NFL blows away theme of demise
Remember when the NFL was in serious trouble?
Remember all those people who absolutely swore they would never watch pro football again?
I could have watched six quarters of the modern brilliance that was Kansas City Chiefs versus Los Angeles Rams. And if sports blood pumps through your veins, I know you felt the same.
Wow.
What a show.
And that comes with the qualifier that I’m not too crazy about the current “Monday Night Football” crew, which spends way too much time yapping about nothing and almost makes me yearn for the horrible Dennis Miller days.
That’s how amazing 54-51 Rams inside a recharged L.A. Coliseum was.
Patrick Mahomes was brilliant yet ended up with the “L.” Jared Goff was the second-best quarterback on the field yet threw for 413 yards, four touchdowns, no picks and a 117.1 rating during one of the greatest regular-season games in league history.
Even with all its problems, the NFL never went anywhere. King Football … then the NBA, MLB, college football and the rest of the pack. But the buzzing blockbuster Monday night in Los Angeles was the strongest proof to date that the biggest, most powerful sport in the country still reigns and towers above all.
The last two Super Bowls were all-timers. You have to go back to 2014 to find a stinker, and that blowout was preceded by more than a decade’s worth of superb finales.
The Philly Special has been followed by a 2018 season that started hot and has only burned brighter.
Drew Brees, 39, is playing out of his mind while completing a surreal 76.9 percent of his passes. Mahomes and Goff lead a collection of young QBs who have picked up where Peyton Manning left off. Your local pro team is led by 23-year-old Deshaun Watson and has won seven consecutive games during a season when the Saints, Rams and Chiefs already have at least nine victories.
Remember when polarizing protests were the biggest news of the day?
Remember when the league was being hammered for looking the other way and seemingly ignoring concussion after concussion?
That last topic is obviously still a major issue. But be honest: We’re not even discussing pregame protests in 2018, while the league appears to be doing a better job of preventing concussed players from returning to the field.
De-emphasizing helmetto-helmet contact also has given the league exactly what it wanted for years: more offense.
The Saints, Chiefs and Rams are averaging at least 35 points a game, while 12 of the NFL’s 30 teams are scoring more than 25 per contest. Kansas City and Los Angeles combined for 105 points Monday, marking the first time in league history both teams on the field reached 50.
Even with 10 combined passing TDs by Mahomes and Goff, defense still changed the game. Aaron Donald, Samson Ebukam, Chris Jones and Marcus Peters all commanded the screen. Mahomes’ turnovers prevented the Chiefs from reaching win No. 10.
Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Goff and Mahomes have already reached the 3,000 mark in passing yards.
Eighteen of the NFL’s teams are at .500 or above.
Parity and the promise of annual redemption have long driven the league’s success. Throw in a longsimmering offensive explosion, and you simply have to be a hater to hate the state of pro football in 2018.
We’ve also made it through 11 weeks with barely mentioning King Roger Goodell, who’s blended into the background as athletes have regained center stage.
It’s obviously still a brutal business. A labor war could change the league, especially if players remain united next time. Life-changing head injuries might still force the modern game to become unrecognizable.
But we’re still watching and yelling at the screen because we care so much, and the ball is flying through the air like never before.
The best show in sports is more addicting than ever.
Remember when so many swore they were so mad they were leaving the theater?
What a shame if you missed Rams 54, Chiefs 51.