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Which Wild Card Team Has the Best Shot at Winning Super Bowl LVIII?

Cooper Neill. Getty Images.

There's nothing more satisfying than a Wild Card team winning the Super Bowl, especially if you have no horse in the race…

There have only been seven Wild Card teams in NFL history who have won it all. The 1980 Oakland Raiders, the 1997 Denver Broncos, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 2007 New York Giants, the 2010 Green Packers, and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl was the 4-seed Raiders, who beat the 2-seed Eagles 27-10. The Super Bowl XV MVP was Jim Plunkett, the first overall pick (Patriots) in the 1971 draft.

In Super Bowl XXXII, the 4-seed Broncos beat the 2-seed Packers, 31-24. Terrell Davis rushed for 157 yards on 30 carries, scored three touchdowns, and was named MVP. John Elway was the Broncos quarterback.

In Super Bowl XXXV, the 4-seed Ravens defense shut down the 1-seed Giants, 34-7, and linebacker Ray Lewis was named MVP. Considered one of the best defenses of all time, during the regular season, the Ravens allowed only 10.3 points per game, 247.9 total yards per game, only 970 rushing yards, and forced 49 turnovers. Trent Dilfer was the Ravens quarterback.

In Super Bowl XL, the 6-seed Steelers beat the 1-seed Seahawks, 21-10. Ben Roethlisberger was 9-21 with two interceptions and a 22.6 passer rating, the lowest ever by the winning quarterback in a Super Bowl. Wide receiver, Atwaan Randall El threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward, who was named MVP.

In Super Bowl XLII, the 5-seed Giants, who entered the game as 12-point underdogs, defeated the 1-seed Patriots, who were 16-0 in the regular season, 18-0 entering the game, 17-14, rallying behind a strong come-from-behind performance by Eli Manning, including an improbable helmet catch by David Tyree. Manning was named MVP.

Focus On Sport. Getty Images.

In Super Bowl XLV, the 6-seed Packers beat the 2-seed Steelers, 31-25, never surrendering the lead. Aaron Rodgers was named MVP on 24-39 passing for 304 yards, three touchdowns, and a 111.5 passer rating. 

In Super Bowl LV, the 5-seed Buccaneers manhandled the 1-seed Chiefs, 31-9, on a strong performance by Tom Brady, 21-29 for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns (two to Rob Gronkowski) with a 125.8 passer rating. The Buccaneers played like champions on both sides of the ball.

This year, Wild Card weekend looks like this in the NFC:

7-seed Packers at the 2-seed Cowboys (Packers compete but come up short. Fuck Jerry Jones!)

6-seed Rams at the 3-seed Lions (Rams Can! They were 7-1 over the last eight games)

5-seed Eagles at the 4-seed Buccaneers (After losing 5 out of the last 6, the Eagles continue the slide…)

And in the AFC:

5-seed Browns at 4-seed Texans (Flacco, and that defense!)

6-seed Dolphins at 3-seed Chiefs (Although he posted his lowest passer rating since 2017, Mahomes will up his game against the Fins, who lost their final two games)

7-seed Steelers at 2-seed Bills (Not beating the Bills at home unless Josh Allen goes down)

Tim Warner. Getty Images.

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Since my New England Patriots are not in the playoffs, I can root for any team I want. When that happens, and over the last 24 years, it hasn't happened very often, I root for one of the "Wild Card" teams to win it all.

Looking at the six Wild Card teams, I'm going with the Browns to win it all!