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Ranking the three most likely Super Bowl matchups for 2022

By Lou Scataglia

Feb 16, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay during the Super Bowl LVI championship rally at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 16, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay during the Super Bowl LVI championship rally at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, Super Bowl
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob GronkowskiMandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

After the conclusion of the NFL Draft, rosters across the league are mostly finalized, so let’s take a look at the most likely Super Bowl matchups for 2022.

The Los Angeles Rams were victorious in Super Bowl 56 during the 2021 NFL season.  Their “F them picks” mentality paid off.  They were one of the first teams to win a Super Bowl this way, as they also relied on a top-heavy, superstar-loaded team as well.

The NFL is a copycat league, and we saw some of this copycat activity this offseason, as many teams traded away valuable draft capital to acquire immediate impact players.

Now, going into the 2022 NFL season, we fans are poised to see an incredibly competitive league, with parity throughout.

In the AFC, there’s an argument to be made that well over 10 teams could compete for the seven playoff spots this season.

The NFC is much weaker, but because of that, some teams who aren’t usually playoff clubs could sneak in.

In the NFC, the usual teams are set to still remain good.  These would include the Packers, Rams, Buccaneers, 49ers, and maybe even teams like the Cowboys and Cardinals.

Look for the Packers, Rams, and Buccaneers to be the early Super Bowl favorites out of the NFC.

In the AFC, there are a plethora of teams that could make deep playoff runs.

The Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, Bills, Bengals, Ravens, Titans, Browns, and even Colts are all poised to be among the league’s best.

The AFC is going to be a bloodbath in 2022, and whoever represents the AFC in the Super Bowl will have legitimately deserved it.

So, which Super Bowl matchups can we reasonably expect to see in 2022?

Way too early Super Bowl matchups for 2022

3. Bengals vs. Buccaneers

I like this as a potential Super Bowl matchup, but I don’t think it’s the most likely.

Obviously, both teams have very recently played in the big game.  Tampa Bay won the whole thing in 2020, and Cincinnati went to the dance in 2021, after an improbable run.

Since tom Brady unretired, and since I do not think the Bengals are going to undergo one of those “post-Super Bowl disappointments,” I like this as a potential matchup.

It would be a lot like 2020’s Super Bowl, where the old man Tom Brady matched up against the future of the NFL in Patrick Mahomes.

Only this time, he’d have to get past Joe Burrow.

I like the Bengals as a better team than the Chiefs in 2022.  I think they improved where they needed to.  Keeping Joe Burrow upright with legitimate offensive line additions and keeping the defense together is going to go a long way.

I’d expect the Bengals to win 10-12 games and secure a home playoff game or two.

As for the Buccaneers, they kicked their offseason into overdrive once Tom Brady announced he was returning to the NFL.

They brought back their core, yet again, and will have a painfully easy NFC South division to get through, on top of a weaker than normal NFC.

I’m not sure anyone would be surprised if either club made it to the Super Bowl in 2022, so I think this would be a likely matchup.

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