If you had the Kansas City Chiefs eliminated before the middle of December, raise your hand.
Crickets.
The Chiefs' elimination is just the latest surprise in a wide-open and unpredictable NFL season.
- The AFC has taken the time machine back to the mid-2000s with the Patriots, Steelers, and Broncos on top of their respective divisions
- QB Philip Rivers started a game for the Colts last Sunday.
- The NFC West has three teams with 10+ wins, while the NFC South has no teams over .500
- The Bears, predicted by many in the media to be the only team not to contend for the NFC North title, have the lead with three weeks left.
- The No. 1 pick goes through New Jersey.
Okay, that last one was predictable, but nothing else seems to be. Do you trust the young Patriots with a second-year QB and new coach? Is this finally Josh Allen and the Bills’ year with the Chiefs almost out of the picture? We don’t know who will win the NFC North, so how do you pick a Super Bowl champion?
Let's sift through the 2025 teams and discuss who could make it to, and potentially win, the Super Bowl, and break down the possible payouts for each team’s Futures on PrizePicks Team Picks if each wins.
With PrizePicks Team Picks, you can get in on who you think will win the Super Bowl in the NFL futures section, and earn real money if you're right. All Super Bowl payouts listed are at the time of writing and are subject to change.
Who Will Win the 2026 Super Bowl?
Here are our top three Super Bowl contenders with Week 16 on the horizon. Super Bowl winner payouts courtesy of PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can pick which player you think will win the NFL Super Bowl and earn money if your picks are right!
#3: Los Angeles Chargers (10-4)
NFL Super Bowl Winner Payout via PrizePicks Team Picks: 22.22x Yes
Last week, the toughest part of the article was picking a third team. Seattle was in the third spot last week, but after a poor performance at home to the Colts and 44-year old Philip Rivers, they dropped to four. With a game vs. the Rams tonight, they will have every opportunity to jump back in.
Week 15 cleared up some things, but left many unanswered:
- Does one great game against the lowly Raiders mean the Eagles are back to Super Bowl worthy?
- Did the Bills and Patriots show in one game why they can win the Super Bowl and why they can't?
- Is it still too early to trust QB Jordan Love and the injury-riddled Packers in big games?
- Bears - do you believe yet?
There’s only one team that has swept the three-time defending Super Bowl champs: The Los Angeles Chargers, who just so happen to be 5-0 against the AFC West this season.
The Bolts have kept it simple this year: when they bring their “A” game, they can beat anyone, as we have seen in sweeping the Chiefs, and beating the Super Bowl champion Eagles and division-leading Broncos. When they are off their game, they lose badly, like in games to the Giants, Commanders, Colts and Jags by an average of 15.8 PPG.
Los Angeles has one of the top defenses in the league, ranked second in total yards (279.1), third in passing (174.4), and eighth in scoring (20.3 PPG). The offensive side has the weapons in AB Justin Herbert, and WRs Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey and Quinton Johnston, with consistency being the problem. The Chargers have almost as many games scoring fewer than 20 points (four) as they do 27+ points (5).
It's the potential the Chargers bring and the 22.22x value that puts them in this article. If they stay within a game of the Broncos and win Week 18 at Denver, the path gets much easier.
#2: Denver Broncos (12-2)
NFL Super Bowl Winner Payout via PrizePicks Team Picks: 7.14x Yes | 1.06 No
The challenge for the Broncos entering their Week 15 showdown with the Packers was, can they generate enough offense to supplement a championship-level defense.
Challenge accepted. The Broncos dropped 34 points on a top-ten scoring defense, the second most points scored all season by Denver and second-most scored against the Packers.
Don’t look now, but the Broncos offense has gone to a different level since their Week 12 bye: Denver is averaging 383.3 yards per game and 28.3 points per game in the three games since their bye, compared to 277.3 yards and 16.7 points per game in the three games prior to the bye. The biggest difference has been on the passing side: 278.0 passing yards compared to 206.0 prior. Denver’s offense is 11th in total yards, 11th in passing, and 17th in rushing and 12th in DVOA offense.
