NFL news: Only one Divisional-Round path leads to a never-before-seen Super Bowl
The NFL’s Divisional Round rarely offers genuine novelty, but this year one unlikely path could lead to a Super Bowl match-up fans have never seen before.
The four possible Super Bowl pairings
The potential pairings are straightforward: New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks, Patriots vs Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos vs Seahawks, and Broncos vs Rams.
Three of those have already been etched into Super Bowl history.
The lone outlier, and the only pairing without a past chapter, is Denver vs Los Angeles.
Sports News Blitz’s Graeme Bailey previews the potential 2026 Super Bowl match-ups.
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Why the only new match-up is also the longest shot
That fresh match-up, however, is not the one bookmakers expect to see. BetMGM odds on a Broncos-Rams Super Bowl currently sit at 6/1, making it the longest shot of the four remaining possibilities.
In other words, the only new match-up is also the least likely.
The Patriots and Seahawks have met twice on the sport’s biggest stage, including the unforgettable Super Bowl XLIX finish.
New England and the Rams have crossed paths in two Super Bowls of their own, from the birth of the Patriots dynasty in 2001 to their defensive slugfest in 2018.
Denver and Seattle, meanwhile, produced one of the most lopsided results in Super Bowl history when the Legion of Boom overwhelmed Peyton Manning’s Broncos in 2014.
That leaves the Broncos and Rams, two franchises with rich histories but no shared Super Bowl past, as the lone path to something genuinely new. For fans craving a fresh match-up, it is the only door left open.
But the odds suggest that door is barely ajar. With favourites expected to advance and familiar contenders looming, the NFL appears headed toward yet another chapter in a rivalry we have seen before.
If Denver and Los Angeles both survive the weekend, though, the league’s playoff script could take a rare turn.
One unlikely combination is all that stands between the NFL and a pairing without precedent ahead of Super Bowl 60 next month in San Francisco.
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