QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Just for fun, I like to run down all of the possible Super Bowl match-ups and what the potential/probably story lines that could crop up. Some of these match-ups are more compelling than others. By my quick and dirty count these teams accounts for 17 of the first 47 Super Bowl winners. All of them have been to at least one Super Bowl and only the Seahawks don't have at least 1 possible Super Bowl rematch. 1/6 of the possible combos would pit two teams that have never won the big game (5 of the field of 12).
Doing this by combined seed order. Feel free to add your own commentary/thoughts/things that I forgot.
(1) Denver vs (1) Seattle. The game everyone has been anticipating for the better part of the year. Denver's offense vs. Seattle's defense. Peyton in Eli's home stadium. Former division rivals back in the old days.
(1) Denver vs (2) Carolina. The John Fox bowl. That's kinda all I got with this one. Cam vs Peyton is a new-school vs. old-school match-up. Kinda mirrors Denver-Seattle in that it's on offense vs defense situation.
(2) New England vs (1) Seattle. This battle features two former Jets head coaches at Giants Stadium which should be good drama (okay so they combined for 1 season and one day as head coaches). Two of the proclaimed geniuses of the league, however and it has the old power vs. new power dynamic. You'd have to figure the crowd would skew New England though perhaps the local populace would balance that equation out some.
(1) Denver vs (3) Philadelphia. The two highest rated QBs if I'm not mistaken, one with all the laurels and one who's been pretty under the radar when you really think about it. This is a rematch of the week 4 tilt that saw the Broncos just lay waste to the Eagles (which put the Eagles at 1-3 at the time). A team starving for a championship under a dynamic first year coach versus the overdog. Proximity to Philly makes you thing this would be a green-leaning crowd for sure.
(3) Cincinnati vs (1) Seattle. Two teams looking for that elusive first championship and certainly not the match-up the league envisioned when they put the Super Bowl in the Meadowlands. To my knowledge not exactly a lot of cross-over between these team. Very well could be the most smash-mouth game of the bunch. Two young quarterbacks trying to be the first in this new era to break through and win the Super Bowl.
(2) New England vs (2) Carolina. Super Bowl XXXVIII rematch. Yes it's been 10 years since boob-gate. Given the probable weather you'd have to think that won't be a problem this time around. One of the stranger Super Bowls - a jekyll and hide affair where all the scoring was in the even numbered quarters. The Panthers won in week 11 in Carolina.
(1) Denver vs (4) Green Bay. Super Bowl XXXII rematch (the game where Holmgren let the Broncos score). Sexy match-up of Peyton vs Rodgers that you'd expect would be a high scoring affair. Like most of these Super Bowl match-ups it's all about the QBs.
(4) Indianapolis vs (1) Seattle. Week 6 rematch (won by the Colts) and a battle between young guns and draft-mates Luck and Wilson. The Colts will have almost certainly gotten through two cold-weather road game to get here so that issue probably won't have the same play that it usually does.
(2) New England vs (3) Philadelphia. Super Bowl XXXIX rematch. Boston and Philly meet in the middle. Old genius vs new genius. Will Foles get sick in this one?
(3) Cincinnati vs (2) Carolina. A battle of top 3rd-year quarterbacks in Dalton vs Cam. Two teams trying to get their first Super Bowl title. Not exactly a ton of history otherwise here and like a Cincy-Seattle match-up you'd tend to think the defenses would probably hold sway.
(1) Denver vs (5) San Francisco. Super Bowl XXIV rematch (the one where the 49ers just slaughtered them - probably the worst Super Bowl of them all - also the one that angers this Bengals fan as it seems like everybody thinks my team played in this game, prompting me to offer wagers of $100 to the offender). Anyway another offense-defense match-up with contrasting styles. The 49ers will have conquered a lot to get to this point and of course their return to the Super Bowl would be a storyline.
(5) Kansas City vs (1) Seattle. One of the least expected Super Bowl match-ups at the start of the season. The Chiefs would be a compelling underdog looking for their first title in 44 years while the Seahawks of course will be seeking their first title at all. One city's long long title drought will end.
