The Countdown Begins ...

The 2012 NFL season may be over, but football in America never ends. Now begins the long march to Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, N.J., on Feb. 2. It's a route that winds through the start of free agency on March 12 and continues through the draft, on April 25, 26 and 27. Still, the path to glory is different for every franchise. Starting on Thursday, SI.com will lay out off-season road maps for each team—two teams per day, beginning with the Chiefs and the Jaguars and ending with the Ravens and the 49ers. Thirty-two teams. Sixteen days. One Lombardi Trophy. You can find it all at:

SI.com/NFL

PHOTO

JIM YOUNG (TROPHY)