Post by spiderfan on Feb 12, 2024 10:36:19 GMT -8
Viva Las Vegas Sports Coast to Coast! It is now time for the last edition of Red Hot Gridiron for the 2023-24 National Football League season. It is time for me the official NFL Analyst of this great forum to discuss Super Bowl LVIII. Without further ado let us begin!
Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers in Joe Montana Bowl II
The game was an enigma wrapped inside of a gambling ticket (I know that doesn't make much sense but I wanted to make a pun). On one hand the game is very easy to summarize: a bunch a three and outs, a few turnovers, a bunch of field goals, and an epic final drive to end the game. On the other hand the game was multifaceted, with various ebbs and flows in a game that turned out to be the longest Super Bowl of all time. Like I did a few years ago in the aftermath of Super Bowl LV I will break down the game by looking back on the storylines I contributed to SCtoC's Super Bowl LVIII game capsule.
THE DEFENSES
What I said in the capsule: The Chiefs defense was the consistently best unit the Chiefs had during the regular season. The 49ers defense, led by Nick Bosa, is one of the best in the NFL. Despite the offensive stars on both teams, it will be the defenses that decide the game as far as I'm concerned. Who can get turnovers? Whose defense line can get sacks and force negative plays? Who can shut down the running game? Who can limit explosive plays? These questions to me are the biggest questions going into Super Bowl LVIII.
What I say now: Counting overtime there were 7 total field goals between the two teams. 4 of them were after appearances in the red zone. 3 of those belonged to the Chiefs and 1 one of those belonged to the 49ers. The Chiefs also had a fumble in the red zone that resulted them in getting 0 points. The turnover margin was even at 2. Only one of the turnovers resulted in points, a single touchdown for the Chiefs. This of course sets aside the many punts and the other FGs made by both teams. What these statistics tell me on paper is that the Chiefs should have lost the game. 4 red zone appearances with only 9 points to show for it? That is a terrible performance.. out of context, actually in context it is certainly a highly underwhelming performance for the Chiefs, although considering the poor showing by their offense throughout this season it isn't surprising.
The broader context is that as I mentioned earlier, the Chiefs managed to capitalize on a muffed 49ers punt and turn it into a TD that gave them their first lead of the game and when the game became only the second Super Bowl to go into overtime the Chiefs won the game with a TD. The 49ers on the other hand didn't capitalize on either of the turnovers their defense forced, one of which was a terrible interception by Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes thrown near midfield with the 49ers having a 10-3 lead.
Considering that the Chiefs had to overcome what was an early 10 point 49ers lead, a lead that the 49ers managed to maintain until late in the 3rd quarter but never expanded upon, the conclusion has to be made that ultimately the Chiefs defense played better. They got turnovers, they consistently kept the 49ers from getting first downs that would have either extended the lead or helped seal it in their favor by limiting the running game and limiting explosive plays. So naturally the answer would be that the Chiefs won.
THE TIGHT ENDS
What I said in the capsule: I could have the offenses in general here, but to me what specifically sticks out are the tight ends after all you have the two best tight ends in the league going to head to head. Obviously, the spotlight on Travis Kelce has increased with his relationship to Taylor Swift, and that makes every big play that he makes that much bigger. I think that Kyle Shanahan will try to have his TE George Kittle upstage Kelce on the biggest stage, which will lead to offensive fireworks.
What I say now: The tight ends were not near as big of a factor in the actual game as I thought they would be. If the 49ers had won, I'm sure the conversation would be that George Kittle outplayed Travis Kelce, but since the 49ers lost no such conversation is being had. Even so, outside of a couple big catches Kittle made, he really didn't perform at the level I thought he would. The Super Bowl MVP was never going to go to him or to Travis Kelce, which surprises me that neither were in consideration for it. Credit to both defenses for keeping the TE's in check.
