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NFL Is Back: 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Broncos & Super Bowl Picks with Mark Willard

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Who has the best shot at making the Super Bowl this NFL season?

This week on Here’s What We Know, longtime Bay Area sports radio host Mark Willard joins Gary Scott Thomas to talk 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Broncos, and the teams he thinks could make a serious run this season.

Mark explains why he has the Rams as his favorite in the NFC, where he sees the 49ers in the NFC West, and why he’s finally willing to take the Chargers seriously. We get into Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, quarterback play, injuries, the changing world of college football, NIL, the transfer portal, and what it all means for the game we grew up watching. And yes, they make their Super Bowl predictions.

It is a fun, opinionated conversation full of Bay Area sports talk, some good-natured arguing, and a reminder that being a fan is supposed to be fun in the first place.

In This Episode:

  • Why local radio is not dying, even when parts of the industry are struggling
  • What it is like to be a fan of a genuinely hated team
  • Growing up a Saints fan in South Alabama with no cable television
  • Why criticism online is often a sign you are doing something right
  • Football as the last true team sport left in modern athletics
  • The NIL era and what it means for the future of college football
  • NFC West breakdown: Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals
  • Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, and the quarterbacks who deserve more credit
  • Baker Mayfield's contract standoff with the Buccaneers
  • Why the Patriots may take a step back this season
  • The case for the Chargers as a real AFC contender
  • Final Super Bowl predictions from both Gary and Mark

 

This episode is sponsored by: 

Bison Junk Removal 

Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter (Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!) 

License #: 679261 


Bio:

Mark Willard is the host of the San Francisco-Bay Area leading drive-time show “Willard & Dibs” on 95.7 The Game and is a nationally syndicated weekend host on FOX Sports Radio. He previously hosted college football Saturdays for Pac-12 Networks and a daily show on ESPNLA with Lakers great Mychal Thompson, as well as the weekly show The Forum. He is the proud father of three teens.


LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marktwillard/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtwillard/


Tags: NFL predictions 2026, NFL season predictions, 49ers predictions, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, LA Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, LA Chargers, Denver Broncos, NFC West predictions, Super Bowl predictions, Mark Willard, Mark Willard NFL, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, NFL quarterbacks, college football, sports radio, football podcast, Gary Scott Thomas 

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