The 2022 NFL season is rapidly heading towards a thrilling conclusion, with each team having only one more game before the regular season ends and the lottery of the playoffs begins. Fourteen teams progress to the playoffs, and 11 of those spaces are already taken. Of those teams that are guaranteed playoff action, which of them is most likely to become Super Bowl LVII champions on February 12?
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Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills are currently the clear favorites for Super Bowl LVII glory. The Buffalo Bills have an unwanted NFL record because they have reached the Super Bowl on four occasions and returned home as the losing side all four times. Indeed, their four Super Bowl losses came in consecutive years between 1990-1993. The Bills narrowly missed out on a fifth Super Bowl appearance in 2020 when they lost to the eventual champions, Kansas City Chiefs, in the AFC Championship game. The Chiefs were again the Bills’ nemesis in 2021, beating them in the Divisional Playoffs to halt the Bills’ run.
The Bills have been superb throughout the regular season and have been clear moneyline favorites against every team they have faced. If you need moneyline betting explained, it is basically a simple bet on who will win a particular game. There are no point spreads or anything like that, just who will win and who will lose. As mentioned, the Bills have been favorites to win every game they have played this season because they are that good.
Every successful NFL franchise throughout history has had a talented quarterback pulling the strings for the team. Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills is a legitimate star that has thrown for more than 4,000 yards for the third straight season. Allen is also a threat with the ball when he decides to run, and he recently became the first quarterback in history to score at least six rushing touchdowns in five consecutive seasons.
Kansas City Chiefs
If you are talking about elite-level quarterbacks, you must include Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes will one day be considered one of the greatest-ever quarterbacks, but the 27-year-old is still in the relevant infancy of his professional career. Mahomes guided the Chiefs to Super Bowl LIV glory, earning the MVP award in the process. He signed a massive $503 million contract after his Super Bowl victory, the second-largest known contract in sporting history at the time, before helping the Chiefs reach a second consecutive Super Bowl, which they lost.
The Kansas City Chiefs have won all but one of their last ten games, meaning they go into the playoffs in hot form. Form counts for much in the NFL postseason, so the Chiefs could again be the team to beat. Whoever reaches the Super Bowl from the AFC will become Super Bowl champions.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017, and football experts believe this current Eagles team is better than the one that lifted the famous Vince Lombardi trophy six years ago. The Eagles won their opening eight games, slipped up against the Washington Commanders, but then won their subsequent five encounters. Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ incredible form, which has made him a candidate for the offensive MVP award, is one primary reason for the Eagles’ upturn in fortunes. However, he has sat out the last two games through injury, and the Eagles have lost both those fixtures.
Hurts strained his throwing shoulder in the third quarter of the Eagles’ 25-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on December 18. He managed to struggle through and complete the game but should probably have left the field because the injury is more severe than first thought. Hurts’ backup, Gardner Minshew, has hardly pulled up trees while standing in for the injured Hurts. The Eagles need Hurts back on the field if they are to be serious Super Bowl contenders.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have five Super Bowl titles under their belt, although they have finished on the losing side the last twice they reached that stage, most recently in 2019. The 49ers struggled with consistency in the early part of the season and went into November having won four and lost four of their eight games. However, the 49ers have since rallied and are on the back of a nine-game winning streak, making them one of the teams to beat going into the playoffs.
The 49ers have a rock-solid defense, and while the offensive players make a name for themselves in big games, it is a great defense that wins those games. This team knows how to win in the playoffs, having reached at least the NFC Championship game (one game before the Super Bowl) in each of the five seasons where they navigated their way to the playoffs.