(2) New England vs (4) Green Bay. Super Bowl XXXI rematch (the Desmond Howard game). A lot different venue than their previous meeting in this game. Brady vs Rodgers is big time marquee stuff.
(4) Indianapolis vs (2) Carolina. Luck vs Cam in this battle of two franchises that already don't seem to have a lot between them.
(3) Cincinnati vs (3) Philadelphia. Two teams that are looking for that elusive first Super Bowl victory. As someone who saw these teams play last season this seems barely imaginable. Donovan McNabb will be happy to know that there can't be a tie in this one.
(1) Denver vs (6) New Orleans. Peyton vs Brees would be some big time stuff with a reprise of their duel 4 years ago. The Saints will have had 3 tough road wins by this point in very tough environments to get here.
(6) San Diego vs (1) Seattle. Um, in baseball these cities swapped owners I think. Former AFC West rivals once upon a time. The oddity of these two teams coming east to play a cold weather Super Bowl would be a highlight I guess.
(2) New England vs (5) San Francisco. Two storied franchises that somehow have never met in the big game. I don't see the storylines between them so much as the typical Coach/QB stuff. Late edit to add - media day would be
with these two head coaches.
(5) Kansas City vs (2) Carolina. Cam vs um Alex Smith? Two teams that certainly would be the surprise package in the big game, but I struggle to think of much between these particular teams.
(3) Cincinnati vs (4) Green Bay. Rematch of the weird and wild week 3 game that Cincinnati won after jumping out to 14-0 lead, falling behind 30-14 and then ultimately winning 34-30. Green Bay imploded in undisciplined fashion late. While the Bengals have had the Pack's number in recent meetings, history obviously is on Green Bay's side. A good dose of Paul Brown/Lombardi nostalgia will be there. And there's the battle of young running backs Gio Bernard and Eddie Lacy I suppose.
(4) Indianapolis vs (3) Philadelphia. The brightest young quarterback in the league versus the unlikely young hero in Foles. Not a lot of history between these two otherwise. A dome team that will have won tough road games against a cold-weather team that has done the same.
(2) New England vs (6) New Orleans. Brady vs Brees is an easy sell for the NFL for sure. The road the Saints will have traveled will take some of the effect away of their cold weather blues. Week 6 of course saw the Patriots win in dramatic fashion on a last second touchdown.
(6) San Diego vs (2) Carolina. The Ron Rivera bowl here as he faces the team that was his spring board to the NFL head-coaching ranks. Two warm weather teams playing in a cold-weather Super Bowl will be played up of course. Two teams that have never won the big game - perhaps seen as Cam's first chance and potentially Rivers' last to prove their leadership.
(3) Cincinnati vs (5) San Francisco. John Friggin' Taylor. Pete Johnson stuffed. 
Yes, this is the rematch of Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII and Bengals will be left to wonder why is it always the 49ers?!? Walsh/Paul Brown of course. The Bengals taking Dalton one pick before Kaepernick. Even Justin Smith facing his old team. Hopefully for the Bengals 3 will be the charm like it was for the Cowboys against the Steelers if this comes to pass.
(5) Kansas City vs (3) Philadelphia. The Andy Reid Bowl. Two old line cities looking for their first football glory in a long time. An unlikely meeting of teams that were at the top of last year's draft and a lot of stories of redemption from Reid to Alex Smith to Foles. Good stuff. Kansas City beat the Eagles in Week 3 on a Thursday night in the first Reid Bowl.
(4) Indianapolis vs (4) Green Bay. Luck vs Rodgers. The future looking to bump the present out of the way in terms of the league's premier quarterback. Two old-line franchises, though of course the Colts move dampens that part a bit.
(3) Cincinnati vs (6) New Orleans. Who Dey vs Who Dat. As someone who lives here and even as a Bengals fan this will probably annoying the heck out of even me by the time kickoff rolls around.
