NFLRT 2/16/2024

The questions and discussion…

1) Super Bowl LVIII is history and the Kansas City Chiefs won the game 25-22. So let’s ask the question…

How was this Super Bowl? How do you rate this Super Bowl? Why?

This game was slow for most of the first three quarters as it was a defensive battle with not a lot of scoring outside of a couple field goals and that fantastic trick play executed to perfection by the San Francisco 49ers to get Christian McCaffrey in the end zone after a Jauan Jennings pass. The fourth quarter is where the excitement pumped up as a punt off the leg of 49ers’ rookie Darrell Luter which came up very costly. Overtime was also very interesting as well. I don’t think this game goes into the top five or even top ten of Super Bowls of all-time, but the excitement and edge-of-your-seat action in the fourth quarter into overtime held a lot of attention of NFL fans. I would rate this game probably a six overall. The first three quarters were slow. The first quarter was the slowest. It was a very big defensive battle, but there were also a lot of mistakes on both teams’ offenses. I was surprised Mahomes threw an interception, yet Purdy didn’t. But McCaffrey did turn the ball over on a fumble, which I wasn’t expecting to happen in the game. 

The game was kind of a back and forth, jockeying around for position on the field, feeling each other out slog fest in the first half with the only TD coming off a trick play by the 49ers in the second quarter when wide receiver Jauan Jennings, a wide receiver who had never thrown a pass before in an NFL game, tossed a wounded wobbly duck across the field that OPOY Christian McCaffrey was able to grab and then sprint the rest of the way into the end zone for what was ultimately a 21-yard TD.

The 49ers had opened the scoring after a scoreless first quarter with an early Super Bowl record setting 55 yard FG by Jake Moody and then came the trick play TD and the 49ers led 10-0 with a little over 4 minutes left it in the half.

The Chiefs were not to be denied from scoring and being shut out in the first half of this Super Bowl as Mahomes led the team down field 65 yards when with just 20 seconds left in the half the Chiefs settled for a 28-yard FG of their own. The teams went into the locker rooms with the 49ers holding the advantage over the Chiefs by a 10-3 score.  

Things were more or less the same sort of slog fest in the third quarter as it was in the first half  before Kansas City broke through with 5:01 on the clock for 57-yard FG by Harrison Butker through the record that the 49ers Moody had set in the second quarter.

Then with about two and a half minutes left in the quarter the 49ers botched a punt as the ball hit off a 49er player’s heel and that wound up being covered by the Chiefs giving the Chiefs a golden opportunity that Mahomes took full advantage of when on the next play he found Marquez Valdes-Scantling downfield in the end zone for a 16-yard TD. And the third ended with KC leading the game a somewhat meh game 13-10.

Then the fourth quarter happened, and this Super Bowl became a game that will be remembered for a long time.  

Early on in the fourth Jauan Jennings caught a pass from Brock Purdy that ended as a 10- yard TD. With that TD Jennings joined Eagles QB Nick Foles as the only players to catch and throw a TD in a Super Bowl. That TD by Jennings also let the 49ers regain the lead at 16-13 as the 49ers again made an uncharacteristic error and screwed up the extra point this time.

Mahomes then led the Chiefs downfield and got the team inside the ten yard line of the 49ers and looked as if they would score another TD, but the 49ers defense held strong and the Chiefs wound up settling for a 3-yard FG. Tie game 16-16 with just over 5 minutes left in the game.  

The 49ers answered by taking the ball down field 40 yards on 7 plays before stalling out and Jake Moody then put his foot into the ball of a 53-yrd FG becoming the first kicker ever in Super Bowl history to drill two 50-yarders for FGs.

Again Mahomes was not to be denied and with less than 2 minutes left in the game he drove the Chiefs down field on a 11 play 64 yard drive that ended at with Harrison Butker kicking a 29-yard field goal with just 3 seconds left in the fourth. Tie ball game and OT.  

Then the real excitement began.

With the new rules for tie games in the playoffs if the team with the ball first scored the other team would get a chance to answer. And what would turn into a much talked about turn of events the 49ers won the coin toss and elected to receive which some folks labeled a big mistake because the thinking was that it allowed the Chiefs to formulate how they would have to answer with their turn with the ball if the 49ers scored.

And the 49ers did score but after going downfield on a 13-play drive they wound up with just another Moody FG.

And then it was Mahomes’ time to stamp this Super Bowl as his own and earn his  third Super Bowl MVP.  

