The 2024 NFL regular season has arrived at its final destination. For the majority of the league's teams, that meant collapsing in a heap long before their Super Bowl 59 dreams could take root.

For 14 others, it led to another road -- the path through the 2025 NFL Playoffs that will end in frustration for 13 of them and the chance to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the one team that emerges undefeated. Whatever happened the previous 18 weeks only matters for seeding purposes. All that matters now is winning the next four games (three for the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs thanks to their first round byes) and claiming a spot amongst the gridiron's immortal teams.

This means a chance for the Houston Texans to reestablish themselves as a contender, the Detroit Lions to further their status as a rising behemoth or the Kansas City Chiefs to remind us they are inevitable. Let's talk about how all 14 2025 playoff teams can win Super Bowl 59. We'll run down the list in alphabetical order.

Baltimore Ravens

Another Ravens' Super Bowl run boils down to two people: Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. and Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. The reigning MVP quarterback and all-worldy running back comprise pro football's finest backfield, a walking "pick your poison" matchup problem no one has had a reasonable answer for all year. It feels somewhat hyperbolic to say but they really are the equivalent of Shaq and Kobe, Jordan and Pippen, Gretzky and Messier, Montana and Rice, oh, you get the idea.

After a troubling start, defensive coordinator Zachary Orr's unit has stabilized and is in peak playoff form. The Ravens allowed a combined 43 points in their last four games while storming to a second consecutive AFC North division title. John Harbaugh's team is battle-tested, experienced, and has the chops to head into any city on the road, if needed, and still leave with a win.

Buffalo BIlls

Josh Allen is once again having a monster season and is equally unstoppable on the ground and through the air. Any concerns about the Bills' lack of skill players have been answered by his latest MVP candidacy. Even if he's limited, James Cook has thrived behind a strong blocking corps, tying for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns in a 1,000-yard season. Only one team in the NFL scored more points than Buffalo this season. The offense's 0.186 expected points added (EPA) per play ranked second in the league.

Things aren't are solid on the other side of the ball, but the Bills defense is loaded with players who can create havoc in big moments. Christian Benford has emerged as a plus starter with Pro Bowl credentials (even if he didn't make the team this year). Gregory Rousseau has 24 sacks or tackles for loss in 16 games. Matt Milano is healthy again and ready to cave someone's chest in. All that unit has to do is keep Allen afloat long enough to keep his fireworks show running smoothly.

Denver Broncos

Denver clinched its first playoff berth in nearly a decade by virtue of one essential fact: it has the NFL's premier defense. What's not to love about this bunch? You have Defensive Player of the Year candidate Patrick Surtain II leading the way of the latest "No-Fly Zone" in Colorado's capital city. A front seven, galvanized by potential All-Pro Nik Bonitto, is accustomed to having its way with hapless offensive linemen who often simply don't belong on the same field.

Throw in Bo Nix playing within himself with Sean Payton's experienced guidance and Denver's recipe for a championship is the same as it was the last time it played do-or-die football in January. That means suffocating the other team's offense like a boa constrictor while the Nix-Payton short-short-long pass attack does just enough to finish with more points on the scoreboard.

Detroit Lions

These Lions are just the seventh team ever to finish in the top five in DVOA efficiency on offense, defense, and special teams. This fact won't matter with the NFC's No. 1 seed, but they also finished undefeated on the road for the first time in franchise history, showing an uncanny mettle in hostile environments.

Between Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, they have the NFL's best offensive and defensive coordinator pairing by a country mile. Dan Campbell has the pulse of his Detroit roster like perhaps no other head coach in pro football and knows exactly what button to press when he has to. Even with a rash of injuries on defense, a deep playoff run could facilitate the eventual return of game-changing pass-rusher, Aidan Hutchinson, which would completely flip the dynamic of the entire playoff field on its head.

The Lions have a wealth of depth, are talented, are extremely well-coached, and are brimming with confidence like a team that expects to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. It's rote and a bit cliche, but they have a team of destiny vibe to them.

Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love did the thing; after struggling early in the season (in part due to injury), he thrived over the second half of the regular season. His 0.304 EPA/play over the final nine weeks of 2024 ranked third in the NFL behind only Josh Allen and Jared Goff. Even if he's not at his best, head coach Matt LaFleur is an expert at scheming a deep corps of wideouts and tight ends open. Behind them lurks Josh Jacobs, re-energized after leaving Las Vegas after averaging nearly 100 total yards and a touchdown per game in 2024.

The main difference between this year's team and last years, however, is the defense. Jeff Hafley jumped from Boston College's head coach role to take over as DC and has thrived. The Packers rank fourth in defensive efficiency this season after clocking in at 23rd last season. The postseason could be the launching pad for Edgerrin Cooper, a rookie off-ball linebacker who has been a massive boost to Green Bay's once-deficient run defense.

Houston Texans

The entire AFC postseason field, including the green Broncos, mysteriously vanishes into the fourth dimension on the snap of Roger Goodell's fingers. All that's left are the respective scrubs of all six other postseason teams in the conference. Someone from the utopian year of 2344 -- after war, famine, disease, and hate no longer plague humanity -- travels back in time to give seemingly miraculous healing serums to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell so they can play in the postseason.

Of course, this serum is obviously ubiquitous in a picturesque society that no longer has to worry about eating itself like an ouroboros. When the Texans reach the Super Bowl, the Lions decide to pull an "Alex" from the infamous "Sportsmanship" commercial, saying their incredible offensive line is too overwhelming to facilitate a competitive and entertaining matchup on the biggest stage in American sports. They end up graciously conceding defeat to Houston to cap the greatest season in this expansion franchise's history.