WAS THE 49ERS GETTING RID OF JIMMY GAROPPOLO THE RIGHT DECISION
What I said in the capsule: The San Francisco 49ers in the Kyle Shanahan era have had some low lows and some big highs, but they have yet to win the Super Bowl despite having repeatedly having deep playoff runs. The decision was made to get rid of Jimmy Garoppolo and replace him with Brock Purdy primarily to finally win the Super Bowl. Whether or not that decision will be validated depends on whether the 49ers win or not in my opinion.
What I say now: The 49ers got rid of Jimmy Garoppolo because an overthrow late in the 4th quarter of Super LIV against the Chiefs that would have given the 49ers a go-ahead touchdown had it not been overthrown. The thinking was that if the 49ers had a better QB, they would have won that game. In comes Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy who became the LA based national sports media complex's favorite QB for their second favorite team (after the Chargers) the Kyle Shanahan led 49ers. Due to his bloodline, Shanahan gets WAY more credit and praise than he deserves considering that his record without Jimmy G coming into this season was atrocious. To Purdy's credit he managed to finally show this season that Shanahan can win games without Jimmy G. Having said that, it is HIGHLY ironic that what arguably cost the 49ers Super Bowl LVIII was multiple overthrown end zone passes by Brock Purdy. I say arguably because whether or not those passes were overthrown because of bad passing by Purdy or great defense by the Chiefs will be up to interpretation.
My view is that it is both. The Chiefs got to Purdy and caused him to overthrow the passes, which other QBs in my opinion would have made. Whether or not Jimmy G would have completed those passes we'll never know. What we do know is that I would argue the 49ers got closer to winning a Super Bowl with Jimmy G than they did without him, and the 49ers lost both Super Bowls, so in the end it was a wash. In the end, I would say that the decision to get rid of Jimmy G was not validated.
IS THIS ANDY REID'S LAST GAME?
What I said in the capsule: There have numerous reports that Super Bowl LVIII could be Andy Reid's last game and that he could be replaced by Bill Belichick or even Mike Vrabel. Because of the success that Andy Reid has had, especially during the Patrick Mahomes era, in the event that he were to retire it would certainly be a seismic shift in the NFL. It is certainly a question of how the outcome will effect Reid's decision.
What I say now: The Chiefs won and after the game Andy Reid said he is coming back. So much for that narrative!
BACK-TO-BACK(?)
No team in the NFL has gone back to back since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004. Teams have gotten close but no cigar, including the Chiefs. If the Chiefs can do it their status as a dynasty will be cemented.
What I say now: The Chiefs victory not only meant that they were the first team to go back-to-back in 20 years it also cemented their status as a dynasty. I went more in depth after the AFC Championship Game about how I didn't get expect the Chiefs to get anywhere near this point so I won't repeat myself. What I will say now that the Chiefs have won the Super Bowl is that a truly remarkable accomplishment that THIS Chiefs team managed to do so. It is a credit to Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo, and of course Patrick Mahomes that they managed to overcome a significant amount of adversity to become Super Bowl Champions.
Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs ownership, coaches, players, and fans (which I know as a Chiefs fan means I'm kind of patting myself on the back, but hey that it how goes) for winning Super Bowl LVIII!
And with all of that said that is all for this year's Red Hot Gridiron. I sincerely hoped ya enjoyed and I hope to see ya again next year. I want to give a special thanks to Monika for her help putting this column together. Without her it would not be as good as it is, so full kudos for her help and support. Another thanks to DiamondThief who was the one who brought me to Sports Coast to Coast in the first place, and without whom I would not be writing this column. I'd live to give a final thanks to the big boss herself Kasey for giving me the opportunity to be the Official NFL Analyst for Sports Coast to Coast. After all these years of doing this, I couldn't imagine the NFL season without doing writing this column every week. I'm glad that I get to share games like Super Bowl LVIII with all of you and remind everyone that football is the greatest game in the world. This is spiderfan out.
