Super Bowl XLIII: All Eight Teams Showing Signs They Are Destined To Win

Previous winners of the Super Bowl seem to be teams that get hot at the right time of the season.

In 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first number six seed in NFL history to win the Super Bowl after defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10. The funny thing is they had to win their last four games of the regular season just to get into the playoffs.

Last season, the New York Giants were three points away from ruining the 15-0 New England Patriots perfect season in the regular season finale when they lost 38-35.

After losing Little did the Giants know that they would get a second chance to play spoiler to the Patriots.

The Giants entered the 2008 playoffs as a number five seed and winners of seven straight games on the road. They pulled upsets in Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay on their route to a Super Bowl XLII.

In Super Bowl XLII, the New England Patriots were looking to join the Miami Dolphins as the second team in NFL history to go an entire season undefeated. Instead, the New York Giants made history by pulling off one of the biggest upsets of all time by defeating the Patriots 17-14.

What exactly is the best part about the NFL playoffs? No matter what number seed a team has, they can still win the Super Bowl. There is no best of seven series like we see in other leagues. Each team gets one chance each round of the playoffs to continue their season. On any given Sunday (or Saturday in this case), any team has the potential to do the imaginable.

The best part about the upcoming Divisional playoff match-ups is that any of the remaining eight teams has the potential to win this years Super Bowl. Each team has shown support on why they are destined to be kissing the Lombardi Trophy in Tampa Bay on February 1. Let's take a look at each team's case.

Destined To Win With A Former MVP...Arizona Cardinals

At one point in the season, the Arizona Cardinals were 7-3 and seemed to be one of the hottest teams in football. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt made the decision at the beginning of the season to make Kurt Warner his starting quarterback over Matt Leinart. With the help of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin at wide receiver, Warner appeared to be a candidate for MVP.

After losing four of their final six regular season games, everybody felt the Cardinals collapsed and didn't even deserve to be in the playoffs. The only reason they would be there was because they played in the weaker NFC West division.

Warner and the Cardinals found themselves with a first round match-up against the red-hot Atlanta Falcons, who came in winning five of their final six regular season games. With Matt Ryan and Michael Turner leading the way for the Falcons, everybody assumed an early first round exit for the Cardinals. Looks like we were wrong.

After defeating the Falcons 30-24, the Cardinals appear to be out of their late season funk. With a dynamic offense in Warner, Boldin, and Fitzgerald, the Cardinals have the potential to cause headaches for any defense. This weekend's match-up against the Carolina Panthers should be a good one.

Destined To Win After A Long Search At Quarterback...Baltimore Ravens

If you are as big of a sports fan as myself, you most likely watched Sportscenter at some point during Sunday night or Monday morning. If this is the case, you are well aware of how scary and dangerous Ed Reed is at safety.

How good is he? Earlier in the season, he broke his previous record of longest interception returned for a touchdown (106 yards) when he returned one for 107 yards. Last week against the Miami Dolphins, Reed picked off Chad Pennington twice, returning one 64 yards for a touchdown.

Ever since they joined the league in 1997, the Baltimore Ravens have always been known for their scary defense. With guys like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, and Samari Rolle on defense, any offense will struggle against them.

Even though they always seem to have a great defense each season, the Ravens have never had a consistent quarterback. They may have finally found their man in Joe Flacco.

Flacco may be a rookie quarterback. He may not put up Tom Brady type numbers. The only fact that matters is he is performing well enough on offense for the Ravens to get by each week. Does Trent Dilfer for the Ravens in 2001 ring a bell?

Destined To Win Their First Super Bowl...Carolina Panthers

After recovering from elbow surgery in the off season, the Carolina Panthers hoped quarterback Jake Delhomme would return to the same form that helped the team get to the Super Bowl in 2005. Unfortunately, he has struggled at times throughout the season. Lucky for him, he has the support of strong players on offense to help him out.

The Carolina Panthers come into the playoffs with the second best record in the NFC at 12-4. Steve Smith has always been one of the team's most dangerous weapons. Even though he only had 6 touchdowns this season, he was still able to gain 1,421 receiving yards. Not only do they have solid play at the wide receiver position, another two stars has emerged for the Panthers at running back.

With the departure of DeShaun Foster at running back, the Panthers spent their first round draft pick on Jonathan Stewart out of Oregon to compete with DeAngelo Williams at running back. Instead, these two running backs have emerged as one of the deadliest duos in the league.

Prior to the season, Williams recorded a little over 1,200 yards rushing and five touchdowns in his two year career. In his first season as a full-time starter, he has rushed for 1,515 yards and 18 touchdowns. As a rookie, Stewart ran for 923 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Destined To Repeat As Champions...New York Giants

Last season, the New York Giants did the unthinkable when they beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII. So why wouldn't it be in their destiny to win back-to-back Super Bowls?