Starting on their own 25-yard line and 7:22 on the clock Mahomes took over this game.  After a short 3-yard run and a six-yard pass completion for another 6 the Chiefs faced a short 1 yard on third down for a new set of downs but were denied  when a run was stuffed.

There was no choice but to go for it or lose. On this crucial fourth down play Mahomes took the ball in the shotgun and ran off tackle n ran for a game saving 8 yards and a new set of downs with 6:05 on the clock.

After five more Mahomes completions the ball was now third down and one at the San Francisco 32 yard line and it  was once again Mahomes out of the shotgun this time scrambling for 19 yards to the 49er 13.

After a run up the middle and as short pass to Kelce it was first and goal at the three. But Mahomes and Chiefs were not settling for another tie…

On the final play of overtime, Mahomes faked an inside hand-off and then found Mecole Hardman all by his lonesome in the flat with no 49er defenders anywhere near him. And Hardman easily walked into the end zone for the game-winning score.

Mahomes was exceptional, completing 34 of 46 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while picking up 66 yards rushing on nine carries.

A game that started off somewhat lackluster and being just so-so wound up being one of the more exciting Super Bowls in recent memory as the Chiefs marked themselves as a true NFL dynasty as they now have won three Super Bowls in the past five years.

2)With this Super Bowl win are the Chiefs now deserving to be called an official NFL dynasty? Why or why not?

And where do the Chiefs rate among other teams that are considered NFL dynasties and have at least three Super Bowl titles to their side of the ledger? Why?   

Dan: The Chiefs definitely deserve to be called a dynasty, with Super Bowl appearances in four of the last five Super Bowls, including getting three victories out of those. A 75% win percentage is pretty impressive in Super Bowl appearances over a five-year stretch, with Mahomes and Kelce and Andy Reid as the three key pieces between the three Super Bowl victories. You’d be lying to yourself and the Chiefs if you didn’t refer to them as a dynasty, and they’re coming back next year for a chance at a three-peat, with a, for Chiefs’ fans, hopefully better receiving core and more weapons for Mahomes to make it more comfortable for their offense. I think the Chiefs rank among the top five in dynasties in NFL history, behind the Patriots long-tenured dynasty led by Belichick and Brady, and behind the Packers of the 1960s led by Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi in which they grabbed the first two Super Bowls in NFL history.

Considering the Chiefs have now been to four Super Bowls over a five-year span and have won three of those games and are only the seventh team in the history of the NFL to have won back-to-back Super Bowls… yes, the Chiefs are without a doubt now an official NFL dynasty.

I got the Chiefs 4^th behind the number 1 Tom Brady Patriots and their 6 Super Bowl rings; I have at number 2 the 1970’s Pittsburgh Steelers Steel Curtain teams who twice won back-to-back, were the first team to win four Super Bowls and did it in a six-year span and I have at number 3 the San Francisco 49er who with Joe Montana went 4-0 in Super Bowl games in a 8-year span including back -to-back  Bowl wins in 1989 and 1990.

I’m omitting the 1960’s Vince Lombardi coached Green Bay Packers who started it a  by going 2-0 against the AFL in the Super Bowls I and II but did win five pre-Super Bowl titles in six tries from 1960 through 1967 simply because they “only” won the Super Bowl those two times.

3) Sunday night’s game was the second of 58 Super Bowls to be tied after regulation and it was the first played under new overtime rules that ensure both teams get a chance to possess the ball before the game ends… unless the first drive in OT ends with a safety. Interestingly the Chiefs players and coaches said they had a prepared strategy in the event that the Super Bowl went to overtime. In fact The Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, “We’ve talked about (the OT rules) all year.  We talked about it in training camp about how the rules were different in regular season versus the playoffs. Every week of the playoffs we talked about the overtime rule.” 

And while Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he and his analytics staff  discussed the OT possibilities before the game, multiple 49ers players admitted they were not even aware of the rules. 

With all of this in mind… 

Did the 49ers make a mistake taking the ball to start overtime? Why or why not? 

And what is your opinion about the reports that say the Chiefs players were well versed  regarding the OT rules for the Super Bowl/playoffs as opposed to multiple 49ers players saying they were unaware of the new rules until virtually the last moments before the OT coin toss? Why? 

