Who could win Super Bowl LVI?

The NFL regular season is now over, and fourteen teams have made it through to the playoffs to begin the postseason journey of trying to become Super Bowl champions. There are seven teams from each the AFC and NFC, who are in contention for Super Bowl LVI, the four winners of each division, the best of which will get a bye in the first round, and then three wild cards each too for the best remaining teams in the conference.

However, how teams played during the regular season no longer matters, because now, regular season form goes out of the window, and every team starts afresh. Single games determine each franchise's fate as to whether they drop out of the championship race, or progress to the final for a chance to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy. A team could have a perfect season, and then it could all be undone by one mistake on the field.

But who are the teams who still have a chance of winning, and what odds have people given them to go all the way this season? Well, let’s take a little look at each team and their chances of winning, from the worst to the best.

14 & 13 - Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers

The lowest ranked sides in the competition, the Eagles and Steelers are teams that nobody is giving a chance to win, with Super Bowl betting odds of 99/1. They both only managed to make the playoffs through clinching a wild card place, and have a tough time ahead in their wild card games.

The Eagles ended the regular season with nine wins and eight losses to their name. One of those losses was to last season’s champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in October who they faced in their wild card game. However, there were only six points in it then, and so it was a close tie that shows the Eagles can compete. And if they pull it off, beating a team that boasts Tom Brady at quarterback could give them the confidence to push on.

With their record of nine wins, seven losses and a single tie, their record actually beats the Philadelphia Eagles, just. Making them technically the second worst ranked side in this list. And last season’s runners up, the Kansas City Chiefs, are their next opposition. But maybe some people aren’t giving the Steelers a fair shout. Afterall, the second worst side in the NFL this season, the Detroit Lions, managed a win on the final day against another Super Bowl favorite, the Green Bay Packers. So anything can happen.

12 - Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders actually had a good season overall, finishing with a record of ten wins and seven losses. However, how they managed to get ten wins has surprised many, and it wasn’t until the final day of the season that they actually secured a playoff place, when they took the Los Angeles Chargers to overtime, and managed to snatch the game 35-32.

That ability to defy the odds, for which they’ve been given a 74/1 chance of winning the Super Bowl, may give them a boost of confidence that could see them do much better than people expect. And they’ve arguably one of the easier games in the wild card round, where they face off against the Cincinnati Bengals, who may have got to the playoffs by winning their division, but did so matching the Raiders record for the season, so it could be a closely fought contest.

11 - Arizona Cardinals

The odds really begin to slash at this point, with the Cardinals at 31/1 to win the Super Bowl, suggesting they’ve more than twice the chance of the Raiders of going all the way. They came from the only division to see three teams progress to the playoffs, having clinched a wild card spot for finishing with a record of 11 wins and six losses. But they are stuck behind the San Francisco 49ers in these rankings, despite finishing above them this season.

10 - New England Patriots

Filling Tom Brady’s boots was never going to be an easy task, but the rookie quarterback Mac Jones has done a decent job this season. He’s come in, and except when he’s been panicked on occasion when under pressure, he’s performed incredibly well, and is one of the main reasons the Patriots even made the playoffs. He’s grown in confidence as the season has gone on, and that has only enhanced the chances of the Patriots doing something special this season who are 27/1 to lift a first title since Brady left for the Buccaneers a couple seasons back.

9 - San Francisco 49ers

Tipped by many to be the best underdog bet at odds of 25/1 the 49ers are ranked ninth in our list. They’re a good well-rounded team, who don’t have the big name star players some other franchises do, but they have experienced players who have been here before. And in the wild card game, they face off against the Dallas Cowboys, who have struggled this season on numerous occasions when they face an opponent with a strong defense like the 49ers. So we can understand why many people are backing the 49ers.

8 - Cincinnati Bengals

At odds of 21/1 the Bengals are eighth in our list of potential Super Bowl winners. They did win the AFC North, however, with a record that was equal to that of the Raiders. They do have a psychological edge though, having beaten the Raiders earlier in the season 32-13 on the road and looking to face them again in the wild card game. But we feel this time round it could be a lot closer, and it may well be a much tighter contest that we think the Raiders could actually win.

7 & 6 - Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams

Both of these teams have been given an equal chance at odds of 27/2, both topping their respective divisions, and finishing on identical records of 12 wins and five losses. The Rams arguably have the easier tie where they face the Cardinals, with the Cowboys as mentioned, facing our favorite outsider, the 49ers. So personally, if we were to pick one of these two to have the better chance of going all the way, we’d say the Rams could edge it.

5 - Buffalo Bills

We’re now reaching the top five in our prospective teams to win the Super Bowl, and it’s around this point we start getting to a place where star quarterbacks are going to impact each teams’ chances. For the Bills, they have Josh Allen pulling the strings, who had some solid runs this season which ended with 11 wins and six losses. However, some of those losses shouldn’t have happened. There were times that the Bills threw games away, or underperformed massively. So despite being 43/5, we don’t see them doing anything this season.

4 - Tennessee Titans

For a team who got a bye for being the AFC’s top seed, you’d potentially expect them to be offered better odds than 17/2 that leaves them at fourth in our list. They finished the season with 12 wins and five losses, and were so consistent this season, we think many people are actually underestimating how far they can go this season. They may not be a better team on paper, but from what they’ve displayed, if you wanted a more outside bet to cover without going to the 49ers, the Titans would be a safer alternative for betting outside the overall favorite.

3 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Any team that has Tom Brady calling plays is going to be well within a chance of winning a Super Bowl, and we almost feel that odds of 8/1 is underselling them. He pulled it out the bag last year, helping the Bucs to a victory over the Chiefs, and there is no reason he can’t repeat those theatrics with what is now a more experienced side after another full season together. Could he potentially extend his record of the number of Super Bowl titles he has? If anyone can, Brady can.

2 - Kansas City Chiefs

Last year’s runners up will be wanting to correct past mistakes that saw them lose their chance to go back-to-back Super Bowl winners. Patrick Mahomes is no doubt one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and Eric Bieniemy is one hell of an offensive coordinator who should be a head coach in his own tight. But the Bucs defense last year just didn’t let him get his game going. He’s back on form this year though with the Chiefs 5/1, but if theys do come up against a tough defense again, they could well struggle. But they are the favorite with bettors this year, with more wagers being placed on the Chiefs than any other team.

1 - Green Bay Packers

And finally, the favorite to lift the Super Bowl at odds of 19/5 are the Green Bay Packers. They were the top seed for the NFC, so they got a bye into the next round of the playoffs, obviously giving them a better chance of going all the way and avoiding one of the other favorites early on. But, that said, they did lose on the last day to the Detroit Lions.

Whether they were relaxed knowing they had secured their place and didn’t really care too much about the result, who knows. But with Aaron Rodgers throwing balls around and unlocking defenses, it’s understandable why so many people favor them to win the Super Bowl this year. They’ve a better record than anyone else, and half of their losses came when they rested Rodgers and played Jordan Love for at least half the game instead. If they refrain from doing that in the playoffs, they very much could go on to win the whole thing.

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