To the surprise of just about nobody, it will be the San Francisco 49ers clashing with Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58.
It’s a rematch of Super Bowl 54 from four years ago, which the Chiefs won 31-20 thanks to 21 unanswered fourth quarter points. With the game’s best player going up against a star-studded 49ers team, this matchup seems like a dream on paper.
It’s an exciting matchup for a variety of reasons, but certainly not up there with the main ones we were holding out hope for at the start of the postseason. So with that, let’s dive into 10 Super Bowl 58 matchups we would have much rather see than the 49ers vs. the Chiefs.
Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers
We were fortunate with the league’s top two teams — the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles — meeting in Super Bowl 57 last year. That turned out to be an all-time classic — arguably a top-five all-time Super Bowl.
So why wouldn’t we want a second straight year of the very best in the AFC vs. the very best in the NFC? We know the Ravens crushed the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium back in Week 16, but surely a rematch would have been a lot closer this time around.
We just can’t help but think of MVP Lamar Jackson and his star-studded offense going up against the San Francisco 49ers’ stingy defensive front. The Ravens also had the league’s No. 1 defense in the regular season, so watching Mike Macdonald’s group go up against the 49ers’ wealth of offensive weapons would have been a dandy of a chess match.
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The 49ers and Ravens are easily the NFL’s two most star-studded teams. A plethora of All-Pros and future Hall of Famers squaring off in the big game? What more could you ask for?
Would Lamar finally get over the postseason hump, or would Kyle Shanahan exorcise his playoff demons once and for all? Something would have to give here.
But alas, the Ravens’ uninspiring showing in their AFC Championship defeat prevented us from this dream Super Bowl showdown. There’s always next year, we suppose.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
We know, we know. The Eagles endured an unbelievable late-season meltdown that saw them lose six of their final seven games — culminating in a wipeout loss against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.
But the Chiefs and Eagles rosters are hardly different from the ones that clashed in Super Bowl 57 a year ago. And let’s not forget that thrilling Super Bowl rematch at Arrowhead we got to witness back in Week 11 on Monday Night Football, with the Eagles squeaking out a 21-17 victory.
So yes, Part III to complete the trilogy would have been a very special treat. I mean, imagine if the “Star Wars” franchise ended after “The Empire Strikes Back?!” You wouldn’t have been very happy, would you?
Like their last two meetings, the Chiefs-Eagles game would have gone down to the wire. And the “Eagles revenge” footnote would have added another layer of intrigue for this showdown.
Fans were enraged when last year’s Super Bowl game essentially ended on a weak defensive holding call on James Bradberry. This would be the chance for the NFL refs to redeem themselves — and for Jalen Hurts’ squad to avenge their heartbreaking defeat from a year ago.
Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions
Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns fans will have a lot to say about, but perhaps no two NFL fan bases have been through more suffering defeats, heartbreak and pain than those of the Bills and Lions.
So imagine if these two teams met in Super Bowl 58. Something would have to give. One snake-bitten franchise would get over the hump once and for all, while the other would be left wondering if their time will ever come.
So that’d be one fascinating storyline to begin with, but also the fact that a Bills-Lions matchup would spark plenty of offensive fireworks. I mean, y’all remember that thrilling Bills victory in Motor City back on Thanksgiving 2022, right?
Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and James Cook trading blow-for-blow with Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta? Sign us up for that, please and thank you.
If you’re a neutral fan, you’d be able to shed a tear for the winning team — and another for the loser. Isn’t a mix of emotions part of the fun in being a football fan?
And since both teams have a tendency to unravel in big games, it’d be kinda fun to see “who screws up last” with the Super Bowl on the line.
The one silver lining, we suppose, is that the Lions and Bills will meet again at Ford Field in the 2024 regular season. A preview of Super Bowl 59, perhaps?
Miami Dolphins vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Dolphins looked like the team to beat in the AFC in the first half of the season, but Mike McDaniel’s group cooled off in the second half as injuries piled up — and as the schedule got tougher.
Miami stood no chance against the Chiefs in the ice-cold conditions at Arrowhead in their Wild Card Round showdown. Still, we can’t help but dream up the scenario of a Dolphins-49ers Super Bowl in Sin City.
In another dimension, the Dolphins run through the AFC and set up a rematch of Super Bowl 19 — the lone big game appearance of Dan Marino’s Hall of Fame career. So yeah, revenge would be on the minds of old-time Dolphins fans here.
At full strength, Miami had the NFL’s most explosive offense led by Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Moster and De’Von Achane. Love or hate Tua Tagovailoa, but the man played like an MVP whenever his top weapons were healthy.
Miami has the best set of offensive playmakers in the AFC. In the NFC, nobody can match the 49ers’ group of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle. So who wouldn’t want to see the scoreboard getting lit up like a Christmas tree for 60 minutes?
Another compelling storyline? Miami head coach Mike McDaniel was Kyle Shanahan’s offensive coordinator in 2021 before taking the ‘Phins’ head coaching job. Wide receivers coach Wes Welker also held that position in San Fran for three years before joining McDaniel in South Beach.
A Dolphins-49ers Super Bowl would have an epic chess match between two offensive geniuses in McDaniel and Shanahan. You’d be looking at something close to the 73 points that the Eagles and Chiefs combined for in last year’s big game.
On a positive note, the 49ers visit Miami in the 2024 regular season. If that game lives up to the hype, then we’ll double up our hope of a rematch in Super Bowl 59.
Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys
We’re highly convinced this matchup will never happen, because both teams choke on an annual basis despite excellent regular seasons. That’s why we wish it would happen, though, because it would be the ultimate Super Bowl of chaos.
