Tag Archives: NFL Game Previews

Game Previews, Super Bowl

Everything to know about Super Bowl LX:

We’ve arrived at the final game of the season, as the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are set to face off and determine the 2025/26 NFL champions. Although the cast of characters looks completely different, this is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX eleven years ago, when Pete Carroll’s group infamously decided to not hand the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the goal-line, but instead opened the door for – at the time – little-known Malcolm Butler to become the unlikely hero, as he intercepted the pass on a designed pick-play, and stopped the potential go-ahead touchdown drive. That also put an end to what might’ve become a Seahawks dynasty, while simultaneously starting the second run of three Lombardi Trophies over a five-year period in New England’s franchise history. They will now try to break a tie with the Steelers for the most hardware collected in league history, compared to the Hawks trying to put their names into the history books for the second time.

As it pertains to main figures in this rematch, we have first- and second-year coaches in Mike Vrabel and Mike Macdonald respectively with their teams, who both led their teams to 14-3 records, with the former trying to become the only man in NFL history to win Super Bowls as both a player and a coach for the same franchise. At quarterback, this matchup features two former third overall picks, who had quite different starts to their career. Drake Maye was an MVP frontrunner in just his second season as a pro, and would be the youngest guy at the position to win a ring, only turning 24 years old about a month before next season starts. Sam Darnold, on the other hand, was an outcast heading into 2024/25 for the Vikings, and might’ve lost out the starting battle to then-rookie J.J. McCarthy, had he not gotten hurt in preseason. Now on his fifth team in eight years, he just became the only QB not named Tom Brady to win 14+ games in back-to-back years with different franchises.

For the Patriots, while Vrabel did inject new life in his return to the franchise, he also brought back long-time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to help guide Maye during his development. Projected with an Over/Under of 8.5 wins, thanks to being more calculated with signing largely mid- to lower-tier free agents to a roster still in transition, there were *some* expectations for growth after just picking fourth overall in the draft, but they vastly exceeded those behind one of the most vertically-oriented passing attacks. And yet, it was their defense stepping up during this playoff run against the Chargers, Texans and Broncos – who all strived for lower-scoring affairs – and their excellent game-planning as well as situational awareness as a coaching staff, that has helped carry them here. The Seahawks, meanwhile, could rely one of the truly elite defenses on their part throughout the year, which already helped them win ten games the previous season, but had their own questions about what the offense would look like, after making huge changes when they swapped out Geno Smith for Darnold at QB, moved on from a pair of veteran receivers and put new OC Klint Kubiak in charge the operation. That decision went about as well as anyone could’ve hoped for, and along with some sparks from their special teams, they’ve looked like the most complete team in football. They destroyed the 49ers in week 18 and the Divisional Round, before deciding the season series with their other division rival Rams in their favor.

I want to dive into both sides of the ball, what the strengths and weaknesses look like, and how they match up against one another. Then I’ll bring up a couple of X-factors for either team, before closing out by predicting the final score and Super Bowl MVP. Let’s get it started!

 

 

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Super Bowl

Everything to know about Super Bowl LIX:

We are here. 284 total games have been played between the regular season and playoffs, 30 teams have been eliminated and two more remain, battling for the right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this upcoming Sunday.

With how things played out, we get a rematch of Super Bowl LVII from two years ago, when the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 in Glendale, Arizona. The Eagles took the regular season battle in week 11 of the following season. Now, they are set to square off again, with a lot of the same faces but especially on Philadelphia’s side, they come in with two new coordinators and a superstar in running back Saquon Barkley.

One side is going for the first three-peat in NFL history, while the other one is trying to get revenge and stand up to another dynasty, just like they did against the Patriots seven years ago.

Kansas City’s only legitimate loss outside of week 18, when they were resting starters since they had already clinched the AFC’s number one seed, came to the Bills. Although they weren’t dominating opponents and ranked just outside the top-ten in overall point (+59), they routinely were able to come out on top of tight battles, even if some might argue that a few favorable calls at least aided them along the way. Still, they were in control throughout their Divisional Round affair against the Texans and were able to avenge that one meaningful defeat when they once again hosted Buffalo in the Championship game.

Philadelphia in the meantime needed a good month to find their groove, as they started off the season only 2-and-2 before winning 10 straight games and all but one of their final 13. Only the Lions ended up with a better point differential (+160) and with those guys losing in the Divisional Round, the NFC more or less went through Philadelphia. In no way would I say the Eagles were particularly convincing against the Packers or Rams, but Saquon delivered multiple break-away runs, the defense stepped up in key moments and they won the turnover battle six-nothing across those two games. Then, in the conference title game, they arguably had their most complete showing against Washington, who previously beat them in walk-off fashion in week 16, and pulled away from them in the second half.

I want to first break down how the two representatives want to operate on both sides of the ball, some of the ways they could attack each other schematically, present a couple X-factors for each team and then give my prediction for the final score, including my pick for Super Bowl MVP.

Let’s dive into this massive showdown:



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Game Previews, Super Bowl

Everything to know about Super Bowl 58:

Four years after Patrick Mahomes pedaled backwards and hit Tyreek Hill on “2-3 Jet Chip Wasp” to convert a third-and-15 and start their comeback over the 49ers, these two sides are set to face off again on the biggest stage. This time around, Kansas City is looking to cement itself as a dynasty, with their third championship in five years, while San Francisco is going for their sixth title in franchise history, but the first one in 29 years, after knocking on the door with four NFC championship game appearances in those last five seasons.

The Niners looked dominant throughout the regular season en route to the NFC’s number one seed, before having to battle until the end against the Packers and Lions, coming back from a 17-point deficit in that conference title game. Meanwhile, it wasn’t nearly as smooth a ride for the Chiefs, trying to defend their championship, finishing with an 11-6 record and having to go on the road in the playoffs for the first two teams in the Mahomes era.

Based on the current active rosters, the 49ers are slated to return nine players and the Chiefs seven who were also part of those Super Bowl 54 teams. Both Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid return as head coaches, while Steve Spagnuolo on defense and Dave Toub on special teams for the Chiefs are the only two of six total coordinators still around. They also have the benefit of a quarterback starting his fourth Super Bowl in five years, but the Niners have their best signal-caller under Shanahan in the Bay Area.

I want to look at both sides of the ball, break down in detail how the offensive and defensive units function respectively, along with how I believe they’ll match up, before presenting a couple of X-factors for each group and ultimately giving you my prediction for the final score.

Let’s dive in:


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Game Previews, NFL Weekly Preview

NFL week 18 watch guide (2023-24)

We’ve arrived at the final week of the 2023/24 NFL season!

I decided to go to a podcast format here and preview the action at hand. I will run through the entire week 18 schedule, diving a little more into the key games on the slate, discussing Xs and Os, different individual matchups, picking the winners and throwing out some betting leans.

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