Super Bowl classic? NFL, fans already can’t lose
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The Shield wins.
It doesn’t matter who wins the AFC and NFC Championship Games on Sunday. The football gods have ensured that we are treated to one of four possible dream scenarios, and for that we should give thanks.
OK, so the faithful members of these four fan bases — the true diehard supporters of the Patriots, Chiefs, Rams and Saints — will disagree with this notion, and understandably so.
But for the majority of Football America, all of us without a rooting interest, it shouldn’t matter. We’re like Parker Lewis: We can’t lose.
Just sit back and enjoy the drama, the chess match. This weekend’s slate has the potential to be legendary.
It’s fitting that the season would climax in this manner given how hard NFL officials worked in the past year to ensure a resurgence of the game.
Don’t get me wrong. Pro football still has its warts, including the diversity problem among the coaching ranks, inconsistent officiating, the challenge of changing rules to ensure safety while still maintaining the integrity of the game, a lack of consistent protocol regarding off-field discipline and Colin
Kaepernick continuing to be denied employment.
But when it comes to the on-field product, it doesn’t get much better than this.
If you were to draft a wish list for elements you would want featured in a title game, you would find about
99.9 percent of them in these four remaining teams.
Stellar quarterback play? Check. Exceptional coaches? Check. Big personalities? Check. Prolific offenses? Check. Defensive heroics? Check. Compelling narratives? Check. Historic implications? Check. Of course, it all starts with the quarterback position. It’s hard to pick which scenario is more desirable. A duel between legendary arms in Tom Brady vs. Drew Brees? A showdown between millennial gunslingers? Or a mix: an aging icon vs. heir apparent?
You can’t go wrong here. This is no Peyton Manning vs. Rex Grossman, no Steve Young vs. Stan Humphries. The only possible outcomes are two of the best of their generation potentially facing each other or one of the next generation’s best, or a complete passing of the torch in the event of a Jared Goff-Patrick Mahomes showdown.
On one hand, a meeting between two surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers is too good not to root for. Throughout his career, Brees hasn’t been afforded the respect he deserves, in part due to the long shadows cast by Brady and Peyton Manning. But a Super Bowl victory earned against Brady would further validate his standing among the game’s greats. And of course, even if Brady did win, a shootout between
40-plus-year-old field generals could be one for the ages.
But how entertaining would it be to see a young gun try to match his stuff against one of his boyhood idols?
I keep trying to tell you. We can’t lose here.
And the final four comes down to some of the best minds in football. Ask Saints coach Sean Payton, Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Rams coach Sean McVay and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels about their favorite offenses in the league, and any one of those four likely would list the three others among the best in the business. Their creativity, aggressive nature and game-planning skills are a thing of beauty. And it’s hard to find a greater defensive mind than the ultimate winner Bill Belichick, who’s gunning for his ninth Super Bowl appearance and sixth Lombardi Trophy.
Perhaps no coach needs a ring in a worse way than does Reid, whose Eagles fell short to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX. He rarely gets the credit for his innovative offensive ways and instead tends to draw criticism for his team’s late-game collapses on the biggest stage. He could shed such a label by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Meanwhile, a second Super Bowl trophy would be a nice addition for Payton. And if McVay were to win in Year 2 on the job, he just might get his own Hollywood star by March.
None of that matters for now. Still to come are two matchups that themselves would befit the Super Bowl.
In both the AFC and NFC Championship Games, we get to see those young guns trying to dethrone quarterback royalty. We get to see Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson try to outrush Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. We’ll find out if the Saints really can’t guard Mike (Thomas) or if Aqib Talib’s presence will make the difference for the Rams.
We’ll see if Belichick has found ways to slow Tyreek Hill and derail Showtime Mahomes. Can Gronk rumble a time or two more, or has Travis Kelce fully taken over as the AFC’s new dominant tight end?
How many sacks for Aaron Donald, Cameron Jordan, Justin Houston or Dont’a Hightower?
Again, one dream matchup followed by the other, and paving the way for yet another.
The NFL wins, and so do we.