Now that everyone is done arguing about the poor officiating in the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, we can turn the page to what’s to come in the Super Bowl in two weeks.
No? Maybe?
O.K., this topic won’t go away any time soon and I hope commissioner Roger Goodell has to answer questions about the poor officiating when he addresses the media in his annual state of the union news conference during Super Bowl week.
Hopefully, the Rooney Rule is another topic Goodell will touch on because teams made a mockery of it these past few weeks.
Let’s address these two issues, but also focus on what could be a thrilling Super Bowl matchup between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
Here are our winners and losers from conference championship week.
Winners
Super Bowl LIX
The Super Bowl LIX matchup fell short in many areas, but you can make a compelling case that the two best teams in the NFL made it to New Orleans.
These two teams don’t put forth the best story lines and we just saw this matchup two years ago. Throw in the fatigue of watching the Chiefs and many fans sharing the same sentiments as Rams edge rusher Jared Verse when it comes to Eagles fans, and you can see why some are disappointed about the Super Bowl matchup.
But I’m more focused on the possibility of getting another epic Super Bowl game a year after seeing the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers go to overtime in Las Vegas. Once again, balanced rosters with star power on both sides of the ball are playing for the Lombardi Trophy.
The Eagles didn’t face the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game, but they probably would have dropped a 50-burger on that team too because, like the Washington Commanders, the Lions lacked depth on defense.
Philadelphia doesn’t have Josh Allen or Joe Burrow at quarterback, but Jalen Hurts nearly got the best of the Chiefs in Phoenix two years ago and now faces them again with a better defense and Saquon Barkley. You can even argue this Eagles team is better than last season’s 49ers.
The Eagles might not have a weakness and are the perfect final boss to get in the way of the Chiefs completing the Super Bowl three-peat. That story line alone makes this a compelling Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid
An underrated story line from the Chiefs’ win over the Bills in the AFC title game was how they adjusted without significant contributions from tight end Travis Kelce.
The prior week, the Chiefs made the Houston Texans pay for ignoring the middle of the field by having Mahomes throw quick passes to Kelce. To the Bills’ credit, they took that away with the star tight end only having two catches for 19 yards. But the Chiefs, as they always do, found another successful formula.
Kansas City was patient with the rushing attack and once Buffalo paid more attention to Kareem Hunt, coach Andy Reid called timely designed runs for his quarterback in the red zone. Mahomes rushed 11 times for 43 yards and two touchdowns.
Reid also found unique ways to get rookie receiver Xavier Worthy involved without relying on the deep ball. The Chiefs constantly punished the Bills’ defense with throws that allowed playmakers to extend plays near the sidelines.
Just when the Bills thought they would be ready for anything, the Chiefs again surprised them with unique offensive looks. That’s the greatness of Reid, Mahomes and the Chiefs, constantly finding ways to get the upper hand.
Saquon Barkley
Barkley has added to his legacy in various ways with this dominant postseason run that helped the Eagles get to the Super Bowl.
The 27-year-old running back might be a win away from being a lock for the Hall of Fame and could get a statue in front of Lincoln Financial Field if he rips off a few more 60-yard rushing touchdowns against the Chiefs. None of that would have been possible without New York Giants GM Joe Schoen letting him walk in free agency.
The Giants have been criticized heavily for not re-signing Barkley, but he should thank them. Playing in a Super Bowl and improving his résumé this rapidly probably would not have occurred had he stayed in New York.
Barkley’s greatness has been on full display because he’s delivered with vastly different teams, showing his dominance while carrying bad Giants teams and being the best player on a stacked Eagles team. Perhaps this example isn’t the best, but it’s somewhat similar to Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay without Bill Belichick.
Special players produce despite surroundings. We don’t have to wonder how Barkley would have done with a better roster because of Schoen’s decision to let him walk.
DeAndre Hopkins
It was great to see Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins soak in the moment of knowing he’ll get to play in a Super Bowl.
