The two oldest NFL teams never to make a Super Bowl would make a great matchup in SB59 in New Orleans.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Are you ready for some football?
Pro Football Hall of Fame Game participants Houston and Chicago report to training camp this week. The other 30 NFL teams, including the Browns, report next week.
You can bet on this: Each and every one of them believes it can reach the Super Bowl. Yes, even Carolina.
That goal is unrealistic for all 32 teams, of course. But I think at least 20 teams have legitimate hopes of making the playoffs. And if you get into the playoff field of 14 teams, you become, by definition, a Super Bowl contender.
Among the myriad of possible Super Bowl matchups within reason, there are five that stick out to me as ones I would like to see happen because of the potential storylines.
I list them below, along with the current future odds set by Bet MGM.
See you at Super Bowl 59 on February 9 in New Orleans.
1. Cleveland Browns v. Detroit Lions
Bet MGM future odds: +15000
These are the two most Super Bowl-starved markets in the NFL, the oldest of four franchises never to appear in a Super Bowl.
Detroit served as a Super Bowl host city on two occasions, however. Houston and Jacksonville, the other two non-Super Bowl participants, also hosted the game. Which leaves Cleveland as the only NFL market without any Super Bowl history.
Cleveland’s last league title was in 1964; Detroit’s was 1957. I have felt for the last decade or so that if/when the Browns ever make it to a Super Bowl, the Lions would be the most appropriate opponent not only because of their shared agony but also because of their historical link.
When Paul Brown’s Browns burst into the NFL in the 1950s, the Lions were his nemesis. Coach Buddy Parker’s Lions upended the Browns in the 1952 and 1953 NFL Championship Game; Brown avenged him with a 56-10 trouncing in 1954. That would be Paul Brown’s last of seven league championships in the first 10 years of the organization he created in 1946.
The current link between the two franchises is John Dorsey, who preceded Andrew Berry as Browns GM. Dorsey enters his fourth year with the Lions as senior personnel executive. Dorsey lasted only two full seasons as Browns GM, but his lasting personnel acquisitions include stalwarts Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward and Wyatt Teller.
2. Cleveland Browns v. Philadelphia Eagles
Bet MGM future odds: +17500
The Eagles are the inspiration of Browns GM Andrew Berry.
He considers Eagles GM Howie Roseman the best in the business and wants to make the Browns the Eagles of the AFC by adhering to next-level analytics, progressive cap management and sound football judgment. Both organizations stress collaboration over giving the head coach autonomy.
Several integral Browns employees graduated from Eagles championship teams, including Berry, assistant GM Catherine “Cat” Raiche, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and assistant offensive line coach Roy Istvan.
Berry’s identical twin brother, Adam, recently was promoted to Eagles vice president of operations by Roseman. A Super Bowl appearance by the Eagles could thrust Adam Berry, a Princeton grad who was bored with investment banking, into the 2025 GM hiring pool.
Joe Banner served at the CEO level with both franchises. He gave Roseman his first NFL job, and some of the Eagles’ sustained success legitimately can be traced to the foundation laid by Banner. Banner also introduced analytics into the Browns’ franchise, though it was taken to a much higher level after Banner was fired.
On the field, a Deshaun Watson v. Jalen Hurts quarterback matchup would be fun to watch, as would Schwartz’s strategy in defending Hurts. Myles Garrett & Co. would oppose one of the league’s finest offensive lines.
3. Kansas City Chiefs v. Detroit Lions
Bet MGM future odds: +2500
The Chiefs are trying to become the first NFL team to three-peat a Super Bowl championship. The Lions might be the best NFC candidate to block them from making history.
They shocked the Chiefs, 21-20, in the NFL Thursday night season opener in 2023, and then proved it was no fluke by advancing to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost by 3 to the 49ers.
It takes a physically and mentally tough team to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Coach Dan Campbell has made the Lions just that.
If this match-up would come to be, the Lions would be overwhelming sentimental favorites nationally because fans outside of Kansas City and Taylor Swift simply are fatigued of the Chiefs hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Also, if this came about, Lions QB Jared Goff would join Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Craig Morton as the only quarterbacks to lead two different teams to a Super Bowl. That is a very under-rated career achievement.
4. Cincinnati Bengals v. Green Bay Packers
Bet MGM future odds: +6600
These odds were +8000 in February.
Positive reports of Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s recovery from wrist surgery and new confidence in Packers QB Jordan Love as a surging elite quarterback probably helped to reduce the odds.
Also, both teams had excellent transaction seasons since the original odds were posted. I honestly believe this is a highly possible matchup if perennial chalks Kansas City and San Francisco flame out. Injuries, of course, will dictate everything.
5. Buffalo Bills v. San Francisco 49ers
Bet MGM future odds: +3000
I’m in the group that believes the Bills will be better off without diva receiver Stefon Diggs and, frankly, Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator.
After Dorsey was canned halfway through last season, replacement OC Joe Brady reinvigorated the running game and weaned QB Josh Allen off forcing the ball to Diggs. If Brady can mature Allen into playing less “hero ball” – except when the Bills need it – I can see Allen finally lifting the Bills to the Super Bowl.
As for the 49ers, it’s Super Bowl or bust time. This is the last year before the huge reinvestment in QB Brock Purdy comes due. That would result in a roster reboot.
I also would like to see Kyle Shanahan knock the monkey off his back and win it all as a head coach.