Super Bowl 2016 Predictions: Who NFL Experts Picked In Week 1 To Win The Championship

The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos are set to face off in the 2016 Super Bowl, and it’s not a matchup that anyone saw coming at the start of the season. Only a few experts picked Peyton Manning and the Broncos to make another Super Bowl run, while the Panthers were off everyone’s radar.

Carolina came out of nowhere to go 15-1 and breeze their way through two playoff games. The Panthers made the postseason last year, but they went 7-8-1 in a historically bad division. Newton easily had the best season of his career, totaling 10 more touchdowns than ever before and throwing just 10 interceptions.

Denver’s trip to the Super Bowl is much less surprising, considering they’ve made the playoffs in five straight years. But with Manning in the twilight of his career, few experts predicted the Broncos would get past teams like the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers.

After meeting in last year’s Super Bowl, the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks were two of the preseason favorites to reach Super Bowl 50. The Green Bay Packers started the year with the best Super Bowl odds, and they might have been the No. 1 pick of experts. Teams like the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles, who didn’t even make the playoffs, were also given a chance by some to win a championship.

Below are 2016 Super Bowl predictions that were made by different NFL experts before Week 1.

John Breech (CBS Sports): Broncos over Eagles

Will Brinson (CBS Sports): Eagles over Colts

Jared Dubin (CBS Sports): Packers over Patriots

Pat Kirwan (CBS Sports): Colts over Packers

Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports): Packers over Patriots

Pete Prisco (CBS Sports): Packers over Patriots

Sean Wagner-McGough (CBS Sports): Patriots over Eagles

Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports): Packers over Patriots

Eric Allen (ESPN): Seahawks over Dolphins

Cris Carter (ESPN): Packers over Patriots

John Clayton (ESPN): Broncos over Seahawks