The stage is set for Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. The rematch between these two teams is not short on awesome storylines, and both of those teams are well-built and well-coached. However, there are what if stories every single year in the NFL.
This year, there are a handful of quarterbacks, in particular, whose absence from the biggest stage is absolutely brutal.
We're going to take a look at three quarterbacks we wish were playing in this game, and reflect on why they aren't.
3 NFL quarterbacks we wish were playing in Super Bowl LX, including two MVP candidates
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills lost a thriller in overtime against the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and this felt like an absolutely monumental loss for the franchise. In fact, it didn't just feel like it -- it was.
The Bills followed that loss to Denver by firing head coach Sean McDermott, who has been with the team since 2017. The stakes were clearly high for Buffalo in this postseason, and the Bills pinned it on the head coach.
But you have to feel for Josh Allen. This was a postseason with no Patrick Mahomes standing in his way, and it was still the AFC West champion Broncos that knocked him out. Maybe it's just the AFC West that Allen has an issue with in the playoffs. Either way, he won his first road playoff game with a great performance against the Jaguars, and couldn't get it done against Denver.
This will go down as the year that got away from Buffalo, there's no doubt about it.
2. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
It's really unfortunate that Matthew Stafford won't get the chance to win another Super Bowl with the Rams this year. The 2025 season was potentially the best we've ever seen from Stafford, whose supporting cast with the Rams is also about as good as we've ever seen around him.
Stafford is the front-runner for the NFL MVP award and was a 1st-team All-Pro selection after throwing 46 touchdown passes compared to just 8 interceptions. The 1.3 interception percentage Stafford had this past season was the lowest of his NFL career other than a season early in his career in which he only played three games due to injury.
It's fair to say that without Stafford on the field for Super Bowl LX, the NFL will not have its best quarterback on the field this year.
3. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Bo Nix didn't lead the league in touchdown passes this season, nor did he lead the league in passing yards. He didn't have the highest completion rate or quarterback rating. But no quarterback in the NFL had more game-winning drives than Nix this season (7).
And in the playoffs, he added to that with two phenomenal drives late against the Bills, one in regulation and one in overtime.
Nix, simply put, was the most clutch quarterback in the NFL this season. And there were other candidates for that distinction, but nobody came through in big moments more often than Nix, whose late-game heroics helped the Broncos win 14 games and earn the #1 seed.
A fractured bone in his ankle was the only thing preventing him from potentially punching a ticket to Super Bowl LX, and watching the Broncos and Patriots during the AFC Championship, Nix's heroics would have been the difference in that game. It's a shame he couldn't see this outstanding season to completion.