In 1992, a group named The Getto Boys had a hit titled “Damn it feels good to be a gangsta”, immortalized in the movie “Office Space”. In yesterday’s Superbowl, the Eagles were OG “Gangstas”. They were mean and nasty from the opening drive through the entire 60 minutes of the game.
Someone else was a gangsta on Sunday…yours truly! I won a ton of money yesterday, and if you read my prediction of the game last week, you would have won a ton of money too. I analyzed the game every which way, and for the life of me, I couldn’t understand how the Chiefs were favored in this game. I went as far as to say the wrong team was favored. I predicted a final score of 31-17. I was wrong; it wasn’t even that close.
I had Jalen Hurts over 199 passing yards, and I had him winning the MVP. I took Patrick Mahomes getting sacked over 2.5 times. I also had him throwing an interception. It was a clean sweep for me, except for one meaningless pass at the end of the game for Mahomes. I had him going under 250 passing yards, which looked like a can’t, no-brainer bet. With two minutes left, Mahomes uncorked a 52-yard bomb to Xavier Worthy. He finished the game with 252 yards. But by far, my biggest win was by betting an alternative line, upping it to Philadelphia -13.5pts.
So how did this happen, and why didn’t more people see it? Anyone with eyes could see that the Eagles defense was dominant all year, ending the season with the top-ranked defense in the league. The argument for the Chiefs was that Mahomes always tore up top-ranked defenses.
And then there was the dominant Eagles O-line. The argument for the Chiefs was that DC Steve Spagnuolo could scheme up a gameplan to stop Saquon Barkley…and for the most part, he did. But what people didn’t account for was just how good Jalen Hurts is. He has been underestimated for the better part of his career. For three quarters, he was the best player on the field two years ago as well. The Eagles not only had the better RB in this game, but they had the better WRs too… by far. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith are far better than anything that Kansas City put on the field on Sunday.
Nick Sirianni has been minimized all season and often considered to be on the firing line. And Vic Fangio had never beaten Mahomes. The Eagles had the edge in coaching, offense, and defense on Sunday. They had a huge edge on both lines, in the running game and in the passing game. And most importantly, Philly’s QB was again the better player on the field in the biggest game of the year. Whenever Hurts needed a big pass, he got it; and whenever he needed his legs to keep a drive alive, he got it.
All week, the storyline was whether or not this Chiefs dynasty was better than the Patriots, and whether or not Mahomes was entering into GOAT status. The answer to bother questions is no. The reality is, it’s amazing how a narrative can change with one dud of a game. After this game, the team suddenly looks old and slow. And ironically, the Eagles look like they can’t be beaten, on their way to their own dynasty. It’s funny what a difference a day makes.
Over the rest of the week, I will be writing a three-part series, comparing Brady vs Mahomes, Rob Gronkowski vs Travis Kelce, and Bill Belichick vs Andy Reid. It is starting to feel like Kansas City’s window has suddenly passed. Andy Reid is pushing 70 years old and now holds the record for most playoff appearances and has surpassed 300 career wins. And Travis Kelce suddenly looks like an old player, at age 35. He has nothing left to play for. And keep in mind, in the middle of the Patriots ‘ two-decade dynasty, they did have a decade-long stretch without a title. And for a while, it looked like their dynasty would be stopped with three titles until Brady bookended three more titles. The similarities between these two teams are remarkable.
This season’s major storyline was whether or not the Chiefs would three-pete. For the next year, the storyline will be if the Eagles can duplicate this season with back-to-backs titles. The way they played on Sunday, who can doubt them?
