The Big Story – Pats and Seattle in SB: New England faces Seattle on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. It’s from the 49ers’ home in Santa Clara, California, so a win rubs it in a bit to the previous dynasty franchise. Still unsure exactly how the Pats climbed out of that two-year 8-and-26 hole, but they did, so enjoy.
Sports 101: Which college has sent the most Super Bowl-winning QBs to the NFL?
News Item – Keys to the Game:
• O-Line: It’s struggled in the playoffs. But to win, most feel they must run the ball, a tough task against a team that gave up just 91 rushing yards per game.
• Pass Protection: The 84.1 QB rating for Drake Maye is not a coincidence. He’s been constantly under pressure and sacked 15 times in three playoff games. Seattle’s 47 sacks are the same as Houston’s and two more than the Chargers’, so the O-line will be challenged again.
• Turnovers: They almost always are big.
• Sam Darnold: We all know about the failures and spitting the bit in two big end-of-season 2024 games. Until he’s past that, he’s suspect. Blitz early — a turnover could give his confidence level a shot.
Random Super Bowl Thoughts:
You win the pool if you had Darnold as the first in his QB class of 2018, which included Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, to take his team to a SB.
Wonder what clueless Jets owner Woody Johnson thinks of what Darnold has turned into since the QB-less Jets (since Joe Namath left the building) let him walk.
The opposition’s collective record vs. undefeated Miami of 1972 was 70-111-2 and they only faced two teams with winning records all year, where KC and the NYG’s and both were just 8-6. And I’ve never heard anyone say they had a weak schedule.
… of the Super Bowl
Since I’ve seen all 59 SBs to date, here are my award winners for various SB achievements.
Most Important Game: SB1. Hard to fathom the superior attitude the NFL and its fans had toward the AFL then. They expected to win and to win BIG. That ’tude got a little jolt when Green Bay led only 14-10 at halftime. But they dominated the second half to win 35-10 over KC. Then came SB3….
Biggest Upset: Jets Win SB3. It was a boring game and Joe Namath somehow got the MVP, but the D got four picks and FB Matt Snell’s 121 rushing yards controlled the clock by pounding it on the ground.
Best Comeback SB: Patriots-Falcons. Unless you were like my friend the real estate mogul Bill Weidacher, who went to bed in frustration, you saw the down-24 Pats stage the biggest comeback in history to win in OT 34-28.
Best Individual Performance: Steve Young in SB 29. He threw for 325 and a SB record six TD passes and ran for a Drake Maye-like 47 yards in SF’s 49-26 rout of San Diego.
Best Special Teamer:Desmond Howard. Adam V won two SBs as time ran out so he’s tough to beat. But Howard destroyed the Patriots in SB 31 with 244 punt and kickoff return yards, including the 99-yard TD return that iced the game.
Best Individual Play: Malcolm Butler. All due respect to Santonio Holmes, David Tyree, two spectacular Eli Manning throws and Marcus Allen’s incredible 73-yard game-winning TD run in SB 18. But it’s Butler’s last-second goal-line pick because it snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Best SB Team:1975 Steelers. They had the greatest defense I’ve ever seen. If L.C. Greenwood gets in this weekend they had six Hall of Famers (five more on O). Plus linebacker Andy Russell should be in for 12. They were 12-2, only gave up 11 points per and outscored three playoff opponents 65-37.
The Numbers – Patriots SB record holders:
3 – sacks byDont’aHightower.
5 – touchdowns forGronk.
24 – receptions for Julian Edelman.
175 – rushing yards for AntowainSmith.
Sports 101 Answer: InBart Starr, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler and Jalen HurtsAlabama has the most SB winning QB’s with four, including winning the first three.
Final Thought – No First Ballot Hall for Belichick: Last week’s big hoo-ha was Bill Belichick being snubbed in his first try for the Hall of Fame. Since he clearly deserves to be in, it outraged many. Some of it is jealousy and of course the Indianapolis writers have been petty dating back to the Manning-Brady rivalry years. But most is payback for shenanigans like Spygate and making everyone’s job harder than he had to. I’ve got no problem with a one-year punishment for his behavior.
Prediction: Pats 27-23
The second and third highest scoring offenses move the ball. But Seattle is 31st in giveaways. So I expect a +2 edge in TO’s for the Pats and it keys their win.
Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.