(6) San Diego vs (3) Philadelphia. Two teams looking for their first championship after years of frustration. Other than that, I'm not quite sure off hand what they have in common. Ah, there's this - these teams met in week 2 with the Chargers coming out on top. The "Rivers outguns Vick" headline seems so long ago.
(4) Indianapolis vs (5) San Francisco. Luck vs Kaerpernick is good stuff for sure. The Colts handled the 49ers with ease back in week 3 in what was seen as a statement game.
(5) Kansas City vs (4) Green Bay. Super Bowl I rematch, which is pretty cool. And folks may remember that way back when Alex Smith was chosen first overall by the 49ers while Rodgers slid down the draft board - over time the roles have reversed and Smith now would be the clear underdog.
(4) Indianapolis vs (6) New Orleans. Super Bowl XLIV rematch where Thomas Morestead became a hero to punters everywhere. This time, though, it's Luck leading the way for the Colts against Drew Brees. This would be seen as an improbable match given the cold weather/outdoor conditions these teams will have probably had to overcome. Two domes in the snow would be something.
(6) San Diego vs (4) Green Bay. The Benny in the Bronx Bowl (WFAN listeners will know what I mean) and that really might be the most that ties these two teams together. Rivers vs Rodgers would be a good battle of veteran QBs. And of course could the Chargers pull off a (probable) superfecta of cold weather wins against the team that calls the Frozen Tundra home?
(5) Kansas City vs (5) San Francisco. The Alex Smith Bowl/Joe Montana Testimonial Game. Smith and Kaepernick. Kaepernick and Smith. That's what you'd have here as a team with the first pick last season would be facing a team that had played for it all a year ago.
(5) Kansas City vs (6) New Orleans. Now we're into the real long-shot bids. And that pretty much would have to be the story, no? A good food battle, though.
(6) San Diego vs (5) San Francisco. Super Bowl XXIX rematch. The Chargers' only appearance in the big game and also the only time Gale Gilbert got to play in his 5 straight Super Bowl trips. West Coast comes east in the most improbable of ways.
(6) San Diego vs (6) New Orleans. The Drew Brees Bowl. Rivers vs Brees would make this most improbable Super Bowl compelling to watch, I think. The media would enjoy it, that's for sure.
So there you go. Feel free to add to the above
-QG
Doing this by combined seed order. Feel free to add your own commentary/thoughts/things that I forgot.
(1) Denver vs (1) Seattle. The game everyone has been anticipating for the better part of the year. Denver's offense vs. Seattle's defense. Peyton in Eli's home stadium. Former division rivals back in the old days.
(2) New England vs (1) Seattle. This battle features two former Jets head coaches at Giants Stadium which should be good drama (okay so they combined for 1 season and one day as head coaches). Two of the proclaimed geniuses of the league, however and it has the old power vs. new power dynamic. You'd have to figure the crowd would skew New England though perhaps the local populace would balance that equation out some.
(1) Denver vs (5) San Francisco. Super Bowl XXIV rematch (the one where the 49ers just slaughtered them - probably the worst Super Bowl of them all - also the one that angers this Bengals fan as it seems like everybody thinks my team played in this game, prompting me to offer wagers of $100 to the offender). Anyway another offense-defense match-up with contrasting styles. The 49ers will have conquered a lot to get to this point and of course their return to the Super Bowl would be a storyline.
(2) New England vs (5) San Francisco. Two storied franchises that somehow have never met in the big game. I don't see the storylines between them so much as the typical Coach/QB stuff. Late edit to add - media day would be
with these two head coaches. Yes, this is the rematch of Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII and Bengals will be left to wonder why is it always the 49ers?!? Walsh/Paul Brown of course. The Bengals taking Dalton one pick before Kaepernick. Even Justin Smith facing his old team. Hopefully for the Bengals 3 will be the charm like it was for the Cowboys against the Steelers if this comes to pass.So there you go. Feel free to add to the above
-QG
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Sherman is the most interesting personality out of all of these playoff teams.
