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Top 10 potential Super Bowl 51 matchups

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:07 p.m. ET

Fansided, Luke Norris/Fansided

Here are the top 10 possible matchups for Super Bowl LI heading into Wild Card weekend in the NFL.

Twenty teams have gone home, leaving a dozen contenders. The NFL playoffs are upon us and eight of those 12 teams will begin their journey this weekend when the Oakland Raiders visit the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, the same building that will host the Super Bowl on February 5. Can the Texans become the first team to play a Super Bowl in front of their home crowd? Eh…

In all, there are 36 possible Super Bowl matchups and while all are technically options, some look better than others. So let’s take a look at the top 10 potential matchups for Super Bowl LI.

10. Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

How fitting would this be? 50 years ago, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the first Super Bowl and there’s a real chance that these two teams could battle once again half a century later.

There’s also a few fun storylines that could accompany this Super Bowl matchup. Chiefs general manager John Dorsey not only played for the Packers, but also spent many years in Green Bay’s front office as a scout and later as the Director of Football Operations before heading to Kansas City in 2013.

There’s also a tie-in with the coaches here. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spent seven seasons in Green Bay, during which time he coached alongside Ray Rhodes, who in turn became current Packers coach Mike McCarthy’s boss. This matchup would also include two quarterbacks taken in the 2005 NFL Draft, Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers.

9. New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

After 50 years, it’s hard to believe that these two franchises have never met in the Super Bowl. These two teams have 10 Super Bowl titles between them, which makes up 20 percent of the total count. Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning both have two Super Bowl rings and it would be great to watch them battle it out to see who could join Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Tom Brady as the only NFL quarterbacks with three championships.

And wouldn’t the outcome make the next Rooney-Mara Thanksgiving a little awkward?

8. Atlanta Falcons vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

This may not be on the top of anybody’s list but I’d guess many wouldn’t mind seeing these two offenses get after it in Super Bowl LI.

The Falcons led the NFL this season in points scored, averaging close to 34 points per game, and the Steelers were in the top 10 as well at 24.8, but that was also without Big Ben for two games. The Steelers won their final seven regular season games and are as hot as anyone in these playoffs.

However, the Falcons are coming in hot as well with four straight wins and point totals of 42, 41, 33 and 38 in those victories. Matt Ryan should be considered as an MVP candidate and it would be great to see him match up against Roethlisberger to take his place among the great quarterbacks in the NFL.

7. Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots

There’s certainly plenty of recent history between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, isn’t there?

Just two short years ago at Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, the Patriots defeated the Seahawks in what was the most-watched program in American television history. So there’s that. And it was obviously one of the most exciting Super Bowl games to boot. After being tied at the half, Seattle took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter, only to watch New England score 14 unanswered points in the final frame. And then, you know, Malcolm Butler happened. I’m sure Marshawn Lynch isn’t still thinking about that at all.

Oh yeah, the Seahawks went into Foxborough this season in Week 10 and beat the Pats by a touchdown, 31-24. You don’t think Bill Belichick has forgotten that, do you?

6. Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

There are no two hotter teams in football right now. Obviously, that’s exactly the position you want to be in as the march towards the Super Bowl gets underway.

Remember how great it was the last time these two teams hooked up for a Super Bowl in Texas? Rodgers and the Packers jumped out to a big 18-point lead in Super Bowl XLV, only to have Roethlisberger and the Steelers close the gap to three in the fourth quarter before Green Bay came away with a 31-25 win .

These two teams haven’t met since the 2013 season (a 38-31 Steelers win at Lambeau) but it would be great to see these two storied franchises go at it again on the game’s biggest stage.

5. Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots

As mentioned earlier, the Falcons led the NFL in scoring this season and the Patriots weren’t too far behind at No. 3. Both teams were also in the top four in offensive yards per game and watching these two explosive teams battle it out in the Super Bowl would make for great television.

There isn’t any kind of big history between these two franchises; they’ve only met a total of 13 times over the past 45 years, but putting MVP candidates Tom Brady and Matt Ryan in a shootout would be fantastic. The record for most total points scored in a Super Bowl is 75, which came more than two decades ago when the San Francisco 49ers beat the San Diego Chargers, 49-26. That record could be in jeopardy if the Patriots and Falcons end up playing one another on February 5.

This is also the matchup that many oddsmakers are predicting would happen once all the playoff spots were filled.

4. Green Bay Packers vs. New England Patriots

I could just say Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers and just leave it at that.

While the pedigree of those two great quarterbacks would dominate the conversation in sports media leading up to Super Bowl LI, there would be other storylines. Whichever team won this game would become just the fourth franchise in NFL history to win a fifth Super Bowl, joining the Steelers, 49ers and the Cowboys.

And seriously, this game would be fantastic. Having two of the game’s greatest in Brady and Rodgers in the Super Bowl would make for one epic showdown.

3. Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Cowboys and the Steelers have met three times in the Super Bowl, with the Steelers winning the first two in the 1970s and the Cowboys winning their most recent meeting in Super Bowl XXX. The Steelers also hold a 6-5 advantage in championships, giving Dallas a chance to pull even. These two teams are arguably the two biggest brands in the sport and the ratings for this game would be insane.

There’s also the fact that these two teams had probably the best regular-season game of 2016. On that day, Roethlisberger’s fake spike for a touchdown to Antonio Brown to give the Steelers a 30-29 lead with 42 seconds left only to watch Ezekiel Elliott run in the game-winner with nine seconds to go, giving Dallas a 35-30 victory.

Why on earth would we not want to see this game happen?

2. New York Giants vs. New England Patriots

The Cowboys and Steelers may have more overall history but the recent history in the Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots can’t be ignored.

After dashing the undefeated dreams of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, the Giants once again got the better of New England four years later. Both games were incredible and both had unbelievable finishes . Despite the greatness of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the one team that has been able to stop them has been New York.

Tom Coughlin isn’t around this time to help the Giants, but you don’t think Manning would love a chance to once again own one more ring than his big brother…and do it once again at the expense of Peyton’s biggest rival?

Just in case you forgot how close those games were, the two previous wins by the Giants in the Super Bowl over the Patriots were by a combined seven points.

1. Dallas Cowboys vs. New England Patriots

Seeing how these two franchises may be the most loved and the most hated teams in the NFL, there may not be a need for many storylines. Still, one is obvious.

It’s 2001 in New England. Drew Bledsoe is the starting quarterback for the Patriots and gets hurt. Sixth-round pick Tom Brady comes in, leads his team to an unbelievable season that nobody saw coming that culminates with a win over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. The rest is history, a history that Brady is actually still writing.

Bledsoe is traded to the Bills and eventually winds up in Dallas as the starter, where he’s later replaced by Tony Romo. Ten years later, Romo goes down and is ultimately replaced by Dak Prescott, who comes in and leads his team to an unbelievable season that nobody saw coming. Can Prescott do exactly what Brady did 15 years ago? And do it against Brady himself?

If these two teams were to make the Super Bowl, it would mark the fourth straight season that the top seeds have played one another.