Whoever plays in Super Bowl 57, the game will have a familiar feel based on recent results.
The AFC championship game presents a rematch in Kansas City. The Super Bowl 54 champion and Super Bowl 55 runner-up Chiefs will host the Super Bowl 56 runner-up Bengals.
The NFC championship game will involve the Super Bowl 54 runner-up 49ers for the third time in four years. They will travel to face the No. 1 seed Eagles, who also were the top seed when they won Super Bowl 52.
Although any version of Super Bowl 57 will be an exciting and great matchup, here's having a little fun and ranking them based on potential game storylines:
POWER RANKINGS: 3 reasons Chiefs, 49ers, Eagles and Bengals will (or won't) win Super Bowl 57
1. 49ers vs. Chiefs
"The Joe Montana Bowl II"
This would be a star-powered rematch of Super Bowl 54, when game MVP Patrick Mahomes rallied Kansas City past San Francisco with a 21-point fourth-quarter for a 31-20 victory. Mahomes magic vs. Brock Purdy pandemonium would be quite the QB marquee. Seeing Andy Reid vs. Kyle Shanahan plus George Kittle vs. Travis Kelce again also would be sweet.
The previous two Super Bowls played in Glendale, Ariz. also were classics. The Giants upset the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl 42 and the Patriots survived the repeat-minded Seahawks Super Bowl 49. Getting these two teams together is bound to be a thrilling offensive-minded affair.
2. Chiefs vs. Eagles
"The Andy Reid Bowl" or "The Kelce Brothers Bowl"
All the attention would fall on the Chiefs' long-time head coach, who also made the Super Bowl once as the Eagles' long-time head coach. Many of the things Reid did in Philadelphia are still part of the team's offensive foundation.
From this result, either the Eagles will have won two Super Bowls in six seasons or the Chiefs will have won two Super Bowls in four seasons. It would guarantee one of the future Hall of Fame Kelce brothers, Travis or Eagles center Jason, would earn a second ring.
Mahomes battling Jalen Hurts also would decide the "real" MVP on the field. It would also be nice to have another matchup of top seeds with the best two teams from the regular season playing each other in a rare battle of No. 1 vs. No. 1. Don't forget about the delicious Philly cheesesteak and KC barbecue possibilities for an epic home tailgate and obligatory mayoral culinary bet.
MORE NFL PLAYOFFS: AFC & NFC bracket | TV schedule | Super Bowl picks
3. 49ers vs. Bengals
"The Joe Cool Bowl"
Joe Burrow will try to get revenge for Montana's 49ers beating the Bengals twice, in Super Bowl 16 and Super Bowl 23. Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason did their best, but Burrow can cement his legend as Cincinnati's starting QB with a ring after getting to his first Super Bowl last year.
Burrow has been compared more to Montana because of his easygoing, calm competitive nature. The Bengals would establish themselves as a long-term contender with Burrow leading to back-to-back Super Bowls.
This matchup would also mean one of two recent Super Bowl losers will have some redemption. Purdy vs. Burrow will be a blast and this game would also feature plenty of playmakers, with Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Joe Mixon and others joining Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Both of these teams could get a shot to rebound from losing to the Rams a year ago, too.
4. Eagles vs. Bengals
"The Jeff Blake Bowl"
There's not much tying these cities or teams together, even though Blake actually quarterbacked for both teams. Philadelphia comes from the Greek for "brotherly love." Cincinnati was named for a Roman military leader.
In sitcom lore, Philly boasts the Fresh Prince, Janine Teagues, Charlie Kelly, Ronald "Mac" McDonald and of course, Dennis, Dee and Frank Reynolds. Philadelphia also great some related movies, including everything "Rocky, "Silver Linings Playbook" — and wait for them — "The Philadelphia Story" and "Philadelphia".
Cincy can make up for that with WKRP alone, thanks to Dr. Johnny Fever, Les Nessman, Venus Flytrap, of course, the underrated Bailey Quarters. Its big referential movies include "Rain Man" and — wait for it — "The Cincinnati Kid".
No one can question the quality of a cheesesteak, from Pat's, Geno's or other worthy establishments. But as the opposite of KC barbecue, Skyline Chili always disappoints (Burrow would agree), so think more Grater's Ice Cream and The Montgomery Inn.
Back to football, Burrow vs. Hurts would be another great QB matchup with both players being drafted in the 2020 class. There's also the fact that like Travis, Jason also starred in college at Cincinnati.
But there's no doubt when talking Super Bowls, the 49ers have more historic appeal and the Chiefs have more modern magnetism because of Mahomes. A Super Bowl without those teams would thrill Philly and Cincy, but it may fall short on casual fan buzz.
