With Super Bowl LIX over and the 2024 season officially in the books, the attention turns to the Broncos and the offseason. Everyone is back to 0-0 and in two weeks the NFL Scouting Combine will take place in Indianapolis with free agency starting the second week of March, and the NFL Draft in April. The offseason will be up and running very soon. This offseason will be very exciting for the Broncos and their fans. We are coming off a playoff berth, and we have our young QB in Bo Nix in place. Now, it is about adding pieces to this team's core and taking the next step. Bronco fans can watch the combine, draft prep, and free agency with a sense of optimism and hope that we can add to this roster and continue to build the team. Every year on the day of the Super Bowl, I think about how close the Broncos are to actually getting back to the Super Bowl. Last year, at this time it felt like we were so far away. The Broncos were going to be moving on from Russell Wilson and Sean Payton was going to have to find that next QB. We were also about to move on from key veterans. It felt like the Broncos were in a bad place. Fast forward a year and the Broncos are closer to the Super Bowl than they have been since 2015. That is a good thing and makes this offseason fun and exciting.
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Super Bowl LIX Recap and Reaction
The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champs after dismantling the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Sunday. The Eagles completely dominated the game and it was a blowout from the very beginning. Philly won their second Super Bowl in franchise history and avenged their loss to the Chiefs two years ago. Kansas City was denied a three-peat as they fell short of winning three straight Super Bowl titles. Here are my thoughts and reactions to the game....
1) This game was a complete domination by the Eagles. Their defensive line completely destroyed Patrick Mahomes and that KC offensive line. The Chiefs couldn't do anything. They couldn't block the Eagles, and Mahomes got sacked six times and was running for his life throughout. It was also the worst game I have ever seen Mahomes play.
2) When Mahomes got intercepted by Cooper DeJean and he returned for a touchdown to make it 17-0 in the second quarter, I felt like the game was over at that point. I didn't think KC was coming back. After Philly made it 24-0 right before the half, it was really over.
3) As much as I was rooting for the Eagles to win, the game was never close and it was a blowout-which is a bummer. You want the Super Bowl to be a close game no matter who is in it, and this was a complete demolition by the Eagles. It was 24-0 at halftime and 40-6 in the 4th quarter before the Chiefs got garbage time touchdowns. We usually get close games in the Super Bowl, but every once in a while you get a blowout. This game reminded me of the Seahawks-Broncos game in Super Bowl XLVIII. It was over from the get-go.
4) Give the Eagles credit. They collapsed last season, and there was a lot of heat on head coach Nick Sirianni, but after starting this season 2-2, they righted the ship and went 14-3. They dominated both Washington and Kansas City in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl respectively. GM Howie Roseman deserves a lot of credit for building this team and retooling the roster for this year. No one thought that QB Jalen Hurts would develop to be this good of a NFL quarterback after being drafted in the second round in 2020, but he has exceeded expectations and was named Super Bowl MVP. The Eagles now have their second Super Bowl title, and they look to be a force for years to come in the NFC.
5) As far as KC is concerned, I think this will just make them adjust and restock their roster in certain ways. Look, they still have Patrick Mahomes. He is only 29 years old, so no matter what, he is still going to be back and will give the Chiefs a really good chance at getting back to many more Super Bowls in the future. I don't think this will affect them too much in the AFC. The conference still runs through Kansas City. This is a setback, but the Chiefs are going anywhere.
6) The loss does quiet the whole "Patrick Mahomes is the greatest QB ever" talk for a little while. That title still belongs to Tom Brady. Mahomes will take a backseat on that for a while. Plus, I also think it quiets the discussion for Andy Reid being the greatest coach in NFL history. Both of those discussions took a hit on Sunday and for the time being are not a conversation.
7) For the past three years, every time we thought the Chiefs could get beat the argument against it was that they have Pat Mahomes and he will find a way to win-even if the other team is better. Well, now going into next year, we can stop using that theory when we are analyzing the Chiefs in big games. The Eagles put an end to that in dominating fashion and showed that Mahomes and the Chiefs are vulnerable in big games.
8) It was a Super Bowl that really didn't have a lot of storylines or hype going into it, and the game fell flat because it was such a blowout. The legacy of this game will be the Eagles and their dominance of the great Patrick Mahomes. The Eagles defensive performance is right up there with other great defensive efforts in the Super Bowl like the 2000 Ravens, 2002 Bucs, 1985 Bears, and 2015 Broncos.
