Today’s Texans-Chargers game is the first of the NFL postseason. Here are all the possible matchups for the last postseason game, in order from worst to best.
The playoff fields are set, and with seven teams from each conference advancing, that means there are 49 possible combinations for Super Bowl LIX. Some are atrocious and unthinkable, some are transcendent and we should only get so lucky. At the moment, all are equally possible — theoretically, at least. We’ve ranked them based on watchability, narrative, stars and general gut feelings. Here we go:
49. Packers vs. Chargers: Look, even the worst Super Bowl matchup is still pretty good. It’s the last NFL football we’ll see until August. And you can always watch for the commercials.
48. Rams vs. Texans: C.J. Stroud has regressed a bit to the mean this season, but you know that he’s going to take a team to the Super Bowl eventually. Texans fans just have to hope it’s while he’s still in a Houston uniform.
47. Buccaneers vs. Broncos: No team played more playoff teams in the regular season than Tampa Bay. The Bucs went 1-3 against the AFC’s best, which is either a sign that they’re in trouble or that they got tough. Denver beat Tampa Bay 26-7 in Week 3.
46. Commanders vs. Steelers: Pittsburgh won this game in the regular season, 28-27 in Week 10. That started a three-game losing streak that nearly submarined Washington’s season. Washington has gotten better since then. Pittsburgh has not.
45. Buccaneers vs. Chargers: Tampa Bay demolished the Chargers in Week 15, 40-17, the fourth of four consecutive victories that helped the Bucs overtake the Falcons for the NFC South lead. What did Jim Harbaugh learn from that loss? We’ll find out.
44. Rams vs. Broncos: Bo Nix in the Super Bowl is something I don’t think the world is quite prepared to handle. But get ready, it’s coming.
43. Buccaneers vs. Texans: Baker Mayfield is tougher than three-dollar steak and hangs around just as long. He might just be the Comeback Player of the Decade. Fifty years from now, he’ll still be playing, and still be getting written off and disregarded up until he throws himself into a 400-pound lineman while going for a first down.
42. Commanders vs. Broncos: Back in Super Bowl XXII, Washington annihilated Denver, 42-10. They probably should’ve saved a few of those points for use this year.
41. Rams vs. Chargers: An interesting thought experiment: What if the Rams and Chargers both made it to the conference championships and hosted? Yes, it would require an array of upsets, given that they’re seeded 4th and 5th, respectively, but it could happen. So what then? Do they play both games on the same field, on the same day? Do the visiting teams have to share a locker room? Would that not be the greatest day of live football you could possibly see?
40. Packers vs. Steelers: Given these two teams’ illustrious history, this ought to be a lot more of a marquee matchup than it is, in their current states. Sure, they’re both in the playoffs, but that’s pretty much the bare minimum we expect out of these two franchises. This would be a rematch of Super Bowl XLV, a.k.a. Aaron Rodgers’ only Super Bowl.
39. Lions vs. Texans: A rematch of a Week 10 game, where Houston had a 23-7 lead at halftime … and then never scored again, losing 26-23. If that happened in the Super Bowl, Houstonians would tear down the Astrodome by hand.
38. Buccaneers vs. Steelers: It would be just like Russell Wilson to prove all the haters wrong by winning another Super Bowl a decade after his first … and then proving all the haters right by turning the postgame celebration into a choreographed combination Taco Bell/crypto commercial.
37. Rams vs. Ravens: Watching Sean McVay and John Harbaugh work is like watching LeBron vs. Anthony Edwards — or if you prefer, Jordan vs. Iverson. Two greats from two different generations throwing down. It may not be pretty, but it’s fascinating.
36. Vikings vs. Broncos: We’ve all been waiting for Sam Darnold to show his inner Sam Darnoldness, but what if Good Sam was the real Sam all along? (He spent time on the Jets and Panthers, so this is entirely possible.)
35. Commanders vs. Texans: Washington tends to have some trouble with Texas-based, Cowboy-oriented teams. “Battle of the No. 2s” doesn’t quite have that championship ring to it, does it?
34. Packers vs. Ravens: Packers fans are living under some kind of bizarre witch’s curse where they’ve had a franchise quarterback for 30-plus unbroken years, but he’ll only win you one Super Bowl. The Ravens, by contrast, are guaranteed a Super Bowl every 12 years, so … heads up.
33. Rams vs. Steelers: A rematch of Super Bowl XIV, won by the Steelers. I feel confident in saying that monstrous Steelers team could at least make the divisional round of the playoffs today. Like, literally right now.
32. Eagles vs. Broncos: Did you know that only the Patriots have been to more Super Bowls than Denver? Three other teams can match Denver’s eight … just don’t ask Broncos fans how those eight turned out. Especially the first few.
31. Packers vs. Texans: One of the better midseason games, a Week 7 tilt where the two teams traded would-be game-winning field goals. Green Bay ended up on top with a 0:00-clock winner. That would be a welcome outcome to a Super Bowl.
30. Packers vs. Broncos: A rematch of Super Bowl XXXII, the one where John Elway finally got that ring, and Brett Favre did not. Keep an eye on Favre, he might try to un-retire again and take Jordan Love’s job.
29. Commanders vs. Chargers: If Justin Herbert is going to level up beyond “dude you can ride to the fantasy playoffs,” he’ll need to win big opportunities like this.
28. Vikings vs. Texans: A rematch of Week 3, where the Vikings obliterated the Texans 34-7. This was the point in 2024 where we started to think that maybe Darnold had a little something going here.
