With the conference championships this weekend, it was about time to give my prediction for who will face off in Super Bowl LIV. The Super Bowl this year will feature the old guard vs the new in Aaron Rodgers vs Patrick Mahomes. An uncharacteristic ground and pound approach by Green Bay vs the high flying aerial assault of Kansas City. Some of you would like me to do an in depth analysis of the teams’ approaches on offense or their improved defenses. While I would love to do that,
While this will be a great matchup, this decision will not be decided on the field. Rather, the league offices have decided.
A Little History
This season marks the NFL’s hundred year anniversary. The league has been celebrating their centennial by observing the game’s greats. Best games, best teams, best players, and best moments lists have slowly been rolling out all season. For those who don’t know the history of the NFL, I will summarize it as best I can. While the NFL was founded in 1920, what is now the AFC did not exist until the formation of the AFL in 1960. By the end of the decade, the AFL appeared to be ready to compete with the NFL, and by 1967 the two leagues played in the “AFL-NFL World Championship,” before merging in 1970. This was a precursor to today’s Super Bowl, and is now referred to as Super Bowl I. Who faced off in that first Super Bowl? None other than the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Green Bay’s Path to the Super Bowl LIV
Green Bay has been good this year, don’t get me wrong. With a rejuvenated ground game and defense, Green Bay looked unstoppable at times. However, the team had its flaws. Even with 0.7 interception percentage, Aaron Rodgers had a “meh” season by his standards. 4,002 yards and 26 TDs is nothing to scoff at, but Rodgers didn’t look as dominant as usual, and the stat sheet showed it. Part of this could be attributed to not having a clear cut number two receiver, and with Davante Adams missing four games due to turf toe, Green Bay could have used another receiver. Still, the team finished 13-3 and faced off against Seattle in the Divisional Round. That is where things got interesting.
Up 28-23 with two minutes left, Aaron Rodgers hit Jimmy Graham on a pass that appeared to be short of the first down. Some like pointing out the yellow line “is not official” and did not line up with the yard marker, such as Davante Adams.
Outside of the fact that the line Adams drew is not straight, I would also like to point out the marker he drew from isn’t official either. The chains are on the other side of the field, and other tweets indicate Graham was stopped before the first down. While Aaron Rodgers indicated the refs hosed them in the first half on Hollister’s fumble, this could have been a makeup call for the recipient of the worst call in NFL playoff history. Is this one call the reason the Seahawks lost? No, inconsistent defense and Carroll punting it with three minutes left also contributed, but the ref’s could have given the Packers one final push to run out the clock.
Kansas City’s Path to Super Bowl LIV
The Chiefs had a big question mark coming into this season: their defense. While they weren’t the best defense, they were far from the worst, and were good enough to help Kansas City to a 12-4 record. While the defense was better than expected, Patrick Mahomes was not. After missing two games due to injury, Mahomes passed for 4,031 yards and 26 TDs to go along with five picks. This is not a bad season, it is far from the video game like numbers Mahomes put up last season. At times, he also did not look like the same player, which can be attributed to his dislocated knee. While there was nothing as blatant as the Jimmy Graham spot, something interesting happened in the divisional round.
After going up 21-0 in the first quarter, Houston completely fell apart, giving up 28 unanswered in the second quarter, eventually falling 51-31. Is it possible Andy Reid made some great adjustments in the interim? Possible, but the way that Houston completely fell apart is a bit of a head scratcher. While I do not believe in Bill O’Brien, I do believe in Deshaun Watson, and him essentially shutting down in a big game isn’t who Watson is. Could the league have the teams in on their ruse, potentially offering a reduction in cap penalties or the league turning a blind eye to cap violations?
Is the Fix in for Super Bowl LIV?
Long story short: maybe. While I am not insinuating either team has no business being in their conference championships, I will be curious to see how the games go. Will Green Bay be the recipient of a lucky call again? Will Tennessee forget to feed Derrick Henry the ball? If I knew the answer to either of those questions, I’d quit my job and get rich gambling. However, I do know is that I don’t trust the NFL, and I am on to them.
