Bert Breer Prediction: New York Jets get to the AFC championship game

The 2023-24 NFL season is officially underway, and the HOT TAKES are flowing—including that of Super Bowl predictions.   

On Friday's Toucher & Rich radio program, Bert Breer, senior writer at the MMQB, gave his bold playoff forecast. Hint: The New York Jets are involved.

Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.

Fred: So, with the AFC, you've made your predictions? Let's let's talk about what you have in the AFC. 

Bert Breer: Yeah. The one thing I'd say before getting into that—I hate when people make predictions and then pick chalk throughout the playoffs. 

My curveball in the playoffs is that the Jets get to the AFC championship game. They have to figure out their offensive line. But, at the very least, the interior line is good. And with the two tackles, one is really accomplished, and the other was highly drafted. They at least have talent in those positions. 

The reason I picked them here is because, internally, their defense is better than their offense. The offense is going to be fine with Aaron Rodgers as the quarterback. And so, I have them upsetting the Chiefs in the divisional round. 

I actually feel a little better about it after last night. I have the Jets upsetting the Chiefs and then losing to the Bengals in the AFC championship. 

Rich: And in the NFC, who do you have? 

Bert Breer: The 49ers. I have the Niners going to the Super Bowl. 

Rich: And who do you have at quarterback when the Niners go to the Super Bowl? 

Bert Breer: Brock Purdy. The team is just so good around him. I don't think Purdy will morph into a Mahomes, Burrow, or Allen type of quarterback. 

Two things though. One, the team is so good around him, and two, they don't have to go through a gauntlet to get there the same way AFC teams have to. 

Another thing, I’ve probably said this in a million different places, but like, look at all the stuff Buffalo had to go through last year. They've had tough moments in their community. They also had snowstorms twice, getting displaced and living out of a hotel for a week of work. 

Then the Damar Hamlin thing happened. Also, Von Miller tore his ACL, and Josh Allen hurt his elbow. That was a lot to deal with. And that was a dream team last year. 

Ryan Beaton is a producer for 985thesportshub.com. You can follow Ryan at @ry_beaton on Twitter.

Follow @Toucherandrich on Twitter, @Toucherandrichofficial and @fredtoucher on Instagram to keep up with the show!

Week 1 of the NFL Season is finally here, let's take a look at the most anticipated matchups of the Week 1 slate.

This matchup may not jump out right away as a great matchup but in a slightly weak, week 1 slate an AFC North rivalry matchup with two teams that have high hopes just barely makes the list. Joe Burrow returns from injury and hopes to lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl this season. Deshaun Watson and the Browns are hoping for a bounce back season after Watson struggled last season. The Bengals biggest worries will be replacing their safeties and keeping Joe Burrow upright, while the Browns will hope Watson starts to look like the Houston Texans Deshaun Watson or his contract could be one of the worst in sports.

The defending NFC Champs open up their season here in New England against a hopeful Patriots team that's looking for any positives after a dysfunctional season last year. At first glance this might not seem like a great matchup but historically Super Bowl losers struggle in week 1 and the Patriots will be looking to get off to a fast start after struggling late in the season last year. Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, Devonta Smith and the high powered Eagles offense will look to test the Patriots stout defense early and Mac Jones may face his toughest front seven of the season in week one. Can Bill O'Brien's changes bring Mac Jones back to the player everyone expects him to be or will the Eagles defense be too tough of a test in week 1 for the new offense?

The Dolphins and Chargers are two AFC teams with their sights set on the Super Bowl, led by their high powered offenses and young quarterbacks. This matchup is bigger than week 1 though Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa were the 6th and 5th pick of the 2020 NFL draft leaving them to forever be linked. A few seasons into their careers it's still too early to say who will have the better career but with Herbert's ceiling and Tua's ability to stay healthy in question the Dolphins have to be having some second thoughts. The Chargers have to deal with the Chiefs in the AFC West and the Dolphins are in the newly loaded AFC East so a week 1 win will go a long way for either side. Patriots fans will be particularly interested in this one as they host the Dolphins in week 2.

An NFC North Packers-Bears game is always a highly anticipated matchup to most NFL fans but this years season opener comes with more questions than normal for these old school rivals. The Bears are on the rise with Justin Fields electric QB play but can he continue to progress in year 2? The Bears are used to relying on their defense but its struggled the last couple seasons can it get back to its roots and help them make a push into the wild card race? The Packers on the other hand are starting Jordan Love after Aaron Rodgers departed for New York, Love is still very much an unknown but knowing how Green Bay produces quarterbacks Bears fans will be nervous of any success on Sunday hoping it doesn't mean another 10 years of great quarterback play in Wisconsin.

Another great NFC rivalry matchup this time in the NFC East the always hopeful Dallas Cowboys open up against in New York against Daniel Jones' new contract and the Giants. Brian Daboll will look to continue to help Daniel Jones stay under control and limit his turnovers, while Dak Prescott and the Cowboys hope Tony Pollard and Ceedee Lamb can be the explosive playmakers they need. The Cowboys have one of the bright young stars in the league in Micah Parsons who is always must watch TV a great Sunday night game to end the first Sunday of football season.

The most highly anticipated week 1 matchup for me and I believe most of the country is the Monday night football matchup with the new look New York Jets led by Aaron Rodgers hosting the Super Bowl hopeful Buffalo Bills. These two teams could be the two teams with the most at stake this season after the Jets went all in on Aaron Rodgers, anything short of an AFC Championship game or a Super Bowl appearance would be considered a disappointment. The Bills on paper are one of the best teams in the league led by Josh Allen but are they starting to come apart because of the weight of expectations, Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen seemed to be at odds at times last season can they keep it together for a full season and make it to the Super Bowl?

Ryan Beaton is a producer for 985thesportshub.com. You can follow Ryan at @ry_beaton on Twitter.

Follow @Toucherandrich on Twitter, @Toucherandrichofficial and @fredtoucher on Instagram to keep up with the show!