2023 NFL playoffs: Ranking four potential Super Bowl LVII matchups, including Bengals vs. 49ers rematch

Two rounds of 2023 NFL playoff football are in the books, and we’re officially down to four teams left in the race for the next Lombardi Trophy. Fourteen contenders opened the postseason with hopes of basking in the confetti, but after this weekend’s action, where the Chiefs edged the Jaguars, the Eagles stomped the Giants, the Bengals routed the Bills and the 49ers survived the Cowboys, only two games remain until Super Bowl LVII.

That means there are just four possible Super Bowl matchups on the table. Here’s how we’d rank them:

4. Chiefs vs. 49ers

We just saw this one in 2019, when Patrick Mahomes won his first ring at age 24. But a lot has also changed since then: Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers QB at the time, is now sidelined in favor of Brock Purdy, although there’s a chance Jimmy G himself could be recovered from injury to serve as Purdy’s backup in this year’s big game.

The revenge factor is the driving force here, with Kyle Shanahan surely eager to offset his 31-20 defeat in Super Bowl LIV. But there are plenty of other storylines as well: Purdy’s chance to edge the NFL‘s best QB on the biggest stage as “Mr. Irrelevant,” Nick Bosa’s opportunity to disrupt Andy Reid’s offense like the Buccaneers did in the 2020 title game, the Travis Kelce-George Kittle tight end battle.

3. Bengals vs. Eagles

If your chief priority is collective QB swagger, then vault this one to the top. There are perhaps no two signal-callers with more natural, steely charisma than Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts, who each boast championship experience from their prime-time college days at LSU and Alabama, respectively.

Cincinnati would be eyeing its first Lombardi Trophy against a franchise that just got its first ring five years ago, while the combined star power at wide receiver — Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for the Bengals, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for the Eagles — might be worth the watch alone. All in all, these teams have both been incredibly balanced and particularly clutch throughout the season, likely guaranteeing a battle to the buzzer.

2. Bengals vs. 49ers