27. Lions vs. Steelers: Rust Belt Brawl! This one wouldn’t be pretty, but it’d be a battle of America’s newest sweetheart vs. America’s longtime bandwagon. Edge: the sweethearts.
26. Packers vs. Chiefs: Rematch of Super Bowl I, which was so long ago that it wasn’t even called the “Super Bowl.” You probably should’ve bought an NFL franchise back then, they were going for like 50 bucks.
25. Eagles vs. Texans: Philly is 1-3 all-time in Super Bowls. Seems like they ought to have more Lombardis than that. This would give the Iggles a good chance at drawing closer to .500.
24. Vikings vs. Steelers: These two met in Super Bowl IX, which, coincidentally enough, was also in New Orleans. Not so coincidentally, Minnesota lost this one; this was the start of Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain run.
23. Packers vs. Bills: We need to see Josh Allen do something absolutely ridiculous in the Super Bowl, like throw a defensive end into the stands or step on a linebacker’s chest or throw a bank-shot touchdown pass off someone’s helmet. America needs you, Josh Allen.
22. Buccaneers vs. Ravens: The Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson MVP debate is fun only as long as it focuses on on-field attributes; when everybody brings their petty biases into play, it gets ugly. Both of them are on Hall of Fame trajectories.
21. Lions vs. Broncos: Jared Goff really needs a better performance in the Super Bowl than he showed against the Patriots as a member of the Rams a few years back. Against Denver, he’d get it.
20. Commanders vs. Ravens: The Battle of I-95. Loser has to commute to the other’s town in rush hour for a month. Baltimore won the Week 6 matchup, 30-23.
19. Vikings vs. Chargers: These two teams specialize in disappointing their fans, one way or another. Will Chargering outdo a Vikings Curse? Or will they figure a way to both lose?
18. Vikings vs. Ravens: The Vikings defense and Lamar Jackson are a classic immovable object vs. irresistible force. This would be a hammer-on-anvil attack.
17. Eagles vs. Steelers: The Battle of Interstate 76! At stake: cheesesteaks vs. Primanti’s subs. Winner replaces turkey at Thanksgiving. Loser can’t be served in the state for a year. The Eagles got the W in Week 15, 27-13.
16. Commanders vs. Bills: You think that if the Commanders reach the Super Bowl, anyone will mention what happened to Dan Quinn the last time he was there? Or to the Bills, the last four times they were there?
15, Lions vs. Chargers: Look, how can you not like the matchup of the two most psychotic coaches in the NFL? A Dan Campbell-Jim Harbaugh joint press conference could be its own pay-per-view.
14. Eagles vs. Chargers: Don’t look now, but the Chargers are becoming a sneaky interesting team, between their coach, their quarterback’s skills and their venue. They’re still the Clippers to the Rams’ Lakers, but a Super Bowl win would go a long way toward changing that perception.
13. Buccaneers vs. Chiefs: Tom Brady was on the field the last time these two met in a Super Bowl, back in Super Bowl LV, and he’ll be in the booth for this one. But you know he’s just itching to get back out there.
12. Eagles vs. Ravens: Saquon Barkley vs. the NFL’s top rush defense? Yep, sign us up for that one. It won’t be cinematic, but that’s what the commercials are for. Philly won the Week 13 matchup, 24-19.
11. Commanders vs. Chiefs: Who ranks higher, a commander or a chief? Who’s more fun to watch, Jayden Daniels or Patrick Mahomes?
10. Buccaneers vs. Bills: The Bucs have been a mystery all season — dominant some weeks, barely good enough to win others, but always somehow in the hunt. This would be a fine matchup because the Bills would post a four-touchdown lead and watch in horror as Tampa Bay crawled back into the game.
9. Rams vs. Chiefs: The two teams responsible for one of the greatest regular-season games of all time? Sure, that’ll work.
8. Lions vs. Ravens: This would be a ground-game Super Bowl for the ages. Sonic & Knuckles (maybe) vs. King Henry. Who ya got?
7. Eagles vs. Chiefs: A rematch of Super Bowl LVII a couple years back, where Philly led going into the 4th quarter, but — stop us if you’ve heard this one before — Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to victory.
6. Rams vs. Bills: The two teams responsible for one of the great points-scoring shootouts of the 2024 season? Sure, that’ll work too.
5. Vikings vs. Chiefs: A rematch of Super Bowl IV, which Kansas City won 23-7. They ought to play this one with 1970s equipment and under 1970s officiating rules, just to see who’s really the toughest.
4. Eagles vs. Bills: This game needs to be played in the snow. That will be a difficult task to pull off in a dome in New Orleans, but I have faith in the NFL.
3. Lions vs. Chiefs: Admit it, you want to see what kinds of trick plays Andy Reid and Dan Campbell cook up for this one. We could see everything from the ol’ hidden-ball trick to full-scale Broadway productions in the backfield.
2. Vikings vs. Bills: Eight combined Super Bowl appearances, zero wins. Somebody’s got to end their streak of 0-4 futility here, right? Bonus: These are two talented squads, and this would be a fantastic game.
1. Lions vs. Bills: Call it the Validation Bowl, call it the Long-Suffering Bowl, call it the At-Freaking-Last Bowl. Whatever you want to call it, this is absolutely the best possible Super Bowl matchup, from both an on-field and narrative standpoint. Bring it.
