The possible Super Bowl 53 matchups, ranked by the ones we ACTUALLY want to see

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Let’s hash out the possibilities, all of which would make for good games. But that’s also not why we’re here.

It’s conference championship week in the NFL, and it’s got us all wondering about which Super Bowl matchup would be best. Some of these matchups make us more excited than others, and since we just can’t keep our eager minds in the present, we’ve gotta look ahead to our four possibilities in Atlanta.

Any of the possible matchups would probably make for a good game. The Patriots, Chiefs, Rams, and Saints have all proven themselves to be among the NFL’s most exciting teams to watch. But we also don’t want the baggage that comes with some of these, like having to see another Patriots Super Bowl (Pats fans, you understand, right? No? OK, moving on).

Last week, we ranked all 16 possible matchups at the start of the postseason, but now, we’re ranking based on the ones we would actually want to see.

4. Patriots vs. Saints

The very simple argument against this game: No.

We don’t need a Super Bowl matchup that’s got two old quarterbacks pitted against each other, while we spend the two weeks leading up talking about their respective legacies.

The discussion around Tom Brady becomes something like Is He The Best Athlete/Champion Of All Time whereas it would start off with Drew Brees becoming The Most Underrated Quarterback Of All Time and eventually getting to He Might Just Be The Best If He Wins!

We’re already seeing a somehow brewing Patriots Are Underdogs narrative:

And yes, technically they are underdogs this weekend on the road. But it’s not like anybody will be surprised if they walk out of Arrowhead with a win.

Now, if you’re rooting for something to hoot and holler about on Twitter, this game provides the ultimate (but also unlikely) hootin’ and hollerin’ scenario: the Saints come back from a 28-3 lead on the Falcons’ home turf to win a Super Bowl. Alvin Kamara, Atlanta’s native son, scores the game-winning touchdown for the Saints in overtime.

Yep, as a Falcons fan myself, I’ve thought out just about every nightmare scenario. That one takes the cake.

3. Patriots vs. Rams

This is slightly better, but no. Nobody wants to see the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Next.

2. Chiefs vs. Saints

The amount of offensive talent in this game is just absurd. You’ve got your marquee quarterback matchup between the two biggest MVP candidates in Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees. You’ve also got some of the NFL’s best skill position players in Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce.

The Saints were the first team to beat the Rams, a game which was a 45-35 offensive clinic. We like offense around these parts, and there’s no telling what Brees, Kamara, and Thomas would do against a Chiefs defense that finished 31st in yards per game.

An SB Nation FanPulse poll of 1,977 people voted by a 0.7 percent margin that this is the best possible matchup. This is also a matchup we haven’t seen before, unlike the game that finished second in that same poll, and first on this list.

1. Chiefs vs. Rams

The teams who played the best regular season NFL game of all time? Yes please.

The Chiefs and Rams combined for 105 points in LA’s 54-51 Week 11 victory. Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff combined for 891 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Tyreek Hill went off for 215 yards and two touchdowns for the Chiefs, including this burner of a touchdown:

Replace “overtime playoff hockey” in the following tweet with “Chiefs vs. Rams” and you’ve got a good summary of what it was like watching these offenses go back and forth:

But there were still some really good defensive plays when these two met in November. Both teams combined for eight sacks, and seven turnovers. You’ve also probably forgotten since this game was such a rollercoaster, but remember Samson Ebukam’s two defensive touchdowns?

It’s also never a bad thing to have arguably the best player in the NFL, Aaron Donald, in the biggest game of the season against the NFL’s most exciting offense. He’s already proven he could handle it, too:

This game has a little bit of everything in it, and it’s proven to be a good matchup.

A lot of us had a similar thought on the night of the Week 11 game between these two teams, that thought being, “good luck getting a better Super Bowl than this.”

While the odds of that happening are probably low, we’re willing to try it out.