Ndamukong Suh understands better than most what it takes to reach the NFL’s summit — and how demanding the road through a full season can be.
The former defensive tackle won the Lombardi Trophy alongside Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV in 2021.
Only two games into the 2026 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks have already underlined their case to become repeat Super Bowl champions, edging the New England Patriots 13-10 on Wednesday night.
A day later, the San Francisco 49ers delivered one of the early season’s biggest upsets in Melbourne, stunning Super Bowl favorites the Los Angeles Rams before a packed crowd of 100,000 fans in Australia.
As Week 1 gets underway in earnest, Suh — the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a five-time Pro Bowl pick — has shared his fearless predictions for the campaign ahead with The Daily Mail.
Ndamukong Suh has shared his predictions for the NFL’s new season, which began on Wednesday
Suh helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Chiefs to claim the Super Bowl title in 2021
The Los Angeles Rams are carrying enormous expectations…
‘If you’re looking for the obvious team that could underachieve, I’d say LA, because anything short of winning the Super Bowl will be viewed as a failure.
‘People look at them as a super team. That label comes with the territory, and it puts them under pressure from the start.’
My outside picks for the playoffs are…
‘I’d go with the Minnesota Vikings as a surprise team to make the playoffs in the NFC and then for the AFC, it’s a little harder, but let’s say the LA Chargers.
‘The Vikings definitely have a tough division but they have done it before with Sam Darnold, so I think Kyler Murray and Kevin O’Connell have an opportunity to do something very similar.
‘Murray’s no bum, for lack of better words. He has ability I think and more than enough capability to get a team to the playoffs. I just think him being put in the right position, and then also having a very strong defense.
‘If they can pick up where they left off last year, then they’re in a great position and Murray doesn’t have to do everything himself.
‘I feel like when he was in Arizona, it was only the offense. It wasn’t really a strong defense and complementary side of things.
The Los Angeles Rams are heavily fancied to win the Super Bowl at their own SoFi Stadium
Suh thinks the Minnesota Vikings can escape from the NFC North and grab a playoff berth
He also believes the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert are bound for the playoffs
‘As for the Chargers, I think Mike McDaniel is in a good situation, where he should be as an offensive coordinator. You’ve got an elite quarterback in Justin Herbert, who shows amazing promise and has an opportunity to take a team to the next level.
‘In addition, you got some strong defensive pieces and typically Jim Harbaugh has always had good defenses no matter what.
‘Herbert was successful last year in a lot of ways. It’s obviously not at the consistent level that you would want to see from a guy like that but I think they may be able to get there now.’
Which two teams will make the Super Bowl?
‘Denver for the AFC. I just have a feeling, especially if Bo Nix comes back at an elite level off of his injury, which I think he will.
‘They made it to the conference championship last year. So if they do that, I think they definitely win the conference championship and bring it in.
‘In the NFC, I’m going to go out on a limb. I think Caleb Williams is going to have a hell of a year and the Chicago Bears are going to get through the black and blue division and get to a Super Bowl.
‘The Bears went through a lot of great situations last year and that’s really the only way to learn when you’re playing at as high levels, being put in those situations and being able to find success in them or failure to where then you can combat the ability to do it the right way the next time you see it.
‘I think they had a lot of that last year, and now they’re going to have an opportunity to showcase the mistakes that they had and how they turn them into successes and the successes that they had, taking them to a new height, which would eliminate them being so many, such so many close games like there were last year.
Suh thinks Caleb Williams is in for a great season and could lead the Bears to the Super Bowl
Suh is backing the Denver Broncos to win the AFC if quarterback Bo Nix is fully healthy
‘They can start to pile onto teams because they definitely have the talent and then their defense, I think, will be very complimentary, but we’ll see.
‘Caleb Williams would have to have an MVP-type of season for the Bears to get to the Super Bowl. We know MVP is just the regular season but I think he’ll carry that in-season form into the playoffs.’
Who would lift the Lombardi Trophy at SoFi Stadium?
‘I think the Denver Broncos win. If Sean Payton gets to a Super Bowl, he’s going to find a way to win that.’
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