On any good show, the writers leave a handful of Easter eggs scattered throughout the program for fans to discover and try to decipher what they might mean in the future. Throughout last year, the NFL’s season “script” caused a stir, so much so that the league itself even toyed with the idea that it was setting up storylines to play out throughout of the year in one of its upcoming season preview ads. until 2023. Well, if the NFL were scripted, the writers could leave us with a huge clue about who will end up in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII.
As previously pointed out by popular social media account “NFL Memes,” the last two Super Bowl logos had colors mostly matching the teams that ended up playing in the big game. For Super Bowl LVI, the colors were orange (Bengals) and yellow (Rams). As for last year’s Super Bowl, the logo was green (Eagles) and red (Chiefs). With that in mind, we should note that this year’s Super Bowl logo is red and purple.
As you might expect, this caught the attention of the football world, including Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. On Tuesday, he mentioned this coincidence “The Pat McAfee Show” and noted that the Super Bowl LIX logo would better include green, especially if this next Super Bowl includes teams that sport the colors of that logo.
“If the Super Bowl is Baltimore and San Francisco, then I tell you that Super Bowl LIX emblem better have Jet Green on it,” Rodgers said.
Naturally, this has our heads spinning as to who could be playing in Super Bowl LVIII if this trend continues. So let’s rank the possible matchups based on their team colors and their probability of winning their conference.
It’s the undisputed leader in the clubhouse and could very well be the matchup we finally get in the Super Bowl, fulfilling the logo’s prophecy. These two teams are betting favorites to win their respective conferences and have already secured the No. 1 seed heading into Week 18. Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Ravens are the No. 1 team. 1 in Power rankings from CBS Sports senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco while the Niners are right behind them at #2.
These two teams met in Week 16, where the Ravens were able to travel to Levi’s Stadium and beat the 49ers, 33-19. Baltimore continued to play at an elite level, including a 56-19 win over the Dolphins last Sunday to secure the AFC’s top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Lamar Jackson is also the clear favorite to win the league MVP for the second time in his career.
Even though the Niners may have lost this head-to-head matchup, they are still the best team in the NFC. And when they’re firing on all cylinders, they’re arguably the best team in the NFL. They acquired Chase Young at the trade deadline, strengthening their already deadly pass rush, and have the league’s best collection of skill players – Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel – at their disposal. by Brock Purdy.
We’ll be looking in the NFC South for a somewhat playoff-ready red team to potentially face the Ravens in that color head-to-head. The Bucs have red in their primary uniform, so they fit the bill here and simply need a win against the Panthers on Sunday to clinch the NFC South title and keep their hopes of winning the Super Bowl alive – and playing a role in this color. -combined plot — alive.
Tampa Bay had returned to playoff contention thanks to a four-game winning streak snapped in Week 17. Baker Mayfield had shown strength during that stretch, and wouldn’t it be remarkable to see Mayfield lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl Appearance in the organization’s first season after Tom Brady’s retirement? This would be one of the most improbable runs on big game we’ve seen in recent years.
If we want to keep the Ravens as the most realistic purple team to make it to the Super Bowl, then we need to look for a red team in the NFC. Aside from the Niners and Bucs, another red team would be the Atlanta Falcons. They have an outside chance of reaching the playoffs, despite being the No. 12 seed in the conference. If they beat the Saints on Sunday and the Buccaneers lose to the Panthers, they will win the NFC South, so there is a way for them to make the playoffs.
Head coach Arthur Smith has been switching quarterbacks between Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke this season, but it appears he will stick with the veteran Heinicke as long as his health allows. Although Atlanta has some highly touted players at the skill positions, his usage (or lack thereof) has been confusing. If something goes wrong, the Falcons have the talent to score points. Defensively, the unit ranks 21st in the league in DVOA. So if we can get this in a Super Bowl game, it will probably be a Ravens blowout.
The only other purple team in the NFL is the Vikings, so we’ll have to include them in the mix here. As it stands heading into Week 18, Minnesota is still alive in the NFC wild card race, but just barely. They’re the No. 10 seed, and at 7-9, they should basically have every team that hasn’t yet managed to lose their Week 18 matchups ahead of them to advance to the playoffs. So you’re telling me there’s a chance?!?!
The Vikings have been through a whirlwind at quarterback this season, especially after Kirk Cousins’ torn Achilles late in the year. They started Jaren Hall first, had to turn to Joshua Dobbs due to injury, benched Dobbs due to poor performance in place of Nick Mullens, then Mullens was benched for a Hall now in good health. And at the start of Week 18, Hall was on the bench for Mullens. Like I said, WIRLWIND. Still, technically they have a glimmer of hope for a Super Bowl run and it would be an absolutely bananas run if they somehow ended up in Las Vegas.
Of course, if we talk about the red teams, how can we not mention the Chiefs? The defending champions are legitimate candidates to represent this side of the color palette, but their play as of late has been a bit concerning. While they’re locked in as the AFC’s No. 3 seed and have already clinched the division, Patrick Mahomes and the offense have struggled mightily, which has their chance to repeat itself in serious doubt. However, it’s difficult to fully rely on Mahomes’ talent, especially when the quarterback is playing with arguably the best defense of his career.
Do you want chaos? HERE IS! The NFL is going crazy and sees the Vikings somehow get out of the NFC with its quarterback rotation while the Houston Texans shock the AFC and win the conference. Houston is currently the No. 8 seed heading into the final week of the regular season, but could jump as high as the No. 4 seed and win the AFC South if things move in the right direction . The Texans would clinch a wild card spot simply by beating the Colts on Saturday. If the Jaguars lose or tie the Titans in Nashville, they will win the division, so that possibility is technically still present on both sides, even if it’s an unprecedented long shot.
Want to know how improbable this is? If you were to place a $10 bet on this Super Bowl LVIII game on FanDuel Sportsbook, it would pay you $50,000.
On the Houston side, CJ Stroud appears to have the talent to one day put his team in the Super Bowl conversation. The question is whether or not he can throw them there as a rookie. Remember, there has NEVER been a rookie quarterback to lead his team to win the Super Bowl. But perhaps we shouldn’t temper the powers of the logo.