I mean, a million different things could happen here.
Do the Bills suffer “Wide Right II” in the Super Bowl instead of the Divisional Round loss to KC? Does Dak Prescott throw a game-sealing pick-six in overtime? Or do both QBs go off for 300-yard, multiple-TD pass outings and team up for a back-and-forth Oscar-worthy drama?
Plus,there’s that whole storyline of the Bills trying to get revenge from those back-to-back Super Bowl losses to the Cowboys in the ‘90s.
Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This matchup may sound boring to the average fan on paper, so allow us to make it enticing for you with two simple words: “Baker Mayfield.”
The Browns discarded Mayfield like trash in 2022 all so they could trade for Deshaun Watson in a widely-scrutinized move that looks awfully regrettable two years later. After splitting 2022 with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, Mayfield signed a one-year deal with the Bucs and turned in a career year for Todd Bowles’ squad.
So now imagine if Mayfield and his Bucs face those very Cleveland Browns in Super Bowl 58? It would be the ultimate revenge storyline for a guy who revived his career with 4,044 passing yards and 28 touchdowns.
Not to mention his Bucs were oh-so-close to stunning the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round. Surely, Tampa would have put up a fight against San Fran in the NFC Title game — and against the victor of the AFC.
In our dream scenario, it would have been the Browns. Imagine Super Bowl 47 MVP Joe Flacco going up against the guy that was once viewed as the future savior of the franchise. Imagine if it was Flacco defeating Mayfield of all guys to end the Browns’ Super Bowl drought once and for all.
Plus with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper and David Njoku going up against vulnerable secondaries, you’d have a prolific passing clinic being put on at both ends of the field.
This could have had the makings to be an all-time Super Bowl classic.
Oh well. Chiefs vs. 49ers it is…
Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Lions quickly asserted themselves as more than kneecap biters — but as legitimate contenders — when they beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead back in Week 1 to kick off the season.
Kansas City, of course, didn’t have Chris Jones or Travis Kelce in that game — but the Lions didn’t bring their A-game either. Give us a rematch with both teams at full strength, and watch the sparks fly.
Just imagine the idea of the Lions potentially winning their first Super Bowl by defeating the model NFL organization. A statue of Dan Campbell would immediately have to go up at Ford Field, right?
Or do the Chiefs add more salt to the wound by handing the Lions what would be their most devastating loss in history? Again, something would have to give.
We also remain convinced that we’d see a lot more scoring than the mere 41 points both teams combined for back in Week 1. Honestly, there’d be enough firepower for KC AND Detroit to combine for more points than what we got in Super Bowl 57.
Bleh. All Dan Campbell had to do was not be too aggressive on fourth-down and we would have had this dream showdown. Thanks a lot, Dan. Please make it up to everyone by getting into the Super Bowl very soon.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles
If there’s one specific Super Bowl matchup we’re still waiting for, it’s a battle of the two NFL’s two best rushing quarterbacks in any given period.
Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts would have changed that if their respective teams didn’t flop in the postseason. Adding to the intrigue of this matchup is the fact that we still haven’t seen Jackson vs. Hurts yet at the NFL level, either.
So now let’s picture Jackson and the NFL’s top rushing offense going up against a stingy Philly front seven that had 70 sacks a year ago. And let’s picture AJ Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert trying to win their matchups against Baltimore’s star-studded secondary led by Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Williams.
Are you sold on this matchup yet? Hurts and Jackson are highlight reel machines with their insane rushing abilities and improvisational skills. This would truly be a Super Bowl game like one we’ve never seen before.
At least we get a Ravens-Eagles matchup in Baltimore next season. Then you’ll see why we longed for this matchup more than a KC-49ers showdown.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Kansas City Chiefs
We hear ya, Dallas and Kansas City haters. Who’d want America’s most hated football team ever — the Cowboys — against a Chiefs team that is the new Patriots. That is, everyone hates them because all they do is win-win-win.
But if you can think about the entertainment factor for a minute, you would have yourself a fascinating showdown between these two historic franchises.
This game would be a high-scoring affair between two prolific offenses. I mean, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Tony Pollard vs. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice and Isiah Pacheco? Yes please!
How about Dallas’ elite o-line trying to block Chris Jones and George Karlaftis? Or Lamb and Cooks trying to solve KC’s dynamic cornerback duo of L’Jaris Sneed and Trent McDuffie? Every single chess match in this matchup would be nothing short of compelling!
If the Cowboys of all teams beat Mahomes in the Super Bowl, you’d have to give your due to Jerry Jones’ squad. They will have shredded the “choker” label completely.
Or, Mahomes can make America’s day again and throttle Dallas in the big stage. Either way, this would have been a five-star matchup that will probably never happen considering how bad the Cowboys choke every year.
Buffalo Bills vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Chiefs may have eliminated the Bills en route to winning the AFC — but it’s not hard to argue that Super Bowl 58 would be a lot more exciting if Buffalo were to face the 49ers instead of Kansas City.
The Bills are just a more compelling matchup for the 49ers than the Chiefs. Watching Josh Allen put his improvisational skills on display against this fierce 49ers front would have been a sight to behold.
And on the other side, how about the Bills’ stingy lockdown defense trying to contain Brock Purdy and the 49ers’ wealth of weapons? Sean McDermott is one of the best defensive-minded head coaches in the game, but how would he fare against the offensive jedi that is Kyle Shanahan?
Two annual powerhouses that always fall short of their ultimate goals in heartbreaking fashion. One team would have to win here, and it’s a true shame that we missed out on a Bills-49ers Super Bowl yet again.
