FRISCO, Texas — Mel Kiper Jr. picked the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl LXI. The pick came at the end of a 10-prediction ESPN column on the 2027 NFL draft published Friday, paired with his choice of Oregon to beat Notre Dame for the College Football Playoff title.
Dallas went 7-9-1 last season and finished third in the NFC East. Cincinnati went 6-11 and finished third in the AFC North.
“The Cincinnati Bengals will win the Super Bowl,” Kiper wrote. “I love my Ravens, but this feels like a big Bengals season to me. Joe Burrow is healthy with two elite receivers at his disposal, and Cincinnati put some resources into the defense this offseason. I see the Bengals beating the Cowboys in Los Angeles next February.”
Super Bowl LXI is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., and will air on ESPN and ABC. SoFi Stadium hosted Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13, 2022, when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Bengals 23-20. The Rams entered this season as the betting favorite to win the title, according to NFL.com.
Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 Season And Draft Capital
The Cowboys scored 471 points and allowed 511 in 2025. Philadelphia won the division at 11-6, and Washington finished 5-12 and the New York Giants 4-13.
Dallas does not hold its own first-round pick in the 2027 draft. That selection belongs to the New York Jets from the Quinnen Williams trade, and the Cowboys hold Green Bay’s 2027 first-round pick from the Micah Parsons trade. The Jets hold three first-round picks in 2027.
Kiper’s column also predicted at least five first-round quarterbacks in 2027 and named Oregon’s Dante Moore and Texas’ Arch Manning as the two candidates for the No. 1 pick.
Week 1 At New York Giants
The Cowboys open the season at the Giants on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. It is the 13th time the Cowboys have opened a season against the Giants and the first since 2023, and Dallas has won 11 of the previous 12 openers between the teams.
The teams split last season’s meetings. Dallas won 40-37 in overtime in Week 2 at AT&T Stadium, and the Giants won 34-17 in the season finale at MetLife Stadium. Sunday is John Harbaugh’s first home game as Giants coach.
The NFL season opens Wednesday, Sept. 9, when the defending champion Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl LX rematch.
