A Year Without a Giant: Why Super Bowl LX Has No True Favourite
Exploring The NFL’s Most Wide‑Open Super Bowl Race
The league’s usual heavyweights have stumbled, and just eight teams remain. With no dominant team, oddsmakers and power rankings have contrasting favourites, underlining just how open the road to Superbowl 60 is.
Official Super Bowl LX logo. Image credits: Wikipedia (Super Bowl LX page)
So, why is this year’s Super Bowl race so unpredictable and entertaining? We take a look at how it has all unfolded...
The Upcoming Fixtures:
AFC
Denver Broncos (14-3) vs Buffalo Bills (12-5)
New England Patriots (14-3) vs Houston Texans (12-5)
NFC
Seattle Seahawks (14-3) vs San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
Chicago Bears (11-6) vs LA Rams (12-5)
Where Are Last Year’s NFL Giants?
You may be wondering where last year’s finalists are. Eleven months ago, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in the Super Bowl. In this year’s last eight, they are nowhere to be seen.
The Eagles succumbed to a 23-19 loss against the San Francisco 49ers, and the Chiefs, with three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, couldn’t make it out of the regular season.
The Chiefs’ poor season had been compounded by injuries. Mahomes and their backup quarterback both suffered critical injuries, and they never recovered, slumping to a 6-11 record.
With the Eagles and Chiefs watching from home, there is no obvious favourite in the field. Seeding says one thing, but power rankings and the oddsmakers say another.
Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks enter the final eight as the number one seeds on each side of the bracket, having achieved the best records in the NFC or AFC.
Seeding:
No.1 - Denver Broncos (AFC) and Seattle Seahawks (NFC)
No.2 - New England Patriots (AFC) and Chicago Bears (NFC)
No.5 - Houston Texans (AFC) and LA Rams (NFC)
No.6 - Buffalo Bills (AFC) and San Francisco 49ers (NFC)
With the middle contenders all knocked out, only the high and low seeds remain. One would assume the Broncos and Seahawks are clear favourites to make the Super Bowl, but seeding does not match perception.
NFL.com’s confidence rankings have the Seahawks, Rams, and Bills as their top three, with the Broncos all the way down in seventh.
TalkSPORT’s power rankings put the Patriots, Seahawks, and Rams as their top three, and Paddy Power’s outright odds have Seahawks, Rams, and Patriots, leaving the number one seed Broncos fifth in each.
The conflicting lists and a lack of a shared number one make Super Bowl LX feel so wide open. So, from 32 down to eight, let’s have a look at the remaining teams.
AFC: Four Imperfect Contenders
On the AFC side of the bracket, seeding suggests the Denver Broncos should reach the Super Bowl. But every team has its own script to reach the final. Nobody is untouchable.
Denver Broncos (14-3)
The number one seed, but never ranked highly by the confidence lists. Only feared for their strong defence and win record, they are a beatable side.
But with the best home record in the conference, and playing in their own backyard against the Buffalo Bills, all things would suggest a win, but it’s never easy.
New England Patriots (14-3)
At the top of TalkSPORT’s power rankings, are they the best team in the AFC?
With Drake Maye, their quarterback, in red-hot form, their passing attack is the best in the NFL. If he has an off day, their Super Bowl bid could be all over.
Houston Texans (12-5)
The kind of lower seed that can create an upset, however, their wins came in arguably favourable fixtures.
But in ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index, the Texans rank in third, and above their next opponents, the New England Patriots. It’s down to their defence to stop Drake Maye.
Buffalo Bills (12-5)
Third in NFL.com’s confidence list, but just the sixth seed as a wild card, it’s down to star quarterback Josh Allen to provide the magic. Are the Bills everyone’s second side?
On the road against the Denver Broncos, it’s so unpredictable.
NFC: Upsets Waiting to Happen
The NFC is even more unpredictable, with the number six seed, the San Francisco 49ers, having just knocked out the reigning champions.
Seattle Seahawks (14-3)
The number one seed and featuring as a top contender in the power rankings, and placing second in ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index.
But quarterback Sam Darnold, who started the season so well, has dropped off. Will he re-find his early-season form at this decisive stage?
LA Rams (12-5)
Across the three predictive lists, one theme is constant: the Rams are treated as a real threat, making the top three in all, and they are top of ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index. With the fifth-seeded side arguably the best team, it shows there is no dominant giant.
However, seeded at five, there is a chance their route to the final will only be played away from home.
Chicago Bears (11-6)
Still on a high from their fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Green Bay Packers in the previous round, the Bears will be hoping to create more chaos.
Ranked the lowest of the eight by TalkSPORT, but you can’t rule anyone out this year, and an upset against the LA Rams might just be in the script.
San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
Having eliminated the reigning champions on the road, it's the same again for their game against the number one seed, the Seattle Seahawks. However, their tight end, and one of the best in the NFL, George Kittle, has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.
But much like the Bears, the previous round will have given them considerable confidence to replicate a shock result. Don’t count them out.
A Super Bowl There For The Taking
No team is showing the dominance or the aura of past giants, which is what makes the Super Bowl race so entertaining and interesting. Top seeds have question marks, and lower seeds are proving to be real threats. No doubt more upsets are on the cards, and whoever wins Super Bowl LX will be crowned champions of one of the most wide-open, unpredictable Super Bowl races in modern NFL history.
