4 unlikely Super Bowl 54 matchups I’d love to see
Originally published on FanSided.com on 1/2/2020. View it here.
Here are four unlikely Super Bowl matchups that would make for an interesting and exciting final game to the 2019 postseason.
Now that the playoff participants are set and Wild Card Weekend soon to kick off, everyone will be giving their predictions about who will win the Super Bowl and how they’ll get there. Most will involve the Ravens capping off their magical season versus the 49ers or Saints, or the Chiefs knocking off the Ravens. Some are less likely, like the Patriots finally figuring it out and somehow beating the Titans, Chiefs, and Ravens on the way to another Super Bowl appearance.
For this, we’ll take a look at four different Super Bowl matchups, ranging from “kind of unlikely” to “almost definitely not going to happen” that would be fun to see.
Let’s begin with a couple matchups that are more likely than the others to happen.
Both of these teams are the second seed in their respective conference and have a bye week. So why is this an unlikely matchup?
For starters, the Packers seem to be too inconsistent. Against playoff opponents, the Packers are 3-2, which isn’t bad until you consider the three wins came against Minnesota twice and a Matt Moore led Kansas City team.
Green Bay has not played well in many of their games, even though they managed to win 13 of them. Winning games no matter how ugly is still a sign of a good team, but there are reasons for worry. The Packers will likely have to beat both the Saints and 49ers to make the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs have an easier road. They will host either the Patriots or the winner of Bills at Texans. From there they will likely play Baltimore on the road. It’s not impossible that the former MVP and a solid defense can lead this team to a Super Bowl.
The reason this would be a fun game to watch is both for historical and entertainment reasons. In this 100th year of the NFL, to have the first two Super Bowl participants meeting again would lead to plenty of great storylines.
Also, having former MVP quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers duel it out could lead to a classic game. Both quarterbacks have been known for their pinpoint downfield attacks and ability to extend plays. Although they haven’t been their best selves this season, for both to make the Super Bowl we would likely see them playing at the top of their games this postseason.
For everything else this game would bring, having two of the most talented quarterbacks of their generations go blow for blow on the biggest stage would be a sight to see.
This one is also only “kind of unlikely.” The Patriots typically play their best football in the playoffs and the Saints have been playing dominant football recently.
Only 12 teams since 1990 have played on Wild Card Weekend and also made it to a Super Bowl. And from what I could find, no Super Bowl has ever been played by two teams who both played Wild Card Weekend. If any two Wild Card participants could make the Super Bowl, it’s likely these two.
This is the Super Bowl many have been wanting for years. This is the Super Bowl we deserved last year. Two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time going head to head in the biggest game in sports for the first time would be an amazing story.
Drew Brees is still playing like his vintage self with his incredible precision, timing, and decision making, albeit with a bit more difficulty getting the ball downfield. The added help of two great running backs and the best wide receiver in football make Brees dangerous against any team.
Tom Brady is a bit of a different story. He may be having one of the worst seasons of his career. A lot of that can be blamed on a lack of receiving talent and poor play by the offense as a whole. No doubt about it though, Brady still has to ability to make incredible, game-changing throws, even if they happen less often than we’re used to.
Both quarterbacks have great defenses, but they both will have to play at their best to make it through their respective conferences.
Even if it wasn’t the best quarterback showing, the weight of these two incredible and record-breaking quarterbacks playing in the Super Bowl near the ends of their careers would hang over this game.
The next two are a lot more unlikely than the first two.
In both the NFC and AFC, three division winners seem to be just a step above the last. Both Houston and Philly are fourth seeds in their conferences, and both will likely not be favored in any game after Wild Card Weekend.
The Texans host the Bills and the Eagles host the Seahawks this Weekend. Neither of those games are easy wins for the home team, and the road from there would only get harder.
For both teams to make it very far, they would have to be a lot more productive on offense than they have been recently. Houston faces a strong secondary in the Bills, and would likely have to keep up with offenses like the Ravens, Chiefs, and Titans in the following weeks. The Eagles face an injury-ravaged Seahawks team, but would then likely be faced with the 49ers, Packers, or Saints in the following weeks.
Both Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz can and would have to carry their teams to victory, as neither of them have a defense that can be fully relied on. Both quarterbacks have had their share games this season where they made the difference, but both have also shown they can be a liability on a bad day.
To see both of these teams in the Super Bowl would mean both signal-callers stringing together three incredible performances before a showdown in Miami. That’s definitely not impossible and would be fun to see.
This matchup was picked as the most unlikely Super Bowl we’d like to see for a couple reasons.
On paper, this doesn’t look like the most exciting game. But look a little deeper and there are plenty of storylines to see.
First of all is the history of each of these teams in the Super Bowl. Both the Bills and Vikings are 0-4 in Super Bowls, the Vikings losing all of theirs in the 1970s and the Bills losing four in a row in the early 1990s. Only three other teams have played in multiple Super Bowls and lost them all, Carolina, Atlanta, and Cincinnati. All three are only 0-2 in Super Bowls though.
Regardless of what happened in this game, one of these franchises would finally get their coveted Super Bowl victory. The other would be left in heartbreak with a 0-5 record, tying the most losses in a Super Bowl (New England and Denver, the other teams with five losses, have a combined nine wins to go with their losses).
For the Vikings to make it, it would mean Kirk Cousins silencing many of his doubters by leading his team, along with star running back Dalvin Cook, to three straight road wins against the Saints, 49ers, and finally either the Packers, Seahawks, or Eagles.
For the Bills, the defense would likely provide a lot more help than the Vikings defense would for them. Second-year quarterback Josh Allen would either be carried to a Super Bowl, or more likely, he would prove himself to be a talented young passer who can limit mistakes and do what needs to be done to help his team win.
Never before has two wild card teams made the Super Bowl. If both of these teams managed to face each other in February, it would certainly make history.