Sometimes in life the best things happen when you least expect them to, and that is exactly where we are going with our Super Bowl LVII predictions and picks.
On September 8 at SoFi Stadium, the 2022 NFL regular season will begin when the Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills go to war with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams (live on Sunday Night Football).
On February 12, 2023 – at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona – just two teams will be left standing in the hunt to win a Lombardi trophy. The most prized bauble of all in pro football.
Get 5 x $100 Free Bets!
New customers only, participating states, 21+
So which teams will make it to Glendale? And who will come out on top?
Time for OddsCritic to make its Super Bowl LVII futures picks. Here we go!
Super Bowl LVII Contenders
We have looked in detail at all 32 teams bidding for glory next February, and cut them down to just four. The franchises we believe will still be standing when it comes to crunch time in the postseason.
Buffalo Bills (+650)
MVP favorite Josh Allen and the Bills have gone all in on winning it all in 2022, and they are worthy leaders of the early Futures line for Super Bowl LVII.
Look at the Buffalo roster right now and you will struggle to find a weakness. One of the best QBs in the game directing a potent offensive attack, and an stout defense with a strong front seven and an improving secondary.
The Bills also went out in free agency and got what they believe is the missing piece in their Super Bowl jigsaw – future Hall of Fame OLB Von Miller. Von remember was the man who pushed the Los Angeles Rams over the hump in 2021, showing his terrific value as a big-game player by producing crucial plays to stop Joe Burrow and Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI.
Well this time Miller will look to be that X Factor for the Bills after inking a six-year deal in New York state worth a huge $120million. If he brings a Lombardi trophy to Bills Mafia, he’ll be worth every single cent.
Last January at Arrowhead Stadium Allen and the Bills went toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a playoff shootout for the ages. Somehow the Bills – despite a career performance from Allen – lost in the most agonizing of circumstances.
They went out and got Miller in the belief that he would have got to Patrick Mahomes that night and made crucial drive-stalling plays. The next five months will tell us whether they were right.
Kansas City Chiefs (+1100)
2022 will be a pivotal year for Mahomes and the Chiefs. The man seen by many as the most talented quarterback in the National Football League will no longer have his most potent weapon to throw to.
The Chiefs decided in the offseason to trade the electrifying WR Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for a huge haul of draft picks. They also saved a ton of cash – instead of paying Hill $30million a year they can invest elsewhere.
Kansas City brought in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marques Valdez-Scantling in free agency and drafted slot stud Skyy Moore in the Draft to beef up its receiving corps. With All World TE Travis Kelce still around, surely this is a group that Mahomes should be able to succeed with.
Defensively the Chiefs were excellent in the second half of 2021, transforming from a miserable downtrodden unit into one which helped the team win game after game. The addition of DE George Karlaftis in the Draft should only improve it.
With the genius that Andy Reid is at the helm, we expect KC to be playing deep into January once again.
San Francisco 49ers (+1600)
The 49ers are set for a season of change as they go all in with second-year QB Trey Lance, with former starter Jimmy Garoppolo relegated to the role of loyal backup on a new restructured contract.
Lance was a prodigiously talented college stud at North Dakota State, persuading the Niners to trade up to select him in the 2021 Draft. Genius HC Kyle Shanahan saw something in Lance which suggested he would be the man to take this San Fran offense to another level. A place Garoppolo never could.
Jimmy G had the Niners ahead late in a Super Bowl in early 2020, and he had them ahead in an NFC title game in early 2022. He couldn’t make the plays though to close the show in either game. Now Lance will get the chance.
The 49ers have surrounded Lance with one of the strongest all-round rosters in the NFL, littered with stars like WR Deebo Samuel, DE Nick Bosa and TE George Kittle, and underpinned by formidable depth. Throw in the coaching genius of Shanahan and it should be a potent mix.
The Niners may have settle for second best in a brutal NFC West division behind the still very good Rams. But we believe they will make the postseason and still be standing when we get to the final four late next January.
Green Bay Packers (+1200)
Remember what we said about things happening when you least expect them to? That is exactly what we are thinking about the 2022 Green Bay Packers.
Just when people are writing off Aaron Rodgers after the decision by the Packers to trade away his superstar WR Davante Adams, maybe he proves them wrong by finally getting back to the big game.
A couple of months ago we were wondering just who Rodgers would be throwing to in 2022, but then up stepped fourth-round rookie Romeo Doubs. The Nevada sensation looks the real deal and could give Green Bay an instant replacement for Adams.
Second-round pick Christian Watson meanwhile – once recovered from injury – will give the Pack another dangerous deep threat – so maybe things aren’t quite as bad as they appeared.
Green Bay has a good running game and one of the league’s best offensive lines, they will score points and they will control the ball. And Rodgers will be Rodgers, probably getting better as the season goes on and his receivers grow into their roles.
The defensive side of the ball should be absolutely stellar, with Georgia standouts Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt expected to make the front seven even stronger after being brought in during Round 1 of the Draft.
The Cheeseheads might have been howling for receivers that night in April, but the Packers came away from Round 1 with their excellent defense improved significantly again. They will be really good in 2022, and like we said, they will get better as the season goes on.
Green Bay plays in the weak NFC North division, which is the clincher in our decision to put them in our final four. It would be difficult not to come out on top there…
Super Bowl LVII Verdict
So we are down to just four, Chiefs @ Bills and 49ers @ Packers on Championship Sunday in the NFL.
They should really call this particular movie ‘Revenge’ with the Bills looking to atone for that Arrowhead agony and the Packers bidding to erase the memory of that playoff loss to San Fran at a snowy Lambeau earlier this year.
Indeed, this time we believe it will be different and the thirst for revenge will be satisfied. The Bills will be on home turf instead of playing in KC’s back yard, and Rodgers will not stall in the second half like he did in January 2022. Buffalo and Green Bay progress to the biggest game of all.
First NFL bet risk-free up to $1000, plus a free month of Fubo TV!
New customers only, participating states, 21+
Green Bay vs Buffalo is a fitting matchup for the NFL’s championship game, complete with a mouthwatering Rodgers vs Allen matchup at the game’s most important position.
A few months ago it was no certainty that Rodgers would even be a Packer in 2022, but back he is with a record contract worth $50million APY in his pocket.
Now, 11 years on from his first Super Bowl success, he outplays Allen and finally adds a second ring to his collection before namechecking Joe Rogan and Pat McAfee on the podium. What a world.
Now get the popcorn ready and wait to see whether we are right or not. It should be quite a ride.