Pete Prisco predicts NFL season: Atlanta Falcons vs. Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl

CBS Sports Columnist Pete Prisco has long professed his love for the Cincinnati Bengals since they established a young nucleus of A.J. Green, Andy Dalton, Geno Atkins, and many other young and talented players on the verge of making Cincinnati a true Super Bowl contender. He also like the Atlanta Falcons combination of blue-chippers like Julio Jones and Sean Witherspoon to go along with a veteran group of winners like Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez.

Now, he believes these young Bengals are ready to pounce and lay claim to the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history:

"Last week when I was in Atlanta, I said the Falcons-Bengals, who spent the week working together, could end up playing in New York in the Super Bowl. I told both coaches that. Both kind of brushed it aside, talking about how it’s a long season.And it is. A lot can happen. Injuries will play a role. Emerging young stars, like the young passers of a year ago, will pop up. And what we think is the norm won’t be.That’s why playing out the season in July and August is so fun to do.A Bengals-Falcons Super Bowl might seem crazy now, but it might be spot on come February."

Ironically, both teams squared off in a preseason game last week, which saw the Bengals backups dominate en route to a 34-10 victory, but the score was tied at 3-all by the time all of the key starters had departed the game.