The Broncos have one of the more dominant defenses in the NFL, a main reason for their current 11-game winning streak. Through 14 games, Denver boasts an NFL-leading 58 sacks and are on pace for 70, which would be 2 shy of the 1984 Bears for the most in a single-season in NFL history.
Denver is second in the NFL in yards per play, holding teams to 4.57 yards and rush yards per play at 3.82, third in pass defense (5.61 yards per play) and third in scoring (18.6 PPG). FTN has the Broncos fifth in overall defensive DVOA, sixth in passing and sixth in rushing.
Add it all up and you have a team in the Super Bowl conversation, but you also have a team that has 10 wins by one score. (The Chiefs, it should be noted, went 12-0 in one-score games last season on their way to the Super Bowl, where they promptly lost to the Eagles.
With the AFC being wide open this year, there could be value on 7.14x for a team with the current one seed in the conference.
#1: Los Angeles Rams (11-3)
NFL Super Bowl Winner Payout via PrizePicks Team Picks: 4x Yes | 1.21x No
The Rams currently lead an NFC West division that has three teams with 10+ wins, having beaten both Seattle and San Francisco this year, along with Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Tampa Bay, all of whom are currently either in the playoff field or just outside. A rematch with Seattle is on tap for tonight, which could decide the top-seed in the NFC.
Los Angeles is the only team in the NFL to have its offense and defense in the top-five in both offensive and defensive DOVA (first on offense, third on defense). Their offense, led by NFL MVP favorite Matthew Stafford and Offensive Player of Year candidate Puka Nacua, leads the league in yards per play (6.2), is second in total yards at 383.6 total yards per game, second in passing at 257.1 yards per game and second in scoring at 30.0 points per game.
Stafford continues his MVP campaign, leading the NFL with 37 passing TDs, 8 more than any other player and has only thrown 5 INTs on the season. His 112.2 passer rating also leads the NFL, further solidifying his MVP case.
On the defensive side, the Rams only allow 18.6 PPG, fourth-best in the NFL. They are seventh in the league, allowing 4.97 yards per play, eighth in rushing (3.90 yards per play) and ninth against the pass (6.12 yards per play).
LB Byron Young has 11.0 sacks this season, the first Rams player to record at least 11.0 sacks in a season since Aaron Donald in 2021.
Head Coach Sean McVay already has a Super Bowl ring and almost led the Rams to an upset of the eventual Super Bowl Champion Eagles in the Divisional Round last year. With 11 wins against teams at .500 or better, the Rams have earned their spot at the top of the list.
More 2026 Super Bowl Futures, Payouts
Here are all of the payout projections for teams to win the 2026 Super Bowl, via PrizePicks Team Picks. NFL futures payouts are live as of publishing, but are subject to change.
- Los Angeles Rams - 4x Payout
- Seattle Seahawks - 6.66x
- Denver Broncos - 7.14x
- Buffalo Bills - 7.14x
- Philadelphia Eagles - 7.69x
- New England Patriots - 10x
- Houston Texans - 10x
- Green Bay Packers -14.28x
- San Francisco 49ers - 14.28x
- Jacksonville Jaguars - 16.66x
- Chicago Bears - 16.66x
- Baltimore Ravens - 16.66x
- Detroit Lions - 22.22x
- Los Angeles Chargers - 22.22x
- Dallas Cowboys -33.33x
- Indianapolis Colts - 33.33x
- Pittsburgh Steelers - 33.33x
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 33.33x
- Carolina Panthers - 33.33x
Make NFL Super Bowl Futures Picks on PrizePicks
With three weeks left in the regular season and the playoff race heating up, these three top Super Bowl contenders may have an inside track on securing a title.
The season is dwindling down, but there’s plenty of time to make your NFL Super Bowl pick with futures on PrizePicks Team Picks. Just go to the PrizePicks app, open Team Picks, pick the player you think will win MVP, and earn cash if you're right on your pick.
Keep it here with the Playbook for continued NFL picks, predictions, futures, and more as we get closer to Super Bowl 60.
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