Kansas City Chiefs

It's the Chiefs.

Oh, you probably want more. Well, sure. Kansas City's offense is healthy again, which means Patrick Mahomes may no longer have to rely on JuJu Smith-Schuster in big moments (but still could, just because). In the last four games before taking Week 18 off, the Chiefs beat three fellow playoff teams by increasingly large margins, peaking with a 19-point win in Pittsburgh.

Kansas City's defense may be even more impressive. Steve Spagnuolo has done an admirable job getting a young secondary up to speed. In that Week 14-17 stretch the team's -0.136 EPA per dropback is third best in the league. The Chiefs held more than half their opponents to fewer than 20 points in 2024.

Los Angeles Chargers

Jim Harbaugh spent the last four years getting Michigan over the hump -- to a Big Ten title, wins over Ohio State and, finally, a national title. He's already got the Chargers ahead of schedule, taking what looked like an undermanned team and winning 11 games in the process (all the while quietly crushing the Falcons and Bengals' playoff hopes). Much like El Dandy, who are we to doubt Jim Harbaugh?

More importantly, the run-heavy, defense first approach he's brought with him from the Big Ten has been a proper counterpunch to the NFL's high flying passing attacks. No team in the league allowed fewer points and Los Angeles's -0.054 EPA/play allowed ranked fifth in the NFL. Justin Herbert threw the ball roughly five times fewer per game than in 2023 but set career bests in yards per attempt (7.7) and passer rating (101.7). He's elevated a depleted receiving corps in the process and could do so again for some postseason redemption; his only playoff start to date saw him botch a 30-0 second quarter lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Los Angeles Rams

Mired by injuries and an offensive line that couldn't keep Matthew Stafford upright, the Rams started the 2024 season dead in the water. They were 1-4 by early October with no hope in sight. But as Cooper Kupp and Co. started getting healthier, so did the Rams' general prospects.

After that ghastly start, L.A. won nine of the next 11 games where it gave meaningful snaps to starters. While slinging the ball around to Kupp and Puka Nacua with Sean McVay's brilliant play design, Stafford looked like his vintage gunslinger self.

Meanwhile, a defense spearheaded by Kobie Turner and Jared Verse wreaked havoc when it needed to. The Rams do not have a loaded roster in the manner some of their peers do. But they do have an elite quarterback, a top-five coach, and a defense tailor-made to make timely plays. That's more than enough to win it all. It wouldn't be shocking to see them hoist their second Lombardi Trophy in four seasons.

Minnesota Vikings

Sam Darnold has finally fulfilled the potential that once convinced the New York Jets to trade three second round picks to move up and draft him, even if it's been a long and winding road to get there. Even if he's merely average, he's surrounded by a great offensive line and a cache of playmakers who can elevate the offense. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson? All awesome. Aaron Jones is averaging more than 100 total yards and a touchdown per game in the playoffs. This is a team insulated from bad quarterbacking that's instead been blessed with the gift of a pretty good passer.

The defense is a chaos engine. Coordinator Brian Flores isn't blitzing as much as he did when he led the league in 2023, but he's making you think he might, dropping guys into coverage and disrupting passing lanes. Once you think you know the answers, he changes the questions. Minnesota's -0.091 EPA per play allowed was second to only the Denver Broncos in 2024.

Philadelphia Eagles

From top to bottom, these Eagles are positively stacked. Their arsenal of gamebreaking talent is truly just breaktaking. An elite brick wall of a offensive line. An all-worldly, multipurpose running back with 2,000 rushing yards in Saquon Barkley. Two Pro Bowl-caliber receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. A vicious pass rush that comes in waves. A refreshed secondary revitalized by a much-needed injection of youth.

Despite Nick Sirianni's steakhead propensity for losing his cool at the stupidest possible times, he's already taken this Eagles team to the precipice of a Super Bowl title. His team has been there and done that and has the "hungry for redemption" narrative. This iteration of Philadelphia is arguably even better than the one that fell a pass interference penalty short to the greatest player of his generation. That speaks volumes.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Tomlin has a top 10 defense and the confidence of knowing he briefly turned Russell Wilson into a top 10 quarterback again... until Week 15 (please do not ask what happened after). A healthy George Pickens can pair with Pat Freiermuth to be the downfield threats this team desperately needs (or he can take a few plays off to fight with fans in the stands, you never know). Chris Boswell is great without a caveat, so there's that as well.

Things are much brighter, per usual, on the defensive side of the ball. While that unit has backslid T.J. Watt remains committed to his hypothesis of figuring out how much terror he can bring to an NFL pocket. Cam Heyward is 35 years old and playing at an All-Pro level. Keeanu Benton and Alex Highsmith are unheralded, destructive members of a game-changing front. The Steelers may have to win rock fights to make their first Super Bowl appearance since 2011, but this is a team that can thrive in the muck.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Here's a fun fact. Just two NFL quarterbacks finished with at least 4,500 passing yards, at least 40 passing touchdowns, and a completion percentage above 70 percent this season. One is the since-ousted Joe Burrow. The other is Baker Mayfield, the Buccaneers' fiery and unconventional talisman.

Once exiled from the dumpster fire known as the Cleveland Browns, Mayfield finally showed why he was once a No. 1 overall pick in 2024. With Mayfield firing on all cylinders (along with the innovative play design of rising offensive coordinator Liam Coen), Tampa Bay finished third in total offense, fourth in scoring offense, and fifth in offensive expected points added (EPA) per play. The Buccaneers are an offensive buzzsaw, the kind that can travel and overwhelm hapless defenses. And it's all thanks to their quarterback and coaching steward.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why all 14 NFL playoff teams can win Super Bowl 59 (even you, Texans)