The race to Super Bowl LVI is down to just four teams. Interestingly, three of the five top teams projected to win the Super Bowl at the start of this year have already been eliminated—Tampa Bay, Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills.
The Packers, which had +350 odds to win the Lombardi trophy earlier this year, fell to the 49ers in the Divisional Round. The Buccaneers lost to the Rams in the same round.
On the other hand, the Bills are out of SB contention thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs. Which team has the best chances of winning Super Bowl LVI? Find what you need to know here.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have been one of the top teams positioned to win Super Bowl LVI since the season began. After eliminating the Bills in the Division Round, only one team stands in the way of Kansas’ dream to return to the Super Bowl—the Bengals.
The Bengals have been the dark horse of this year’s Super Bowl race. Until recently, no bookmaker shortlisted Cincinnati as a contender for the Lombardi trophy.
Well, the Bengals are one game away from heading to SoFi stadium for SB LVI. Can they eliminate Kansas? Cincinnati downed Kansas in their last NFL game. But this is the playoffs, and anything can happen.
It’s also crucial to note the game that won Cincinnati the AFC North title was close. The Bengals started on a high note, slowed down and nearly lost in the end. In other words, Kansas still has a reason to believe it could win this year’s SB.
Los Angeles Rams
After overpowering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Division Round, there’s no doubt LA has earned the respect of a lot of sports fans. Many betting companies had declared the SB as a race between Kansas and Tampa Bay.
But the Rams proved everyone wrong. To be clear, Los Angeles fought hard for this victory, leading 20-3 by half-time. The Buccaneers fought back by winning the final two quarters, but it couldn’t help complete a comeback.
To progress to the Super Bowl, the Rams will need to beat the San Francisco 49ers. It’s not a walk in the park. The 49ers eliminated the Green Bay Packers—the team every bookmaker thought would win the Super Bowl in the last couple of months.
If the Rams are to head to SOFi stadium for the Super Bowl, it will be through good defense. San Francisco has shown multiple times it can defend. And that’s how it overpowered Green Bay.
San Francisco 49ers
As mentioned, the 49ershold the bragging rights from eliminating Green Bay Packers from the playoffs in a defensive clinic. In the wild card, San Francisco had their way against the Dallas Cowboys.
Earlier on, they defeated the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. Can they do it again to head on to the Super Bowl? Time will tell. The two teams were evenly matched the last time they met.
As such, the race for who makes it to the Super Bowl will largely depend on which team wants it more. It will also depend on how the 49ers start the game. If they lag and allow the Rams to
take a huge lead, they can as well forget the Super Bowl.
Cincinnati Bengals
It seems the Cincinnati team hasn't earned everyone’s respect just yet. Even after downing the Titan Raiders, the Bengals have the least odds of winning Super Bowl LVI.
This could change if they can defeat the Kansas City Chiefs. But is that even possible? As we mentioned, they did it at the start of this year to win the AFC North title.
Unfortunately, Kansas didn’t seem too bothered about clinching the title. The Chiefs started incredibly well, scoring 28 points to 17 at the half. Then they relaxed and the Bengals scored 17 more points to win the game.
It’s unlikely Kansas will make the same mistake during the Conference Championships. Of course, nothing is guaranteed in sports. Cincinnati didn’t come this far by accident.
They worked hard to qualify for the Conference Championships. They might not eliminate Kansas. But they will be motivated to do it now that they’ve already defeated them once this year.
Patrick Mahomes Favorite to win SB MVP
Historically, quarterbacks are the players most likely to win the Super Bowl MVP. This year isn’t different. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs has the best odds to win this year’s SB MVP.
Matthew Stafford, the Rams quarterback, comes second while Jimmy Garoppolo is ranked third. Surprisingly, bookies believe Cooper Kupp—receiver for the Rams—has better odds for lifting the title than Bengals’ QB, Joe Burrow.
Tyreek Hill ranks further down, tying with Travis Kelce and Deebo Samuel at 20 to 1. Next up is Aaron Donald and finally George Kittle.
Reasons the Chiefs Could Win SB LVI
There’s a reason nearly everyone believes 2022 is the year Kansas wins a Super Bowl. They’ve been to the Conference championships three times. This will be the fourth time.
The Chiefs have been averaging 31.0 points since 2018, winning the highest number of games in that four-year run. They also won Super Bowl LIV, so they’ve done it already.
Out of the four teams still in playoffs contention, Mahomes is the most consistent QB. Then there’s Andy Reid, the manager responsible for Kansas City’s outstanding performance in the last few years.
As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise many experts are tipping him to nab the SB MVP title. With his experience in these high-stakes games and hunger to win his first Super Bowl, you can expect Patrick to perform at his best.
The last reason Kansas could win this year’s Super Bowl has something to do with the quality of its team. This isn’t the makeshift team Brady and company defeated last year.
It’s a healthier, more improved team. It includes new signings like Orlando Brown, Creed Humphrey and Lucas Niang. Add these newcomers with veterans like Mike Remmers and Kyle Long and it will be difficult to take away the SB from the Chiefs.