The 49ers made a mistake taking the ball in overtime with the new rules. Not only did they make that mistake but failing to score a touchdown on their first possession of overtime set Kansas City up for a very nice comeback. They knew they couldn’t take the three points and tie the game up and give the 49ers another chance with the football. They had to score. And Mahomes is perfect when put up in a situation where he has to win the game, in the biggest moment of the season. The 49ers should gave the Chiefs the ball first, see what they do, then either match or go down and score a touchdown. I think that showed in how much they were aware of the new playoff overtime rules. And that’s just bad preparation. The coaches need to do a better job of educating players on all rules. The players need to do a better job of understanding the rules. And that just comes in preparation. And that’s a critical mistake to have in the Super Bowl. You need to be well versed in the rules of the game, especially when it comes to overtime, which ended up being the biggest moment of the game. It’s just better preparation by the Chiefs, their players, and the staff. 

As it turns out it would up being an error in judgement by the 49ers.

But to be fair when the analytics are crunched it runs out the data says that either way the team that wins the coin toss decided is neither right nor wrong. Both ways have about the same chances of possibility of success.

It just turned out that with a player like Patrick Mahomes you probably don’t want to let him know what he has to do to win the game because whenever he has the ball in that situation he has proven time and time again he will most likely do something… .regardless of how miraculous… to win the game. Especially when it’s for all the marbles in the Super Bowl.  

4) Where does this Super Bowl win place coach Andy Reid among the NFL coaching fraternity who won multiple Super Bowls? Why?   

I think Andy Reid is one of the best coaches of all-time with this win. He’s won three of the last five Super Bowl appearances. He’s won one as an assistant coach. He’s completely dominated the NFL in the previous years led by Mahomes at quarterback. He was great as a coach for the Philadelphia Eagles as well, leading to a lot of success for Donovan McNabb as well. I think this elevates him to the top five of coaches of all-time. He’s won when he’s needed to. This Chiefs’ team wasn’t expected to go far in the postseason. Mahomes had to overcome playing on the road in the playoffs for the first time in his career. They lacked an offensive identity all season. Kelce looked old and injury-riddled. The receiving corps had a lot of problems. They kept making mistakes that cost them games. They were almost in jeopardy of losing the AFC West title late in the season. Yet Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes led them to a Super Bowl and the win. Now they’re coming back for a run at a third in a row. And that leaves Andy Reid as a top five coach of all-time currently. He’s done a hell of a job. 

Andy Reid has now been the head coach for the Chiefs who have been in four Super Bowls in the last five years and have won three of them including being the first repeat champions since the 2003-04 Patriots, snapping the largest such drought in NFL history.

Reid is now tied with Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh for the third-most Super Bowl titles by a head coach in NFL history. 

Reid is entitled to be called one of the best coaches ever in the history of the NFL and is surely marked for a future plaque in Canton.

5) And it would be remiss of NFLRT to not ask the question of the teams QB…

Where does this Super Bowl win place Patrick Mahomes among the NFL quarterbacks who have won multiple Super Bowls? Why? 

Patrick Mahomes is almost already into the top five quarterbacks of all-time room. And among players who have won three Super Bowls, he definitely ranks in the top five. But with how his career has gone, and the age he is at currently, he can definitely come for Tom Brady as the best quarterback of all-time. He’s the face of the league right now. All the casual fans, or young fans, who don’t have one team to follow, root for Patrick Mahomes. Even most fans across the league root for Mahomes, unless they just can’t stand Kansas City. And with how Mahomes plays consistently, doesn’t turn the ball over too much, and can play in the postseason or in big moments is going to propel him to the top five quarterback list of all-time. He keeps winning, and doesn’t let off the gas in his career, he’s going to push Tom Brady for the best quarterback of all-time. He’s on that path. And, personally, I think he can get there. And overcome Brady. 

Mahomes now has 15 playoff wins; only Brady and Montana have more in NFL history. And all three of Mahomes’ Super Bowl wins have come after Kansas City trailed by 10+ points.

Mahomes, with his third Super Bowl MVP, now sits alongside Tom Brady (five) and Joe Montana (three) atop the Super Bowl ratings tree in that distinction And is just the third player to win the award back-to-back, joining Bart Starr (I-II) and Terry Bradshaw (XIII-XIV).

At this point in his career Mahomes is halfway to matching Tom Brady winning six Lombardi trophies as a Patriot and a little bit short of halfway to getting to Brady’s overall seven trophies. He trails only Brady, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana with four SB trophies each and is tied with Troy Aikman at three.

Mahomes has to be ranked at the minimum in the top five of all the QBs who have ever played in the Super Bowl.