Is anyone surprised the Super Bowl was as good as it was?
They shouldn’t be.
I know that every year it seems the stage is set for a titanic battle between the two conference champions.
More often than not it doesn’t turn out that way.
Sometimes teams dominate and win big.
That too, isn’t really that surprising, since once a team jumps out to a big lead, the club that is trailing has to abandon its game plan, throw the ball more than they want to get back, and more mistakes follow.
But this one between the Chiefs and the Eagles didn’t seem that it follow that pattern.
These were two evenly-matched outfits who had exciting, young mobile quarterbacks, and quality personnel everywhere you looked. It was unlikely that one of them would crumble and self-destruct.
And they didn’t.
You know the story of the game.
The Eagles looked practically invincible from the get-go, a touchdown on the opening possession of the game, controlling the first half in time of possession, and in almost every phase.
If it weren’t for the game’s lone turnover, a Philly fumble which resulted in a KC recovery and return for a TD, the Chiefs would have been in a huge hole at intermission.
They were flat, defensively they were shooting themselves in the foot.
Twice they were guilty of off-sides or encroachment on fourth and less than five, and gave the Eagles a first down and new life.
They missed tackles all over the field.
Their vaunted offense just didn’t have the ball enough, and their miracle-man, quarterback Patrick Mahomes limped off the field after re-aggravating an ankle injury he suffered in the AFC title game.
They were fortunate to be down by only 24-14 at halftime.
But Kansas City was a different team when the third quarter began.
A mark of a champion.
They narrowed the gap, but still trailed. Down by 6 going into the 4th.
But they looked energized and played that way.
You could see they wouldn’t go down easily.
The Chiefs took their first lead early in the fourth, and the plays-calling of their head coach Andy Reid was finally paying off.
As I discussed last week, sometimes it’s that unexpected play by a an unexpected player that proves decisive in a game everyone seems to be able to strategize and predict beforehand.
In this case it was the Super Bowl record 65-yard punt return by the Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney to the Eagles 5, which set up a touchdown which boosted Kansas City’s lead to 8.
Now it was the Eagles who had to play catch up, with time becoming a factor, and they did.
Jalen Hurts played a brilliant game for the Eagles.
He was effective throwing and running and performed well enough to win.
But he happened to be on the same field as the man who, unquestionably now wears the mantle as the best quarterback in the NFL.
Patrick Mahomes, got off the injury mat, and wouldn’t be denied. He guided the Chiefs to the winning field goal after Hurts rallied the Eagles back to a tie.
If there’s one area where I believe the Chiefs had an answer to an Eagles strength, it was facing a defensive line that had a record number of quarterback sacks, with each of their front 4 collecting more than 10 this season.
But in this game, the Eagles never sacked Mahomes.
It wasn’t as much the protection from his offensive line, though they were terrific, as it was the way the receivers and backs ran their routes, short and long, close and wide, and nullified the path to the quarterback.
And Mahomes, despite hurting, was mobile enough to get the job done.
Andy Reid, who still has close ties to the Eagles who he led for over a decade, cemented himself as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer with his second Super Bowl triumph with the Chiefs.
I kind of think he would have gotten there anyway.
It was a great game to watch.
It delivered big-time as a matchup to determine the world champion.
And with Tom Brady’s retirement, we saw first hand that there’s a new sheriff in town.
His name is Patrick Mahomes.
In an effort to be accountable, I’ll conclude the writings of the NFL season with a look back at the 10 things I thought when I previewed the season back on September 5th.
1. I said all signs point to the Buffalo Bills winning it all, despite the intense scrutiny they would face all year.
I was wrong.
2. I said the AFC was the stronger conference thanks to the number of outstanding young quarterbacks and I was right on that one. But I thought the Raiders would do a lot better with Josh McDaniels at the helm as head coach, and that didn’t happen.
3.I thought Baker Mayfield would prove people wrong and succeed in Carolina. He didn’t, but regained some luster with the Rams before the season was over.
4. I declared it was over for the Tampa Bay Bucs and I was on the money there.
5. Burying the Chiefs who would be playing without the great receiver Tyreek Hill would be an overreaction. That Kansas City would succeed regardless. I think we know the answer to that.
6. I felt the AFC West would be the league’s strongest, but the Raiders, and especially the Broncos were huge disappointments.
No one figured the NFC East, with three playoff teams would be as tough as they were.
7. I correctly forecast the demise the defending Super Bowl champion Rams, citing the questionable health of quarterback Matthew Stafford and that proved to be the top reason the Rams had a bad year.
8. I raved about new Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin McConnell, and felt they could unseat Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, and they did, in impressive fashion.
I hung my hat on the Cowboys once again, and figured defensive coordinator Dan Quinn would be the difference in a Dallas-Philly tussle for the trophy in the NFC East.
Well, we know the answer to that one.
I said the Giants were definitely on the rise with their new head coach Brian Daboll, a team to watch next year.
I was off a year.
9. In the AFC North, I touted the Joe Burrow and the Bengals, but gave a slight edge to the Baltimore Ravens. QB Lamar Jackson got hurt and the Ravens wilted.
But I gave kudos to Mike Tomlin and the way he gets the Steelers to play hard year-in and year-out. 2022 would be an adjustment season with a new quarterback in Kenny Pickett, and that’s the way it panned out.
10. My final comment was about Bill Belichick and the Patriots and the way the head coach always seems to have something up his sleeve.
We found out that there was nothing up Bill’s sleeve.
I have a hunch you’ll see a dramatic turnaround in 2023.
If it weren’t for the Super Bowl, my column this week would have been about the legendary composer Burt Bacharach who passed away at the age of 94.
Burt had an indelible influence on my musical life, as a devotee of good song, and amateur pianist and singer.
Next week I will put down on paper, the influence Burt Bacharach had on me.