As we gear up for yet another thrilling Super Bowl Sunday, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on teams that have made it to the biggest game of the year. The San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens are two of the most iconic teams in NFL history, and this year, they are the frontrunners for the Lombardi trophy.
That fact may be somewhat surprising considering the preseason favorites. The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning champions and despite an opening day loss to the Detroit Lions, they have been at the top of the betting charts all season long. However, Patrick Mahomes and Co. have conspired to lose three of their last five games and suddenly have both fans and pundits speculating that their downfall could be imminent.
Another surprising fact is that the Philadelphia Eagles – the team that the Chiefs defeated back in February at Super Bowl LVII – are also not in the top three favorites. A 37-34 victory over Josh Allen and his Buffalo Bills just five weeks ago saw them comfortably sitting atop the NFC summit. However, back-to-back drubbings, first at the hands of the 49ers and then against their NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys has seen their odds plummet.
As such, last year’s Super Bowl finalists are fourth and fifth in the betting list. But what of our top two teams? Here is the last time that they reached the Big Game.
San Francisco 49ers – Super Bowl LIV
The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the most dominant teams this season, and in recent weeks they’ve distanced themselves from the chasing pack. A 31-17 defeat at the hands of Joe Burrow and his Cincinnati Bengals on week eight saw the Super Bowl lines pushed the Levi’s Stadium outfit way out of contention. However, since then, they reeled off six straight victories, before losing to Baltimore, and are now the short-priced +275 favorite for glory.
The last time the Bay area team reached the Super Bowl was back in 2019 at Super Bowl LIV. The 49ers ended their regular season with an impressive 13-3 record, good enough for top spot in the NFC West. During the postseason, they scraped their way past the Minnesota Vikings before a resounding 37-20 victory against the Green Bay Packers sealed their spot in the Big Game. The defense was the highlight for the Niners, as they kept both their postseason opponents under 300 yards.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t continue that dominance in the Super Bowl and lost 20-31 to Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs, the Missouri outfit’s first of three Big Game appearances in just four years.
Baltimore Ravens – Super Bowl XLVII
If you’re talking about a team that knows how to play in the postseason, you can’t ignore the Baltimore Ravens. Back in 2019, Lamar Jackson secured top-seed status in the AFC off the back of a blistering campaign that saw him become the second player ever to win the MVP award unanimously. However, that year, they were shockingly beaten by the sixth-seed Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round.
In their place at the top of the AFC North came the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow led his side to back-to-back conference championships in 2021 and 2022. However, this season, Cincy is unlikely to make the playoffs, while Jackson and his Ravens are back to their very best. They have amassed a 13-3 record and are currently listed as +600 second favorites. They will have their work cut out if they are to make it to the Super Bowl, especially because they more than likely will have to face off against the dynasty-like Chiefs at some point. However, they are currently in top form while the reigning champions most certainly are not.
Super Bowl XLVII was their last Big Game appearance a decade ago. They ended their regular season with a 10-6 record, which was enough to qualify for the postseason, although they weren’t considered favorites by any means. They comfortably knocked off the Indianapolis Colts in the Wildcard Round despite being seeded lower. But it was their victory against Peyton Manning’s top-seed Denver Broncos that stole all the headlines, winning 38-35 in double overtime.
But they didn’t stop there. They then defeated the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, gaining redemption for the year before when Tom Brady and Co. beat the Ravens to punch their own ticket to the Big Game. That set up a meeting with the 49ers at Super Bowl XLVII and they quickly built up a 28-6 lead. But the 49ers came roaring back in the second half, reeling off scoring drive after scoring drive. In the end, the Ravens held on, prevailing by a score of 34-31 in one of the most entertaining Super Bowls of all time.