With Super Bowl 61 only four months away, it is time to speculate what matchups we might be seeing in the big game. Good teams aren’t always the most exciting, but the last two Super Bowl matchups have been blowouts. The NFL needs a good game to end this season, or the Super Bowl will begin to be taken less seriously. These are the best and worst Super Bowl 61 matchups that could potentially happen, attached with current odds via FanDuel as of October 21st 2026.
Lamar Jackson is just itching to play a game in February. Unfortunately, he is injured right now. If he is able to come back healthy, then the Baltimore Ravens should be able to make a deep run and hope for the best. The San Francisco 49ers are the current Super Bowl 61 favorite and have looked like a juggernaut despite their injuries. These teams are both highly ranked favorites to win the Super Bowl, so this is a likely matchup.
This matchup is interesting primarily because of how balanced these teams are. Through six weeks, the Ravens have amassed 2,206 yards compared to the 49ers’ 2,200. San Francisco has only allowed 18.3 points per game, which is fourth in the NFL, compared to Baltimore’s 22. The Ravens are 4-2, but Jackson was absent for their Week Six loss to the Cleveland Browns. The 49ers are currently undefeated. This would be a lock for a competitive Super Bowl, which the NFL is desperate for right now.
Absolutely nobody is asking for a rematch of last year’s blowout championship game. The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl 60, but neither team is looking any more exciting than last year. If the Seahawks can get the run game going with the eventual return of Zach Charbonnet, they should be in the mix to make it back for Super Bowl 61. Drake Maye has gotten out of his slump and has thrown 10 touchdowns in the last three weeks alone. Unfortunately, if we get a rematch of last year’s game, not a single person outside of these fanbases will be interested. It was a boring matchup before, and there wouldn’t be any storylines to make it more interesting a second time in a row.
Patrick Mahomes versus Caleb Williams. That should be enough to excite any football fan. One of Williams’ biggest comparisons throughout his career has been Mahomes due to his playmaking style and magician-like style. Seeing these two battle it out for a ring in Super Bowl 61 would be magnificent.
Another reason this would be a great matchup is the coaches. Ben Johnson is the new young offensive genius that is changing the way offense is being played. Sound familiar? Johnson would be attempting to snatch Andy Reid’s chain. The Bears are averaging 25 points per game, but were missing Williams for multiple games. In his two and a half games played, Williams has thrown for 712 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception with a 101.5 passer rating. Kansas City is averaging 28 points per game, which is fifth in the NFL. This matchup would be magicians facing magicians, and NFL fans would be blessed for it.
Both of these teams have been relying heavily on defense as of late. If we learned anything from 2025, it’s that defense can absolutely carry a team to a championship appearance. The Denver Broncos made it to the AFC Championship last year, but were left without QB Bo Nix. Nix is now having his worst season, only averaging a touchdown per game and 5.6 yards per attempt. If he can recapture last season’s magic, Denver should be primed for a deep run.
The Minnesota Vikings are in a similar boat: Immaculate defense and a struggling offense. As entertaining as good defenses can be, does the world really want to see two horrific offenses play in the NFL’s biggest game? This game very well could end with a score of 3-0. The Broncos are averaging 19 points per game compared to Minnesota’s 21.8 points per game. Yet they are both winning games despite this, with the Vikings even being undefeated through six weeks. The NFL needs an entertaining matchup to make up for the last two blowout Super Bowls, but this would not make anybody happy.
This game would have a lot of points. Both teams do not currently have a defense, but have offenses that carry them to victory. If these teams can get past their defensive struggles and find each other in the final game, we would be destined to have an exciting matchup in our hands. The highest-scoring Super Bowl of all time was Super Bowl 29, where the 49ers and San Diego Chargers combined for 75 points. Both were top five offenses by points per game that season, which could be similar to the 2026 Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.
Both the Bills and the Lions are top three in points scored through six weeks, 197 and 164, respectively. Both are averaging 32.8 points per game, tied for first in the league. Defensively, both are at the bottom of the league in yards allowed per game. The Lions have allowed 148 points total through six weeks, whereas the Bills have allowed 171 points, the fourth most in the NFL. Both Josh Allen and the Detroit Lions would be making their Super Bowl debuts, looking for their first ring. Either way, it would be a feel-good story. Defense may win championships, but offense is a lot more fun.
This is a tough game to put in the “worst” category, as these two have looked like the best teams in the NFL through six weeks. Because of that, this feels like the most likely Super Bowl we will be getting. Both teams are undefeated, are top five in points per game, and top four in points allowed per game. However, this would be the third time in seven years that the Kansas City Chiefs have faced the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
San Francisco would be going up against the team that has stopped them from winning two different championships. Patrick Mahomes would be trying for his 4th ring against the same team he won his first and third rings against.
In their first matchup in Super Bowl 54, the Chiefs won 31-20 off of a Chiefs ten-point comeback in the fourth quarter. In their rematch in Super Bowl 58, the Chiefs won again in overtime, 25-22. This was the last competitive Super Bowl. Another rematch would be a wildly entertaining game, but NFL fans are hungry for a matchup we have not seen before.
Super Bowl 61 will take place on February 14th, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Whatever teams find a way to play in this game have a lot to live up to. Whether it’s the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, or 49ers, let’s just hope it’s a close game.
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