On Thursday night, the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams will kick off Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season. As crazy as it would be, this could also be the matchup that ends the 2022 NFL season on February 12 next year at Super Bowl LVII. Among the 56 previous Super Bowl champions throughout NFL history, there are currently still 12 teams in the NFL that have zero Lombardi trophies to their name.
That’s more than a third of the league at this point, which over the course of 56 going on 57 years is a little crazy. We’ve already taken a look at the 12 teams that have never won a Super Bowl throughout their franchise’s history. Some of these teams at least have the excuse of only being around for 30 or fewer years of the Super Bowl era.
Now, it’s time to take a look at which of these 12 teams have the best chance of ending their Super Bowl drought in 2022.
Which NFL teams could win their first Super Bowl in 2022?
6. Minnesota Vikings
Out of 12 potential teams to win their first Super Bowl title in 2022, I think the Minnesota Vikings are right at the threshold of contender and pretender. Their inclusion in this list in the first place might seem odd if you read my 2022 predictions post because I have the Lions, not the Vikings, finishing second place in the NFC North. Of course, even though that might be my prediction for the season, I also acknowledge it may not be the likeliest outcome.
The Vikings have a little too much “new” in my opinion to truly win the Super Bowl this season with a new GM, new head coach, new offensive and defensive system, and an almost entirely reloaded defensive roster. That “new” could also be good for the Vikings, but I think the odds are against a Kirk Cousins-led team to get into the “teams with a Super Bowl win” category.
5. Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans were the AFC’s no. 1 overall seed last year, which is still shocking to type even today. Especially considering the fact that Derrick Henry didn’t play a lot of last season, the Titans’ team success is rather staggering. I’m just so low on this team heading into 2022.
I think this team’s window of opportunity with Ryan Tannehill has all but closed. I think the loss of Harold Landry is going to be brutal. I hate the AJ Brown trade. I applaud Mike Vrabel for doing such a tremendous job over the last handful of years, but I don’t see the Titans even making the playoffs this year.
Still, as the reigning no. 1 seed in the AFC, I think they deserve to be included on this list. This is a team that has been a better sum of its parts than anything else and they’ve now given us a big enough sample size and reason to believe that they could do exactly that again in 2022.
Two more potential first-time Super Bowl champions in 2022
4. Arizona Cardinals
Unfortunately for the Arizona Cardinals, I don’t see them as one of the true “contenders” in 2022. The way this team’s season ended in 2021 was so disappointing, and you can’t help but wonder if they are just going to be stuck in the “very good” category for the foreseeable future.
I think Kyler Murray, especially now that he’s got a new contract, needs to take the next step, whatever that looks like. I think they’re going to have a hard time replacing the production of Chandler Jones, but the jury’s out on that one. Maybe the biggest thing from the outside looking in at this Cardinals team is whether you can sense championship mettle.
I just don’t get that vibe from them. They look like they will be a very good regular season team yet again, but what have the Cardinals done in recent years to prove they will be Super Bowl contenders? Is the roster so substantially better in 2022 than last year or the year before? Again, a lot of it hinges on Kyler Murray, but for the time being, I’m still selling the Cardinals as Super Bowl contenders this year, though they certainly have a shot at it.
3. Los Angeles Chargers
Just like every year, this will be the year the Chargers break through, right? It feels like we have an annual conversation about how good this team is going to be, how so many people like the core players on the roster, and how they’re finally going to get over the hump in the AFC West.
And every year, the same things happen. The Chargers underachieve. They fail to even meet expectations, much less exceed them. This is another team that has been stuck in a miserable cycle for decades.
Will the 2022 season be any different? Justin Herbert has shown tremendous signs of growth since coming into the league. He’s truly one of the biggest difference makers in the game today. If the Chargers can just get to the playoffs, I have no doubt that Herbert gives them a fighting chance to win games in January.
The question is, will the rest of the team be able to support him? Last year, the offensive line and defense really let Herbert down. The Chargers have made improvements on paper, but will it be enough?
Two likeliest first-time Super Bowl champions in 2022
2. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals were in the Super Bowl last year and were a couple of plays away from getting their first Lombardi in franchise history. The Bengals spent the offseason upgrading the offensive line which ultimately was too much of a weakness to be overcome in the three-point loss to the Rams. Are those upgrades going to be enough?
The Bengals have most of the ingredients of a Super Bowl team. We saw that down the stretch last year as they absolutely caught fire and nearly “ran the table” all the way to a Super Bowl win. The big question I have for the Bengals is this: Can they repeat or even sustain that same type of success in 2022? This is a team that was clearly a couple of years ahead of its rebuild schedule last year, so will they take a step back before taking another step forward?
I don’t think you can put the Chargers ahead of the Bengals right now after what we saw last season in terms of teams that could go out and win their first Lombardi in 2022.
1. Buffalo Bills
No other team with an empty trophy case has a better chance of getting on the board this year than the Buffalo Bills. This team has built itself into a potential juggernaut for the next decade-plus. Thanks mostly to MVP candidate Josh Allen, the Bills are poised to be one of the most exciting teams in the NFL in 2022. Allen has transformed from an erratic, frankly inaccurate passer into one of the most lethal offensive weapons in a league that’s absolutely loaded with them.
But it’s not that Allen is carrying or dragging this team. The Bills have built an elite roster on both sides of the ball and they feel they’ve made the moves necessary to go from contender to champion in 2022.