ORCHARD, PARK, NY — The big news is that the Mets beat the Nats last night, but you’re likely tired of talking and reading about it, so let’s change it up. Speaking of irrational optimism, August allows for every NFL fan to believe their team found the missing piece(s). It’s also a time every baseball contender thinks the MLB Trade Deadline solved their October’s needs. Reality is usually much crueler. Still, here is yours humbly to tell you who will be World Series champs and who will win the Vince Lombardi.
Super Bowl Champion
The Rams have the look of a team built specifically for February. They are football’s Dodgers and already possessed one of the league’s smartest offensive minds and a playoff-tested quarterback. Then they doubled down by adding much ballyhooed, elite defensive talent, turning an already dangerous roster into the preseason favorite across most sportsbooks.
What separates Los Angeles isn’t just star power, it’s balance. They can pressure quarterbacks without blitzing, run the football when games tighten up, and have enough explosive receivers to erase deficits quickly. That’s championship football.
BUT…
Josh Allen remains the most imposing quarterback alive, and the Bills may have done enough in a busy off-season to plug holes and add parts.
- DJ Moore was the big offensive addition. Buffalo traded a second-round pick to Chicago for Moore and a fifth. He’s a proven 1,100-yard receiver and gives Josh Allen a legitimate established weapon outside.
- Bradley Chubb came over on a three-year, $43.5 million deal. He had 8.5 sacks for Miami last season and gives Buffalo another proven pass rusher. He left the sunshine to freeze his footballs off. I like that.
- C.J. Gardner-Johnson was added at safety, while Buffalo also brought back Damar Hamlin and added CB Dee Alford.
- They rebuilt the defense through the draft. Buffalo took Clemson linebacker T.J. Parker at No. 35 and Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun shortly afterward, specifically targeting a defense transitioning to a new scheme.
- The biggest change may be coaching. Sean McDermott is out, Joe Brady is now head coach, and former Broncos assistant Jim Leonhard is the new defensive coordinator. Leonhard is installing a more aggressive 3-4 defense.
- They also re-signed center Connor McGovern for four years/$52 million, keeping an important piece of Allen’s protection intact.
Call me crazy but the coaching move could be the NFL version of what the Knicks did – fire a winning coach for coach that might win it all. Is Joe Brady a Mike Brown? We’ll see.
Prediction: Bills 30, Rams 24.
World Series Champion:
Yeah. It’s boring AND it kills me to pick this way. It’s also the safest bet. The Los Angeles Dodgers of Brooklyn, NY responded to the MLB Trade Deadline by landing ace Tarik Skubal, (WTF?!) giving them a rotation that borders on unfair. Pair elite starting pitching with a relentless lineup and organizational depth, and it’s easy to see why they’re overwhelming favorites to win a third straight title.
Championships are often won by surviving injuries, not avoiding them. No franchise does that better than Los Angeles. They simply keep producing quality players while everyone else scrambles for replacements.
The Yankees have enough [on paper] firepower to reach the Fall Classic despite injuries, and Milwaukee has become a legitimate National League threat. But over seven games, the Dodgers can throw ace after ace while still rolling out an MVP-caliber offense.
That’s an impossible combination to ignore.
Prediction: Dodgers defeat Yankees in six games.
Final Take
Could these picks be spectacularly wrong? Absolutely. The NFL’s single-elimination format invites chaos, and baseball’s postseason regularly humiliates the best regular-season team.
But if you’re asking me today who’s lifting the Lombardi Trophy and the Commissioner’s Trophy, I’m taking the Rams and Dodgers—not because they’re flashy, but because they’re the most complete teams entering the stretch run.
