Super Bowl Watch Archives

Week of Dec. 18, 2009

Best Bets for a Super Bowl Touchdown in Tampa on February 1st
By Greg Ward

Let’s take a look at the teams with the best chance of making it to Super Bowl XLIII going into Week 16 of the regular season:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Head Coach Mike Tomlin has positioned himself as one of the leading candidates for Coach of the Year honors by guiding his team to an 11-3 record despite facing a murderer’s row of foes throughout the season. It won’t get any easier this week as the Steelers travel to Tennessee in the marquee matchup of the weekend pitting the top two teams in the AFC against one another. Pittsburgh’s 9-1 conference record is the best in the AFC, one game better than Tennessee. If Pittsburgh can come away with a win they will extend their current win streak to 6 in a row and gain the inside edge on home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Indianapolis Colts

Indy’s current 7 game win streak makes them the hottest team in the league, but their 5-2 road record gives them the edge over Tennessee for the #2 spot on this list. Currently at 10-4 it is hard to believe this team was once 3-4 and teetering on the edge of a lost season. While they will have to do all of their playoff damage on the road, it is safe to say that NO TEAM wants to see Mr. Manning come to town in January. Last season the Giants proved a road team can find their way to the Super Bowl, now the Colts hope to use the same roadmap a year later. You can bet his players would love to send Head Coach Tony Dungy out with a second Super Bowl championship, and what better way than in Tampa where he first made a name for himself?

Tennessee Titans

The team that looked primed to cruise into the playoffs has recently encountered an iceberg or two on their voyage to Tampa. After a 10-0 start to the season the Titans have fallen back to earth and are a mediocre 3-2 in their last 5 contests. Unfortunately there is no relief in sight with a trip to Indianapolis looming in week 17 after hosting the Steelers this Sunday. However, Tennessee has shown the two most critical ingredients necessary to win in January; they run the football and play good team defense. With the division title already wrapped up, they know a win this weekend would keep them home for the holidays and into the playoffs.

New York Giants

Much like Tennessee this is another team that seemed ready to make reservations for Tampa just a few weeks ago. However, after the shot heard around the football world (with our sincerest apologies to Mr. Burress), the G-Men are now in a fight to the finish for home field advantage. At 11-3 they host the Panthers in a game that should decide the top seed in the NFC. However, a hot Carolina team is not necessarily what the doctor ordered for a team coming off consecutive losses the past two weeks. Injuries and bad fortune have plagued this team since Thanksgiving, however if they can get the ground game back on track they have the ability to make their third Super Bowl appearance in Tampa and defend their title.

Carolina Panthers

What this team lacks in pizzazz and star power versus their counterparts on this list they more than make up for in good ol’ fashioned football toughness. Few teams in the league are as physical in the trenches on both sides of the ball. A current 3 game win streak has Carolina holding on to their own destiny. If they can pull out a win at the Giants they will be in position for the top seed in the NFC. Much like Tennessee they have all the tools needed for playoff glory in an imposing 1-2 running back punch that would leave any team envious. The biggest question mark on this team is the consistency of the man under center, their playoff fortunes will rise or fall depending on which Jake Delhomme shows up each week.

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