-16 postseason, 2 Super Bowl Championships)
10. Bill Parcells – N.Y. Giants (1983-’90), New England Patriots (1993-’96), N.Y. Jets (1997-’99), Dallas Cowboys (2003-’06) – (172-130-1 regular season, 11-8 postseason, 2 Super Bowl Championships)
    • Others receiving votes: Joe Gibbs/Washington, John Madden/Oakland, Tony Dungy/Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, Dick Vermeil/Philadelphia, St. Louis, Marv Levy/Buffalo, Bill Cowher/Pittsburgh

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2024 NFL Predicted Standings

AFC East

1. Buffalo Bills (12-5)
2. Miami Dolphins (11-6) * – Wild Card
3. New York Jets (10-7) * – Wild Card
4. New England Patriots (3-14)

AFC North

1. Baltimore Ravens (13-4)
2. Cincinnati Bengals (11-6) * – Wild Card
3. Cleveland Browns (9-8)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-10)

AFC South

1. Houston Texans (11-6)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)
3. Tennessee Titans (8-9)
4. Indianapolis Colts (7-10)

AFC West

1. Kansas City Chiefs (12-5)
2. Denver Broncos (9-8)
3. Los Angeles Chargers (8-9)
4. Las Vegas Raiders (6-11)

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AFC Playoff Seeds:

1. Baltimore – BYE
2. Buffalo
3. Kansas City
4. Houston
5. Miami
6. Cincinnati
7. N.Y. Jets

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NFC Wild Card 1st Round: #2 Buffalo over #7 N.Y. Jets

NFC Wild Card 1st Round: #6 Cincinnati over #3 Kansas City

NFC Wild Card 1st Round: #5 Miami over #4 Houston

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NFC Divisional Round: #1 Baltimore over #6 Cincinnati

NFC Divisional Round: #2 Buffalo over #5 Miami

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NFC Championship: #1 Baltimore over #2 Buffalo

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NFC East

1. Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (12-5) * – Wild Card
3. New York Giants (6-11)
4. Washington Commanders (5-12)

NFC North

1. Detroit Lions (12-5)
2. Chicago Bears (11-6) * – Wild Card
3. Green Bay Packers (10-7)
4. Minnesota Vikings (6-11)

NFC South

1. Atlanta Falcons (9-8)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)
3. New Orleans Saints (7-10)
4. Carolina Panthers (4-13)

NFC West

1. San Francisco 49ers (13-4)
2. Los Angeles Rams (10-7) * – Wild Card
3. Seattle (7-10)
4. Arizona Cardinals (6-11)

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NFC Playoff Seeds:

1. San Francisco – BYE
2. Dallas
3. Detroit
4. Atlanta
5. Philadelphia
6. Chicago
7. L.A. Rams

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NFC Wild Card 1st Round: #2 Dallas over #7 Green Bay

NFC Wild Card 1st Round: #3 Detroit over #6 Chicago

NFC Wild Card 1st Round: #5 Philadelphia over #4 Atlanta

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NFC Divisional Round: #1 San Francisco over #5 Philadelphia

NFC Divisional Round: #2 Dallas over #3 Detroit

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NFC Championship: #1 San Francisco over #2 Dallas

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Super Bowl LIX (59) – February 9, 2025 – Caesers Superdome – New Orleans, LA

San Francisco 49ers over Baltimore Ravens – Our Super Bowl 59 Champion is going to be the San Francisco 49ers. Would you believe the legendary 49ers franchise has not won the Title since the 1994 season!?! It’s hard to believe because they have had so many great years under coaches Jim Harbaugh (2011-’14) and now Kyle Shanahan (2017-present). However, they’ve lost their three most recent Super Bowls (2012, ’19, ’23) after winning all five in the 1980s and 1990s under Bill Walsh (1981, ’84, ’88) and George Seifert (’89, ’94).

We think their drought will end this year. These 49ers have it all. Their roster is the best in the NFL. Kyle Shanahan needs to get over the hump to silence the demons he has fought in blowing 4th quarter leads with not only San Francisco but also when he was the OC with the 2016 Atlanta Falcons who infamously blew the 28-3 lead to New England in Super Bowl LI (51). Those Falcons were the highest scoring team in the league that year and deserved that Championship, but Tom Brady and the miracle Patriots took it away from them.

The late Super Bowl leads continued to haunt Shanahan in both Super Bowl LIV (54), where they blew a 20-10 2nd half lead over K.C., and again last year in Super Bowl LVIII (58), where they blew another ten point lead and fell 25-22 in OT.

Enough about the past. This year’s 49ers will dominate. This time they won’t blow the lead. QB Brock Purdy, RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Deebo Samuel, WR Brandon Aiyuk, WR Jauan Jennings, and TE George Kittle will make sure that they keep scoring points to put away the Ravens. Oh yeah, this is a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII (47), ironically held in the New Orleans Superdome, which is where this year’s Championship will be held. This time San Francisco will get revenge, and hopefully the lights won’t go out.

I thought we weren’t going to mention the past….. ooops.

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2024 CFL Preview & Predictions

The 2024 Canadian Football League season is about half way towards the finish line, but we’re going to make final season predictions nonetheless. Back in 2021, we correctly picked the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win the 108th Grey Cup (not to mention we correctly pegged University of Georgia and the Los Angeles Rams to win their respective championships. What a banner year!) In 2022, we picked the Calgary Stampeders over the Toronto Argonauts in the Grey Cup. Instead, Toronto beat Winnipeg 24-23 in Grey Cup 109.

With just five more weeks before the CFL Playoffs, anything could happen, as the standings, especially in the West, are tight. Meanwhile in the East, the Montreal Alouettes are in firm control with a 10-2-1 record. QB Cody Fajardo is on top of the CFL currently in both completion % and QB rating.

East Division

1. Montreal Alouettes
2. Ottawa Redblacks
3. Toronto Argonauts
4. Hamilton Tiger-Cats

West Division

1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
2. B.C. Lions
3. Edmonton Eskimos/Elks
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders
5. Calgary Stampeders

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111th Grey Cup – November 17, 2024 – B.C. Place – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Winnipeg Blue Bombers over Montreal Allouettes – This year we’re going back to Winnipeg. After a slow start this season, starting 0-4 and then 2-6 in their first four and eight games respectively, the Blue Bombers are hot! They’ve won five in a row to take the lead in the West Division with a 7-6 record. For whatever reason, QB Zach Collaros has had a rough start this year. We’re counting on him to get in back together and lead the Blue Bombers all the way to Grey Cup 111. Despite their offensive troubles, Winnipeg still has the best defense in the CFL, in my opinion. They’ve only given up 21.1 ppg, which leads the league.

On the other hand, Winnipeg has the worst scoring offense in the CFL, averaging just 22.7 ppg. Montreal is at 3rd with 27.0 ppg, while allowing 22.2 ppg which in 2nd, behind only Winnipeg.

Therefore, on paper the Alouettes are the favorite. We have a feeling about the Blue Bombers though. It all starts with Head Coach Mike O’Shea. He has already won two Cups (2019, ’21) as their head coach after an illustrious career as a player, in which he won three Grey Cups (1996, ’97, and ’04) over his 16 year career. We think “Osh” will lead Winnipeg all the way again.

Go Bombers!

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