Tag Archives: Super Bowl

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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NFL Playoffs

How to lose Divisional Round playoff games:

We’re coming off an exciting, dramatic even if at times chaotic Divisional Round weekend. However, one of the overarching themes watching these four games for me was how the losing teams shot themselves in the foot and cost themselves chances to come out on top of those matchups.

So rather than highlighting positives and breaking down great plays of the winners primarily – as we usually do – let me be THAT guy for a day and just vent about some of the decisions and moments that proved costly for the other side!

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NFL Playoffs

Predicting the full 2024/25 NFL playoffs:

The NFL playoff bracket is set and I took on the exercise of previewing/predicting every single matchup, leading up to Super Bowl LIX! I’ll share a few thoughts on each side and how I came to all my decisions!

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NFL Predictions

Predicting the entire 2024 NFL season:

We’re less than a week away from the NFL season being kicked off with an AFC Championship game rematch, where this time around it’s the Ravens travelling to Kansas City, as the Chiefs begin their quest to becoming first team to ever win three titles in a row.

So it’s time for me to once again put all of my predictions out there in the ether – all the major awards, playoff seedings and who I have facing each other in Super Bowl LIX. I will outline my top three finalists for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and such, along with a few honorable mentions at the end. To determine the playoff picture, I went through all 272 individual matchups, taking into account important circumstances, such as rest (dis)advantages, how games fit within those schedule and of course personnel clashes.

I have added the full Excel file with every single team’s weekly result and final record at the very bottom, if you’re interested!


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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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Why did this happen?

The 15 minutes that cost the Lions a trip to Super Bowl LVIII

The two teams facing off in Super Bowl 58 are now set, but before we move on to discussing that matchup, I felt that it was necessary to break down why the Lions couldn’t advance past the 49ers.

It’s certainly not simply based on a couple of aggressive fourth-down decisions by their head coach, which was actually a big factor in them even making it to the championship game, but rather a 15-minute stretch where everything went wrong for them!

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NFL Playoffs

How the Bengals outsmarted the Bills:

In the highly anticipated matchup of Bengals-Bills in the Divisional Round, Cincinnati earned the resounding 27-10 victory by being the more physical team up front and crafting gameplans on both sides of the ball that were more effective at attacking the weaknesses of their opponents. Let’s break down what exactly they did from a schematic perspective!

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Game Previews, NFL Playoffs

Predicting the full 2023 NFL playoffs:

With Super Wildcard Weekend upon us, it was time for me to give you my full predictions, leading all the way up to Super Bowl LVII. I analyze all 14 teams, break down each matchups schematically and give my reasoning for who I think advances.

Of course the very first thing I saw once I finished recording were the news on Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa already being ruled out for this weekend. So a couple of my thoughts on him are irrelevant for now, but it doesn’t really change anything.

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NFL Predictions

Predicting the entire 2022 NFL season:

Less than a week away from the 2022 NFL season kickoff game between the Bills and Rams, it’s time for me to once again predict the entire year, going through every single award, presenting my playoff picture and projecting forward who will square off in Super Bowl LVII.

As far as the awards are concerned, I will go through my top three candidates for each honor, explaining why I believe they will receive votes, along with just listing a couple of honorable mentions at the end of each paragraph.

To determine playoff seeding, I actually had to go a step further and yet again predict all 272 games, work through tiebreakers to figure out how exactly these teams stack up and then put them in order, so I could ultimately pick my winners for each matchup, leading up the eventual NFC and AFC representatives in the big game at the end of the season in Arizona.

(I added the Excel sheet with ever single game picked at the very bottom, if you’re interested.)

Here’s how I believe things will shake out:


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Game Previews, Super Bowl

Super Bowl LVI preview:

I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t the matchup we expected coming into the season. When sportsbooks initially released their Super Bowl lines, only two teams – the Lions and Texans – had longer odds of winning the Lombardi trophy than the Bengals and you would have yielded a 100-to-one payout or better, had you put money on them. And as of the middle of December, sitting there at 7-6, they were on the outside of the playoffs looking in, among a crowded field of contenders in the AFC. The Rams on the other hand were on the fringe of the top-five in terms of championship odds, but there were some serious doubts about them as well at points, entering December at 7-4 and having a few wins late in the year, which were far from convincing. Yet, these two groups are now set to meet in the big game, knocking off last year’s champs in either conference along the way.

There are a bunch of storylines to follow, such as former Rams assistant and now Bengals head coach Zac Taylor trying to beat his former boss in Sean McVay, Andrew Whitworth facing a Cincinnati team that he was a part of for 11 years and now has a chance to reach the ultimate goal against in his final time on the field possibly at 40 years old, a re-merging superstar in Odell Beckham Jr. meeting the team he suffered a torn ACL against that ended last season for him, two former number one overall picks at quarterbacks trying to outduel each other and even the battle of kickers, with a highly confident rookie and a first-time Pro Bowler, who’s had some issues lately.

Let’s break everything down from a schematic perspective on both sides of the ball, certain matchups to pay attention to and how they may affect the outcome, along with identifying one X-factor on offense and defense for each squad and then coming to a conclusion with a final score prediction.

 

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