Only one of the last 10 Super Bowl winners was fresh. The Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Giants, Packers and Ravens had all won Lombardi Trophies before, with only the Saints losing their Super Bowl virginity in 2009. But this year, we could add a new franchise to the all-time Super Bowl register.
The Bengals have locked up the AFC North, the Eagles look as though they're going to wrap up the NFC East, the Panthers are an easy win away from clinching the NFC South and the Seahawks should take care of business in the NFC West. Three of those teams are already in the playoffs. None have captured Lombardi.
According to the latest Super Bowl odds released by Bovada, Seattle is the current Super Bowl favorite, with Carolina, Cincinnati and Philly all in the top seven. Among that group, only Denver, San Francisco and New England have already won the big game.
Based on the odds handed out, there's only about an 60 percent chance one of those four teams wins it all. The Cardinals and Chargers are also in contention, raising that number slightly. But there's a good chance both of those teams are eliminated Sunday. If one of those teams can sneak in and the Eagles defeat the depleted Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, five of the 12 playoff teams will be Super Bowl-less.
Had Detroit not blown it and the Falcons not fallen on their faces this year, it could have been even better for newbie Super Bowl hopefuls.
Last year was a good year for that too, with five teams vying to get their first Lombardi Trophy. But three of those entries were wild-card teams. This year, half of the league's division champs could be looking for Super Bowl No. 1.
Fourteen of the league's 18 active franchises haven't won the game, so the odds of this happening aren't that crazy. But a lot of the time, good teams are good teams and bad teams are bad. It's rare to see franchises like Carolina, Seattle and Cincinnati in driver seats.
Unfortunately, we won't have an entirely new Super Bowl competitor. All of the franchises still alive in this year's race have played in at least one Super Bowl game. But the Bengals, Eagles, Panthers, Seahawks, Cards and Chargers are a combined 0-8 in Super Bowl games.
