DeMeco Ryans against Dan Campbell. C.J. Stroud against Aidan Hutchinson. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams against Derek Stingley. Those are some of the storylines Adam Schefter envisions for a Houston Texans-Detroit Lions matchup in Super Bowl LIX.
“There always will be surprising storylines,” said Schefter on his podcast Monday. “Who would’ve thought last year that the Houston Texans would go from where they were to where you could make an argument this year that the Texans could represent the AFC in the Super Bowl? Would that surprise anybody?”
Ryans certainly wasn’t surprised by his team last year. The Texans swept the Associated Press Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards (Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson, respectively), captured their division in thrilling fashion, dispatched Cleveland in the playoffs and advanced to the Divisional Round.
Campbell and his Lions were even closer to the Super Bowl last season but couldn’t hold a 24-7 halftime advantage in the NFC Championship Game. Could they go farther?
“Detroit is capable of holding its first Super Bowl parade in downtown,” Schefter said.
But don’t book those trips to New Orleans just yet, Texans and Lions fans.
“So many things could happen,” Schefter warned. “And then it kicks off, and it all goes out the window, which is going to happen on Thursday night.”
Houston opens defense of its AFC South crown at Indianapolis Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Later, on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), Detroit gets a rematch of its Divisional playoff win over former quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Over his 35 years covering the league, Schefter knows arguably more about the league than anyone, but he doesn’t know everything.
“I always feel like the first week, everybody thinks they have an idea of the way the season’s going to play out. They have Super Bowl favorites, MVP favorites, and then all of a sudden, lo and behold, the season kicks off and very little goes the way that people think.
“Inevitably, some team struggles, some team shines, some player gets hurt, it’s what makes the NFL as popular as it is. It never goes according to script. The league has its own script that it follows, and very rarely is it very predictable and something that people are expecting.”