The Super Bowl is, arguably, the biggest spectacle of the year when it happens. For the most part, the recent Super Bowls have been dominated by the same teams. As the 2026 preseason ends, the Super Bowl climb starts soon.
All 32 teams have Super Bowl aspirations, but there may only be five-ish legitimate contenders for the Lombardi Trophy. What would be nice to see is a Super Bowl matchup that features some different teams, as seeing the same teams in the Super Bowl over and over does get a bit tiring and makes for some lousy TV overall for the average fan.
Let's predict five potential Super Bowl LXI matchups that no one would want to see for the 2026 season.
Predicting five Super Bowl matchups that no one would want to see in 2026
5. New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks
You'll notice a theme here, as we have some matchups that would be repeats of games we just saw. The New England Patriots got throttled by the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX in the 2025 season, and this was the second installment of the Super Bowl featuring these two teams.
During the 2014 season, the Seahawks were looking to defend their title, but as we know, Malcolm Butler had other plans. Seeing an exact repeat of the Super Bowl two seasons in a row would simply not be a game that many NFL fans would want.
4. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Rams
These two teams squared off in the Super Bowl in the 2021 season, where the Matthew Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams beat the Cinderella-run Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals haven't been to the playoffs since the 2022 season, though, so some may argue that Cincy getting back to the big game would be neat.
But the Bengals are the last non-Kansas City Chiefs team that has represented the AFC in the big game. If this ended up happening, every AFC Super Bowl team would be the Chiefs or the Bengals since the 2019 season, save for the 2025 campaign.
The Rams seemed like they were well on their way to the Super Bowl in 2025, but some bad defensive performances down the stretch ended their season. The Rams loaded up on that side of the ball, though, acquiring two former Chiefs' players at cornerback in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, and also swinging what could be one of the biggest trades in the history of sports for Myles Garrett.
Los Angeles is going all-in, obviously, but with how established the team is, I just do not get the sense that many would love to see them in the Super Bowl, given that they're regulars in the playoffs and just hoisted the trophy in the 2021 season, which is still a recent-ish memory for many of us.
Add us as a preferred source on Google