ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. just dropped his championship predictions for the 2026 football season, and while he picked an expected favorite in college, his Super Bowl LXI pick might surprise some folks. Kiper wrote Friday that he expects the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Dallas Cowboys and finally grab the franchise’s first Super Bowl title this winter. Yeah, you read that right.
Joe Burrow’s Time To Shine
Kiper’s feeling a big season coming for the Bengals, and honestly, who can blame him? The draft analyst thinks Joe Burrow is healthy, rocking with two elite receivers at his disposal. Plus, Cincinnati apparently poured some serious resources into their defense this offseason, adding players like Dexter Lawrence and Bryan Cook. Burrow himself has been pretty vocal about this, repeatedly saying he thinks the Bengals are absolutely ready to compete for a Super Bowl. Back on August 20, he famously said, “I’m tired of saying ‘Next year, next year, next year.’ This is it. Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road.” That’s the kind of fire you want from your franchise QB! You know he means business, and Kiper is clearly buying into it.
Defense Wins Championships, Right?
On the other side of Kiper’s Super Bowl LXI prediction, he’s got the Dallas Cowboys. They’ve also been busy trying to improve their roster, bringing in Caleb Downs, Cobie Durant, and Von Miller this offseason. Both the Bengals and the Cowboys are going to need their defenses to step up in a huge way during the 2025 season if they want to make Kiper’s prediction come true and actually reach SoFi Stadium next February. It’s always about that defensive line when it comes down to championship contention, isn’t it?
College Football’s Pick and What’s Next
Before we even get to the pros, Kiper also gave his College Football Playoff title game pick, eyeing Oregon to defeat Notre Dame. His reasoning for the Ducks is that Evan Stewart, who missed the entire 2025 season with a knee injury, is back and ready to catch passes from quarterback Dante Moore. So there’s a strong belief that Stewart’s return makes all the difference for Oregon.
These predictions are out there now, setting the stage for what could be an absolutely wild 2026 football season. With Burrow’s bold statements and Kiper’s strong picks, everyone will be watching to see if these teams can deliver on the hype. It is time to see if the Bengals and Cowboys truly made the right moves, and if Oregon can live up to the championship expectation.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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