Super Bowl LVII Preview: A Game of Firsts

Super Bowl Preview: A Game of Firsts

By NFL analyst Gabriel Rauch for Wannamakeabet.com

After a wild season of good teams turning bad and bad teams turning good, it comes down to this: the two #1 seeds in the Super Bowl. Whether the regular season was a result of a lack of great teams, regression of star QBs, or defenses catching up to offenses; this Super Bowl seems all too normal. However, it is far from it…

Looking Ahead

As most people know, this is the first Super Bowl where two black starting quarterbacks will face off. Of course, this is significant because it is historic, but it is perhaps more significant of what it means for the future of the NFL. Despite what your racist grandpa or uncle told you (ironically I am stereotyping here) there was never a lack of black quarterbacks because they were not smart enough. 

A football player’s position is usually determined in high school, in some cases college and younger players do not have a lot of agency there, which means the coach determines what they are best at. Where a coach might position a player usually sets the course for their career in the sport, meaning that until probably the last couple of decades, coaches would purposely move black athletes elsewhere than the QB position due to decades of prejudice. If you want to read more about this, there are dozens of well documented articles on google. The point is that this is not happening nearly as much anymore, meaning that we will continue to see many more black athletes at the position. Mahomes vs Hurts will likely be the start of many more Super Bowl matchups between two black starting quarterbacks. 

New Voices

A storyline that will be talked about much less is in the broadcast booth. For the first time since Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, FOX will have broadcasters calling the big game not named Joe Buck or Troy Aikman. Replacing them as the #1 booth are Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, who have been great all season, however there is another shake up. Now that Tom Brady has retired (we’ll see how long), his contract with FOX will set in and it is implied that he will replace Greg Olsen in the near future. Depending on how good he is and if he stays retired we might be hearing Brady in the booth for a long time. 

Next year CBS has the Super Bowl, which means we will most likely be listening to the same booth even with recent speculation of Nantz and Romo being sick of each other, who knows how true any of that is. However, Nantz is getting older and considering this is his last year calling March Madness, he will not be around forever. Lastly, NBC will most likely have Mike Tirico calling the Super Bowl whenever they host it next, which means no more Al Michaels. Cris Collinsworth is in his mid sixties, so we will only have a few more years of him left until someone else partners with Tirico. Tom Brady in the booth is just the beginning… Feel old yet?

Analysis

The Isiah Pacheco Game

Moving onto the game, the Eagles one *clear* weakness this season has been defending the rushing attack and that includes pass catching backs. In the one game they lost when Hurts started, the Commanders ran the ball FORTY-NINE times. In many close games that the Eagles have had (won or lost) a pass catching back has lit them up and kept Hurts and Co. from getting the ball; a few examples include: Kamara, Shaheed, Pollard, and McCaffrey (Purdy’s injury). The Chiefs offense will rely on short YAC (yards after catch) plays from Isiah Pacheco, McKinnon and others to keep the clock moving and make sure the Eagles do not have the possessions necessary to run the ball down their throats. 

Eagles Pass Rush Is Scary

The Eagles pass rush is better than the Chiefs offensive line, it is that simple. They know it and the Chiefs know it. The pass rush has racked up an astounding SEVENTY sacks in the regular season and with their level of consistency, there is no reason to believe they will not show up in the big game. The Chiefs O-line is competent but this clear mismatch will probably lead betters toward taking the Eagles. The last time we saw this mismatch, Mahomes was running for his life against the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl two years ago. A big reason Mahomes was dominated two years ago was Andy Reid’s play calling in that game, where he seemed to keep running plays that took too long to develop, a mistake Reid will not make again. This is another reason Pacheco will have to get the ball a lot. 

Battle Tested

The Eagles defense has certainly been good by most metrics this season but it is an understatement to say they have had a fortunate schedule. Offenses led by Heinecke, Prescott (Minshew started that game), and Rodgers all put up 30+ to them in the regular season and none of those offenses are nearly as good or consistent as the Chiefs. The 49ers offense even looked good against them until they ceased to have quarterback play. The Chiefs rushing defense has been gashed various times this season, but has stepped up in the playoffs against good competition, a sign they have stepped up recently

Mahomes ankle absolutely concerns me, but with two weeks rest, it should be good enough for this game. Bottom line: the Eagles are a scary team but the Chiefs are a bigger test than they are ready for. 

Pick: Chiefs -1.5