After eighteen gruelling weeks of the National Football League (NFL) regular season, it is that time of year again — we are officially on the road to Super Bowl LVIII.
In early February, Super Bowl 58 will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Allegiant Stadium. R&B singer-songwriter Usher will join the likes of Maroon 5, Michael Jackson and Rihanna as artists who have headlined the Super Bowl.
Fourteen of the NFL’s best teams advanced to the playoffs, all having the same goal of making it to the Super Bowl. As the wild card and divisional round games have come and gone, only four remain in the running to make it to Vegas.
The Baltimore Ravens come in as the American Football Conference’s number one seed. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had an MVP-caliber season, recording 3,678 passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns. Additionally, the Ravens have the second-longest tenured current head coach in John Harbaugh, who has tasted Super Bowl success once before, in 2013.
History has taught us to never count out the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes has quickly become one of the top quarterbacks in the league and having Travis Kelce as his tight end only helps. The Kansas City star duo connected for their sixteenth postseason touchdown last weekend. They surpassed Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to become the top passing duo in NFL playoff history.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers come in as the number one seed in the National Football Conference and are considered by many as the favourites to take home the Lombardi Trophy. Led by quarterback Brock Purdy, the 49ers averaged 398.4 yards and 28.9 points per game this season, second only to the Miami Dolphins.
Despite only winning two playoff games since 1992 – both of which have come in the last month – the Detroit Lions are relishing being the underdogs. They have an ace up their sleeve in the form of rookie tight end Sam LaPorta. This season, LaPorta had almost 900 receiving yards and reeled in 10 touchdowns.
Delaney Hancock, a first-year winger on the STU women’s soccer team, has been a New England Patriots fan for most of her life. However, she believes that the Kansas City Chiefs will win their second consecutive Super Bowl, citing how the team is riding the wave of momentum from last year’s victory.
“I think [the Chiefs] have one of the most proficient quarterbacks in recent history and I think they have a solid team,” she said. “They won [the Super Bowl] last year and I think they’re on track to do it again.”
Meanwhile, Brady Chapman, a rookie goalkeeper for the Tommies and a Seattle Seahawks fan, believes that the Detroit Lions will win because of the advantage they have as underdogs.
“As an underdog team, no one thinks they’re going to do well,” said Chapman. “But I think ‘big boy’ Jared Goff will get it done and that the defense will come up big and [they are] going to take it home.”
Underdog teams in the NFL rarely reach the playoffs, let alone win the Super Bowl. In 2001, the New England Patriots lost starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe to an injury mid-season, which paved the way for Tom Brady to come in and guide the team to a Super Bowl win against the St. Louis Rams in just his second season.
The consensus between Lavery, Hancock and Chapman is that the Lions are the dark horse this year, having missed the playoffs for six straight seasons.
“Obviously, the Lions are the dark horse, but [that is] how we like it,” said Aidan Lavery, a rookie fullback for the Tommies and a Lions supporter.
“We haven’t won a playoff game in 32 years and now [we have] won two in a row,” he said. “There is a lot of momentum there and even though we are the dark horse, I still think [we] have a great shot.”
Alec Wells, a second-year winger for the Tommies and a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, is looking forward to watching more than just the game itself.
“Honestly, it’s got to be the commercials. I love watching the commercials,” he said. “The movie trailers are always good that drop during the Super Bowl.”
Wells is expecting movie trailers for Deadpool 3 and Kung Fu Panda 4.
“I’m definitely excited to watch the game, but a little bit more the commercials.”
