Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti holds out the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ersin Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco/Santa Clara area will have the honor of hosting the Super Bowl’s 50th anniversary game for Super Bowl L (or 50 numerically).  The news was announced today live on the NFL Network at the NFL Spring Meeting.

Santa Clara is constructing a brand new, $1 billion stadium to host the San Francisco 49ers and Super Bowl L will be a banner moment for the new stadium. The 50th anniversary game is expected to be one of the biggest in NFL history.

San Francisco area hasn’t hosted a Super Bowl since 1985 when Stanford Stadium was the home for the big game which matched up San Francisco and the Miami Dolphins, and it was Miami who San Fran beat-out for the rights to host Super Bowl L.

Also announced was that Houston will host Super Bowl LI (51). Miami also lost out on that bid. The Dolphins were recently denied public money for a stadium upgrade, and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross contends $350 million in stadium improvements are badly needed, but he doesn’t want to pay for them by himself.

Had they gotten the upgrades, they would likely be hosting one of the two Super Bowls they missed on today.

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Oct 16, 2011; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals fans react during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals defeated the Colts 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

With the announcement of the 2013 NFL regular-season schedule coming tonight, we now know the Cincinnati Bengals’ quest for the franchise’s first Super Bowl will begin at Chicago vs. the Bears.

They’ll then head back to Cincinnati for the home opener on Monday Night football against the hated Pittsburgh Steeler. This, after their last meeting in Week 16 of last season saw the Bengals go into Pittsburgh and secure a playoff berth while eliminating the Steelers from playoff contention.

Here is the rest of the 2013 regular-season schedule:

-The Bengals have lost 7 of the previous 8 meetings against New England Patriots, 9 of the past 10 games against the New York Jets, 9 of the past 11 meetings against the Miami Dolphins, and 10 of 11 to the Buffalo Bills. all in all, Cincinnati is 5-35 against the AFC East in the past 40 matchups.

-The last time the Bengals played the entire AFC East in 2010, they went 0-4 against them.

-The Bengals play 7 teams that won 10 or more games, but 5 of them come to Cincinnati.

-Over the past two seasons, the Bengals have gone 8-8 vs. these teams, and have gone 4-4 this season.

-The Bengals will face the NFL’s leading rusher (Adrian Peterson), receiver (Calvin Johnson), interceptions (Tim Jennings), and passer rating (Aaron Rodgers)

-Cincinnati will host 5 of this year’s playoff participants, but play just one team on the road who made the playoffs (Baltimore).

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December 23, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko (94) reacts after a defensive stop against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Heinz Field. The Cincinnati Bengals won 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

After two straight seasons of losing in the first round of the playoffs, defensive tackle Domata Peko believes the Bengals are just one or two more players away from becoming Super Bowl contenders:

We’re right there in the AFC North. We’re on our way. We’re a couple of players away. It seems like we could be (in the Super Bowl) doing that, too. I’m really excited to see what we do this offseason. We get some draft picks and we’re on our way. We’ve got a bright future.