The New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are each the favorite to emerge from their respective conferences and head to Super Bowl LVI, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
If those analytics proved prescient, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick would match up in the Super Bowl in one of the most compelling contests in the history of the game. The two men worked together for 20 years and won six Super Bowls as a tandem, but broke up under fairly complicated circumstances and went separate ways in 2020. Brady immediately won a Super Bowl with the Bucs. Belichick fell into mediocrity for one year — before having a resurgent season in 2021.
The truth is that it’s unlikely. But if it happened, it would be absolutely fascinating to watch, especially considering they matched up once and the Buccaneers won by a very narrow margin.
Patriots-Bucs is now the most likely Super Bowl matchup, per FPI.
There's a 10% chance of it occurring.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) December 7, 2021
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For what it’s worth, another analytics website (Five Thirty Eight) has the Patriots and Arizona Cardinals sitting as the most likely to win the Super Bowl from their respective conferences. This is the time of year when strong teams emerge — but nothing is certain until the playoffs are finished.
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