19 of 21

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers (5 votes)

We’ve established that the New England Patriots are the overwhelming favorites to win the AFC this year. There are good teams in places like Oakland, Pittsburgh and even Tennessee, but it will be a massive upset if Brady and the Tomettes aren’t playing in Minneapolis the first weekend in February.

In the NFC, things aren’t so clear-cut, as four potential challengers for the Pats were tabbed by our panel.

Bleacher Report NFL Analyst Brent Sobleski went outside the box. Way outside the box—picking the Minnesota Vikings to be the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

"The New England Patriots are obvious favorites to come out of the AFC," Sobleski wrote. "The same can't be said about the Minnesota Vikings. However, the Vikings own one of the NFL's best defenses. Sam Bradford set an NFL record last season with a 71.6 completion percentage, and his surrounding cast is much better this season. The offensive line has been upgraded, plus the team added both Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray to the backfield."

Hey, at least you can’t accuse him of going chalk.

The other picks were a bit more predictable, with last year’s top seed in the NFC (the Dallas Cowboys) getting two votes and the NFC’s best team over the last five years (the Seattle Seahawks) getting one.

The leading vote-getter was the matchup many are hoping for. The television networks certainly are.

After all, the Patriots and the Packers would be a programmer’s dream. Two of the NFL’s most successful and popular franchises. And two of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game in Brady and Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers came up just short last year with a flawed team that was exposed by the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.

An improved defense will put them over the top in 2017.

Others receiving votes: Patriots vs. Dallas Cowboys (2 votes), Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks (1 vote), Patriots vs. Minnesota Vikings (1 vote)