9) The Super Bowl is over and the Eagles will have their parade in a few days and that puts a wrap on the 2024 NFL season. I'll have some thoughts on the Broncos going into the offseason in a few days, but it is always sad when the NFL season is over. It will be quiet here for a few weeks and then we will turn our attention to free agency and the draft in March and April.
Friday, February 7, 2025
Super Bowl LIX Preview and Pick
Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans features the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. It is a rematch from Super Bowl LVII which the Chiefs won 38-35 two years ago. The Chiefs are going for their third straight Super Bowl, which has never been done before. The Eagles are in the Super Bowl for the third time in eight seasons but have an overall record of 1-3 in the Super Bowl. Both the Chiefs and the Eagles were two of the top contenders in the entire NFL this year, so it is not a surprising Super Bowl matchup- at all. As I always like to do, I'll first take a look at the storylines that surround the game, then give a preview and make a pick.
Super Bowl LIX Storylines:
I) The Chiefs Three Peat: The Chiefs are looking to do something no team has done in the Super Bowl era: Complete a three-peat. The Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s, the Cowboys of the 90s, and even the Patriots in their two-decade run never pulled off the three peat. The Chiefs are on the verge of doing that with a win this Sunday and that would be a very significant historical moment in the history of the Super Bowl.
II) The Mahomes/Reid Legacy: Patrick Mahomes in only 29, and he is on the verge of winning his fourth Super Bowl title. He has already put himself in the conversation of the greatest QB of all time, and if he pulls of the three-peat, it is just going to add to it. Andy Reid is on the verge of winning four Super Bowls as a head coach, and he is getting close to overtaking Bill Belichick and even Don Shula as the winningest coach in NFL history.
III) Revenge of the Eagles: Philadelphia has been one of the best and most successful NFL franchises over the last 20 years. They are consistently a contender in the NFC and almost won the Super Bowl two years ago against the Chiefs. They only have one Super Bowl title to show for it. This is a huge opportunity to get revenge on the Chiefs from a few years ago and give the city of Philadelphia their second Super Bowl title. The 49ers couldn't get revenge in the rematch with the Chiefs last year, but now Philly gets their shot.
IV) The Boring Super Bowl Matchup: Let's face it: This Super Bowl matchup isn't exactly ripe with anticipation and excitement. It just isn't. All year long, the Lions were the team everyone wanted to see in the Super Bowl for the NFC. The Bills were the sentimental team in the AFC. EVERYONE wanted to see a Bills-Lions Super Bowl, but we didn't get that. We got the Chiefs once again, and we got the Eagles. People are tired of the Chiefs. They are tired of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Outside of Philly/South Jersey, no one likes the Eagles or roots for the Eagles. No one likes their obnoxious fanbase. It is a Super Bowl that no one really wanted to see. It has the real opportunity to be a really good and close game, but there's not a lot of juice there otherwise. There were other Super Bowl matchups that presented a much more interesting set of storylines, but this one doesn't have that.
Super Bowl LVIII
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Last Week's Playoff Record: 1-1
Overall Playoff Record: 4-7-1
Overall Total Record: 148-128-11
A Case for the Chiefs: All year long the Chiefs have escaped with close wins all season long. They have found a way to survive each week. It just feels inevitable that they will find a way to win a close game. It feels like all year they are on a mission to finish it off and get the three peat. You can't bet against Patrick Mahomes, and you know he will find a way. The coaching edge leans heavily in favor of Andy Reid over Nick Sirriani. You also have to love the matchup with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo going up against the Eagles offense. The Super Bowl has been around almost 60 years and we are due for a team to win three in a row.
A Case for the Eagles: They might have the better team overall. Pound for pound the Eagles have the advantage. Their talent on the roster is better than KC. Saquon Barkley can just take this game over by himself and win the game with an epic performance. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has a lot of experience going up against Reid and Mahomes. Maybe the Chiefs luck runs out and the Eagles pick them off in a close game.
Prediction: Kansas City (-1.5) over Philadelphia: The Chiefs pull out a close game late and complete the three peat and win their third straight Super Bowl, their fourth in the past five years, and their fifth in franchise history.
Final Score: Chiefs-27 Eagles-24