NFL 2023: Playoff Bracket and Super Bowl 58 Prediction

The road to Super Bowl 58 goes through Baltimore in the AFC, San Francisco in the NFC, and ends in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 11, putting a cap on the 2023-24 NFL season.

While the NFL playoffs are no March Madness, the postseason still follows a bracket-style competition. The only problem with projecting the NFL playoff bracket is the re-seeding that happens in the Divisional Round, rather than the classic brackets where you always know where winning will place you in the next round.

Regardless, as I do every year, I’ll share how I think the 2023-24 NFL playoffs will pan out. Will the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers make it to Super Bowl 58? Or have the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles been saving something and gearing up for a Super Bowl 57 rematch? Or maybe the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, or Detroit Lions could finally break through after building up their teams for years.

Read on for my 2023-24 NFL Playoff Bracket and Super Bowl 58 Prediction, and if you’d like to debate or discuss any predictions, join the conversation with @SakSports on Twitter.

Wildcard Weekend Picks

Check out my NFL 2023: Wildcard Weekend Picks to see which six teams I think emerge victorious and why. The rest of the bracket will be based on these predictions.

Divisional Round

#5 Cleveland Browns at #1 Baltimore Ravens: The Joe Flacco story would get even crazier with a win over the team he won a Super Bowl with, the Baltimore Ravens. But the buck stops here for the Cleveland Browns, who are unable to outscore Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Ravens win 24-17

#6 Los Angeles Rams at #1 San Francsico 49ers: If the Los Angeles Rams advance to the Divisional Round, they will officially have completed a 180 from their early season woes and have their eyes set on another potential Super Bowl title. But with the way this San Francisco 49ers team has been playing? Matthew Stafford and the Rams would have to play a perfect game to overcome San Francisco. 49ers win 30-23

#4 Kansas City Chiefs at #2 Buffalo Bills: The seemingly annual Kansas City Chiefs–Buffalo Bills matchup in January is always a fun one. Just a few weeks ago, I probably would have picked Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (even in a hostile environment,) but at this moment in time, the Bills are on an absolute tear and playing better football on both sides of the ball. Bills win 24-22

#5 Philadelphia Eagles at #2 Dallas Cowboys: The Dallas Cowboys smacked the Philadelphia Eagles a few weeks ago in what was essentially the NFC East title game, but the playoffs are a different beast. Jalen Hurts pushed his Eagles squad to the brink of a Super Bowl victory last February, while Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are notorious for falling short on the league’s biggest stage. Eagles win 33-17

Conference Championships

AFC: #2 Buffalo Bills at #1 Baltimore Ravens: The Josh Allen-era Buffalo Bills absolutely deserve at least a Super Bowl appearance on their resume… but so do soon-to-be two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore put the pieces together this season on both offense and defense, and after earning the right to host the AFC Championship Game with an elite 13-4 record, Baltimore advances to Super Bowl 58. Ravens win 27-19

NFC: #5 Philadelphia Eagles at #1 San Franciso 49ers: In a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game, the Philadelphia Eagles are clear underdogs: stumbling to the finish in the regular season, handling a weak Buccaneers squad, and being on the winning side of the Cowboys annual postseason collapse. The San Franciso 49ers on the other hand, have hardly lost any games with their squad in tact: and it’s in tact. Brock Purdy earns his first trip to the Super Bowl. 49ers win 30-17

Super Bowl 58: Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers

Predicting the #1 seeds from each conference to both advance to Super Bowl 58 may be boring, but it makes the most sense: all the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have to do is win two home games to advance to the NFL title game. While neither team is perfect, neither have a clear weakness either, and the gap between these teams and the next-best team in their respective conferences is honestly sizeable.

The 49ers have the complete package: an elite offense with weapons like Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel, a smashmouth, stout defense, and an efficient quarterback growing better each game in Brock Purdy.

Baltimore has a different definition of a complete package: starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. So far, the stars have finally aligned, allowing Jackson to actually cash in on his elite regular season record with a postseason appearance (injuries have ended Jackson’s last two seasons.) The Ravens doubled down on Jackson in the offseason, sprucing up the offense with veteran Odell Beckham Jr. and rookie Zay Flowers joining the receiving corps.

San Franciso is a dominant team, manhandling inferior competition and postseason-bound foes alike. But they’re not infallible: see their three-game losing streak earlier this season.

Put this NFL postseason in a simulator, and the 49ers are probably coming out on top most often. But in this reality, it just feels like Lamar Jackson and the Ravens year.

Ravens win 27-24, Lamar Jackson wins Super Bowl MVP