Hopkins didn’t play on as many bad teams as Barkley did, but he was a special player on Texans teams that didn’t quite have enough to compete with the real contenders in the AFC. He’s no longer in his prime, but he’s enjoying being a contributor on a championship-caliber team. There would be no better way to cap his illustrious career than winning a Super Bowl in two weeks.
Losers
The Rooney Rule
The Rooney Rule is a joke to NFL teams.
It’s clear that many teams don’t respect the rule. They couldn’t care less about giving minority coaches a fair shot to interview—not when league owners and executives have their minds made up on who they want to hire long before officially starting the search.
This is not to say the league should get rid of the Rooney Rule. It certainly needs fixing, but let’s not give decision-makers an easy way out to continue hiring their buddies and not keep an open mind. After what transpired with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys, let teams continue to embarrass themselves with shady moves to let future candidates know what they’re truly about.
Props to Aaron Glenn for not taking an interview with the Patriots, who obviously wanted Mike Vrabel all along. But the Rooney Rule can’t completely go away because many minority coaches don’t have as many options as Glenn had before accepting the New York Jets’ head coaching position. Glenn earned the attention the hard way, working 12 years as an assistant coach after a 15-year NFL career. It does make you wonder why it took Glenn longer than most coaching candidates to become a head coach.
Former Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham also has the credentials to be interviewed for head coaching jobs and deserved better than a half-hearted interview from the Jaguars, who just wanted to check off the box before rolling over and doing whatever it took to hire Liam Coen. And I don’t like that minority coaches might be playing along with these fake head coaching interviews as a way to get another job with the team as a coordinator or position coach. But if that’s the case, you can’t blame them because there isn’t an even playing field to begin with.
I don’t have the answers for fixing these issues, but it’s sad that teams can’t just have proper interviews with minority coaches and hear them out for an hour. I’ve talked to minority coaches many times about this subject and most say they don’t want to be hired based on the color of their skin and/or ethnic background. They just want a chance to prove themselves and NFL teams can’t even give them that after making a mockery of the Rooney Rule.
Josh Allen and Sean McDermott
It feels unfair to single out Allen and McDermott for again failing to beat the Chiefs in the postseason. But they both had their opportunities to knock out the champs in critical moments.
McDermott doesn’t run the offense, but he could have stepped in and told offensive coordinator Joe Brady to not go away from running back James Cook with only a three-point deficit and more than three minutes left in regulation. Instead, the Bills reverted to letting Allen play hero ball and forced him to throw a prayer in the middle of the field on fourth-and-5 after not giving Cook a single touch during the pivotal drive. The lack of composure and execution disappeared in the biggest minutes of the season—that falls on the head coach. Creating plays despite the coaching failures falls on Allen. He’s done it countless times, but he couldn’t carry his team on the final drive at Arrowhead Stadium.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid had a chance to convert on fourth down, but he needed to dive just to put his hands on the ball. It wasn’t an easy play and not much came easy for the Bills.
Reid has a way of making life easier for his players in pressure-filled moments. And it’s not a good sign that McDermott’s defensive players were caught off guard by the offensive looks the Chiefs hadn’t shown before this season.
Sure, the Bills can keep running it back with McDermott and hope for different results next postseason. But at some point this team has to at least consider the idea of seeing what Allen can do with a different head coach.
NFL officiating (again)
Here’s hoping Goodell gets constantly asked about the poor officiating in this season’s games during Super Bowl week in New Orleans.
Even when Goodell is in the midst of vouching for an 18-game season, I want to see reporters, content creators, anyone around him, just cut him off and say, “yeah, anyway, what are you going to do to improve officiating in games?”
Enough is enough. Some effort to change needs to be seen this offseason after what transpired throughout the playoffs and most of the regular season—and not just for Chiefs games.
But, yes, the Bills were screwed out of a first down. Everyone besides the officiating crew knew Allen got the first down on fourth-and-short. It’s probably gotten to the point where even the Chiefs want to see the officials improve because now they’re being discredited for their wins.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Conference Championship Winners and Losers: Chiefs, Eagles Set Up Ideal Super Bowl.