The National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl is one of the most watched events of the year. Some 99.18 million Americans tuned into last year’s Super Bowl, held at the SoFi Stadium in California. Throw into the mix tens of millions of viewers from NFL fans overseas, and you can see why a 30-second advertisement during the halftime break costs around $7 million.
Super Bowl LVII at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, is less than a month away, with the best teams from the AFC and NFC locking horns for the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy and the all-important Super Bowl championship ring that comes with victory.
The NFL regular season concludes on January 8, with the playoffs taking place January 14-29, which decide who the two Super Bowl teams are. Which teams will you watch compete in the Super Bowl on February 12, 2023? They will likely be one of the following three franchises.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are the favorites to win Super Bowl LVII with people who download the best California betting apps. Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2019, lost in the final in 2020, and were one game away from reaching three straight Super Bowls in 2021.
The Chiefs will likely face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game, the fixture determining which AFC team reaches the Super Bowl. Buffalo Bills beat the Chiefs earlier this season, but the Chiefs have big game players that thrive under the pressure of the playoffs.
Guided by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs have an unplayable offense at times. Couple that with a solid defense, and you have the recipe for a Super Bowl-winning team.
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills were the clear favorites to win the Super Bowl as little as ten days ago, but things change quickly in football. The Bills may have won their last five games in a row, but their clash with fellow Super Bowl hopefuls, the Cincinnati Bengals, on January 2 was postponed indefinitely after Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field. Thankfully, medical staff restored his heartbeat, but Hamlin remains in a critical condition.
One wonders what mental issues the Bills players will suffer from seeing their teammate in such a horrible position. There is every chance they will not have their eyes 100% on the game, and who can blame them? On the flip side, Bills players could use Hamlin’s condition to spur them on if the chips are down.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers reached the Super Bowl in 2019 but lost 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs. They missed out on the playoffs in 2020 and fell at the final hurdle in 2021, losing the NFC Championship to eventual champions Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers have won eight consecutive fixtures, making them the form team, and form counts for a lot at this stage of the campaign. An elite-level defense limits the 49ers’ opposition, and it is often defense that wins football games.
Philadelphia Eagles
It is only five years since the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl and many experts believe this Eagles team is better than that title-winning team. The Eagles won their opening eight games before a shock defeat against the Washington Commanders followed. Eagles then won five in a row to boast a 13-1 record, but back-to-back losses have left pundits wondering if the pressure is getting to the players representing The City of Brotherly Love.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals have been losing Super Bowl finalists three times, most recently last year when they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in California. The Bengals started the current regular season in indifferent form, losing four and winning four of their opening eight games. However, since the start of November, the Bengals have won seven consecutive fixtures, so they are back in form again.
Of course, the Bengals were involved in the game where Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest, which could play on the players’ minds. In addition, they will have to face either the Bills or the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game if they are to progress to the Super Bowl.