For starters, there has only been seven teams in NFL history to ever win back-to-back Super Bowls (Packers, Dolphins, Steelers, 49ers, Cowboys, Broncos, and Patriots).

At one point in the season, the Giants seemed to be on pace for another Super Bowl title with their 11-1 record. Ever since the Plaxico Burress gun incident, the team has gone 2-3. However, they still clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC.

The Giants will be without Plaxico Burress throughout the playoffs. Does this ruin their chances of becoming the eighth team in history to win back-to-back Super Bowls? Of course not.

Eli Manning has matured into one of the top quarterbacks in the league over the last couple of seasons. He will need extra help from wide receivers Domenik Hixon and Amani Toomer need to step it up in the playoffs if the Giants want to advance.

On a positive note, the Giants have one of the best running games in the league. Running back Brandon Jacobs should be good to go for the Giants after resting his knee injury for the last two weeks. Not to mention Derrick Ward has shown us he is capable of filling in for Jacobs if needed.

Destined To Believe In Miracles...Philadelphia Eagles

Out of all the teams to be in the playoffs this season, no team needed more help from other teams to clinch a spot than the Philadelphia Eagles.

With a 5-5-1 record, the Eagles playoff hopes seemed to be shattered as they sat in last place in the NFC East. At one point things became so bad for the Eagles, quarterback Donovan McNabb was benched in the second half of a game against the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season.

Ever since then, McNabb has been a different quarterback. After the game at Baltimore, McNabb led the Eagles to a 4-1 record to clinch the number six seed in the playoffs. However, they would not be in the playoffs if it wasn't for the help they received from other teams.

Thanks to losses from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears, the Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 44-6 in the regular season finale to clinch the final spot in the playoffs for the NFC.

Last week, they went into Minnesota and defeated the Vikings 26-14. The Eagles are one of the hottest teams in football right now and they don't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. They knew they needed a miracle just to get into the playoffs and have taken advantage of their opportunity.

Destined To Be The First Team To Win Six Super Bowls...Pittsburgh Steelers

There are a number of teams such as the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos that have won numerous Super Bowl titles in their franchise history.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2006, they joined the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers as the only teams to win five Super Bowls. With one of the top defenses in the league, the Steelers have a chance to become the first franchise in NFL history to win six Super Bowls.

A few days ago, linebacker James Harrison was rewarded with the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award. Harrison recorded 16 sacks and forced seven fumbles for the Steeler defense.

Despite having one of the top defenses in the league, the Steelers offensive lineman have struggled protecting Ben Roethlisberger most of the season. Big Ben is recovering from a mild concussion he received in the season finale against the Cleveland Browns. He is expected to play this weekend against the Chargers.

Destined To Win After All Hope Seemed Lost...San Diego Chargers

After losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship last season, many analysts picked them as a favorite to win the Super Bowl this season. Unfortunately, their season has been a roller coaster ride.

First, they lose pro bowl linebacker Shawn Merriman for the season with a knee injury. LaDainian Tomlinson struggled with injuries for a majority of the season but was still able to put up average numbers.

With a 4-8 record, the Chargers season appeared to be finished. At one point late in the season, the Denver Broncos held a three game lead in the division and were on their way to becoming AFC West champions. Thanks to their collapse, the Chargers were able to win the title with an 8-8 record.

Last weekend, the Chargers ended the Indianapolis Colts nine-game winning streak by defeating them in overtime 23-17. Despite the win, the Chargers suffered a loss when they lost Tomlinson to a groin injury. Lucky for them, Darren Sproeles ended up rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime.

Whether you like it or not, the Chargers are playing in the playoffs and are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. If they can find a way to win at Pittsburgh this weekend, there is a good chance we will see them playing in Tampa Bay come February.

Destined To Win With A Replacement Quarterback...Tennessee Titans

With the number one seed in the AFC, one question comes to mind when we think of the Tennessee Titans. Would they still be in this position if Vince Young was quarterback?

After Young suffered an injury in Week One, 37-year old quarterback Kerry Collins took over. His numbers may not be worthy of a pro bowl (2,676 yards passing, 12 touchdowns), but he has done enough on offense to help lead the Titans to a 13-3 record.

Another reason for Collins success is the support he has at the running back position. Rookie Chris Johnson and third-year running back LenDale White have combined for over 2,000 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns to help the Titans offense this season.

The Titans defense is another reason for their success as they rank second in the league in points allowed per game (14.6) and seventh in yards allowed per game (293.6).

They have shown us they have what it takes to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl after manhandling the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-14 a few weeks ago. If your favorite team ends up playing these guys, you may be in for a long game. The Titans are one of those teams that nobody wants to play come playoff time.