The 2017 New England Patriots are good enough to put all of us NFL contrarians in our places.

Sporting News, just like every other sports publication on earth, is picking the Patriots to win Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis on Sunday, February 4, 2018. To pick against them to repeat would make us certifiably insane.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell does not want to hear that his unpredictable, exciting football league that's trying to rebound from declining TV ratings enters the season with a foregone conclusion. Even the Golden State Warriors are jealous of how much of a stone-cold, lead pipe lock the Patriots are as reigning champions in 2017.

MORE: NFL predictions for 2017

The best NFL coach ever and the best NFL quarterback ever just finished another season at the top of their games.

Seriously: How can anybody compete with that, especially after the Patriots got even better?

Really, the only mystery about another Patriots championship run is whether both Brady and Belichick will be back for more fun in 2018. Until either retires, there's no end, and there's no hope for the rest of the NFL.

Sporting News predicts the Seahawks will come out of the NFC and earn their second chance in four seasons to try to spoil things for the league's nastiest dynasty. This time, though, it won't come down to not giving Marshawn Lynch the ball at the 1-yard line — and not just because, you know, he doesn't play for them anymore.

In addition to snatching victory from Seattle, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick just did the whole dramatic comeback thing against Atlanta. The Patriots also have lost a pair of heartbreakers to the Giants, and they've won each of their other three titles by a field goal.

The one thing missing from New England's winning Super Bowl resume is a blowout — domination from start to finish to match what they've done every year during both the regular season and playoffs.

2017 NFL predictions:

AFC East | West | North | South

NFC East | West | North | South

We predict Super Bowl LII playing out as such: Brady will throw early touchdown passes to Brandin Cooks, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Then Mike Gillislee will get to pounding and scoring in the second half. Then, as Malcolm Butler keeps shutting down one side of the field, Stephon Gilmore will provide the capping pick six on a forced Russell Wilson pass to somebody not named Doug Baldwin.

(Oh yeah, and Cooks, Gillislee and Gilmore weren't even Patriots in 2016.)

So please, try to plot out ways the Patriots won't win Super Bowl LII, by the probable final score of 41-21. Good luck with that.

Sorry, Goodell. You kind of asked for this once, and you'll get it again.