Seattle Seahawks: Super Bowl LX Champions

 

It took more than a decade, but the Seattle Seahawks and their fans finally got their revenge Sunday for the famous Malcolm Butler play, defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX in Santal Clara, California, to earn their second title in franchise history. In the process, they denied the Patriots what would have been a league-leading seventh Super Bowl.

Philadephia Eagles: Super Bowl LIX Champions

 

NEW ORLEANS — While breaking down the huddle after warmups ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Jalen Hurts reminded the Eagles of their dominance all season long.

“We did this [expletive] all year,” Hurts said. “Don’t stop now.”

They didn’t. The Eagles pulled off a 40-22 beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs in the Superdome, usurping the crown from the back-to-back Lombardi Trophy victors.

Hurts dazzled through the air and on the ground and was voted Super Bowl MVP. He went 17-of-22 for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception for a 119.7 passer rating. Hurts also did record-setting damage on the ground. He finished the night with 72 rushing yards on 11 carries, breaking his own record for rushing yards in a Super Bowl by a quarterback (70 in Super Bowl LVII).

The Chiefs had answers to stop Saquon Barkley, limiting him to 57 yards on 25 carries, his second lowest single-game total of the season. But it didn’t matter. Not only did the Eagles’ passing game step up, but also the defense kept Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense at bay.

Kansas City racked up 225 yards of net offense, which would have been their third-lowest output of the season, before a garbage-time 50-yard touchdown reception by rookie receiver Xavier Worthy.

Here are our takeaways from the Eagles’ second Super Bowl title victory in franchise history:

Hurts handles business

All eyes were on Hurts and his matchup against Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, with a particular focus on how he would handle the defensive coordinator’s notorious blitz. Going into the game, the Chiefs had blitzed at the fifth-highest rate in the league in the regular season (34%), per Next Gen Stats. Hurts had fared better against the blitz this year compared to last, completing 64.2% of his passing attempts and throwing just one interception, per Pro Football Focus.

Hurts passed the test against the blitz with flying colors early in the contest. On the Eagles’ second possession of the night, the Chiefs rushed five on second-and-11 from the Kansas City 28. Thanks to a key blitz pickup from Barkley, Hurts had plenty of time to air the ball out down the right sideline to Jahan Dotson for a gain of 27 yards. Hurts punched the ball into the end zone on a Tush Push touchdown to put the Eagles up, 7-0.

The protection wasn’t always perfect, though. On the Eagles’ third possession at the Chiefs’ 30-yard line, Nick Bolton was the fifth man on a delayed rush up the A gap. No one picked him up, giving him a free shot at Hurts. With Bolton in his face, the fourth-year starter tossed the ball short of A.J. Brown, allowing safety Bryan Cook to swoop in and snare the interception. The pick marked Hurts’ first since Nov. 10 in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Hurts rebounded quickly. After a 48-yard field goal from Jake Elliott and a pick-six from Cooper DeJean on his 22nd birthday, Hurts capitalized on a Zack Baun interception that brought the Eagles to the Chiefs’ 14-yard line after the two-minute warning in the first half. On second-and-8, Hurts hit Brown on a crossing route to put the Eagles up, 24-0.

The Slim Reaper carried a scythe and a dagger. DeVonta Smith beat Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson off the line of scrimmage and Hurts connected with him on a deep shot for a 46-yard touchdown reception. According to Next Gen Stats, the pass sailed 54.9 yards in the air, which marked Hurts’ second-longest completion of the season and sixth-longest of his career.

Four-man rush takes flight

Defenses win championships, evidently.

Vic Fangio and his unit put on a masterclass in how to limit Mahomes, who was making his fifth Super Bowl appearance in his eight career seasons. Unlike Spagnuolo, Fangio didn’t employ any exotic blitzes to get the job done. Instead, Fangio relied on a four-man rush and sticky coverage on the back end to put Mahomes under duress.

It worked. In the first half alone, the Eagles managed a 47% pressure rate without blitzing Mahomes once. The 29-year-old got a taste of the four-man rush on the Chiefs’ opening drive on third-and-9. Mahomes held onto the ball with his receivers well-covered, giving Nolan Smith and Milton Williams the opportunity to flush him from the pocket. Mahomes threw the ball incomplete.

The Eagles kept bringing the pressure and eventually began to get home. After defeating a block from Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor, Nolan Smith tripped up Mahomes on third-and-3, forcing the Chiefs to go three-and-out.

Two possessions later, Josh Sweat made his case for a hefty payday on the free-agent market. On the Chiefs’ fourth possession of the night, Sweat sacked Mahomes on first down, then split a sack with Jalyx Hunt on the ensuing second down. On the first play after DeJean’s pick-six that followed the back-to-back sacks, Williams joined the party, bringing down Mahomes on third-and-9.

Sweat added another at the start of the third quarter to bring his final total on the day to 2½, his single-game career high. Williams strip-sacked Mahomes in the fourth and recovered his forced fumble at the Chiefs’ 18-yard line. Mahomes went 21-of-32 for 257 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions for a 95.4 passer rating. He took a total of six sacks.

Pick-ture perfect

With Mahomes out of sorts in the pocket, the Eagles’ back seven took advantage of his errant passes. After taking two consecutive sacks, Mahomes fled the pocket to his right prematurely, attempting to make a throw across his body to the middle of the field. None of the Chiefs receivers were in the vicinity.

DeJean, however, was running directly into the path of the ball. The rookie nickel cornerback snared the pass, then ran 38 yards to the end zone for his first career touchdown on his 22nd birthday, putting the Eagles up, 17-0.

The defense continued to force Mahomes into making poor decisions. With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, backed up at his own 6-yard line, Mahomes felt pressure in his face. Sweat put Chiefs left tackle Joe Thuney on skates, backing him up into Mahomes’ lap. The Chiefs quarterback unleashed a pass to the short middle of the field, which a diving Baun corralled for an interception.

The pick marked Baun’s first in the Superdome, where he regularly played for four seasons as a member of the New Orleans Saints.

Call it a dynasty: In Eras Tour of own, Chiefs rally to win 3rd Super Bowl in 5 years

In a small side room at the Chiefs’ team hotel on Tuesday, Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt considered the question of how this period in the team’s history might be perceived a generation or two from now. 

Even with the franchise about to play in its fourth Super Bowl in five years while seeking to become the first team to repeat in nearly two decades, Hunt prefaced his response by saying “I certainly hope it doesn’t end any time soon.” 

“I think how you end up labeling this era of Chiefs football is really for an outside observer,” he continued, smiling and adding, “It’s not for me to say what it was, to label it with the ‘D’ word.” 

While how long it goes remains to be seen, any lingering debate or quibbling about whether this remarkable time constitutes the “D” word — dynasty — were quelled on Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium when the Chiefs outlasted the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in just the second Super Bowl to go to overtime. 

The Chiefs prevailed on Patrick Mahomes’ 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman, establishing another landmark in the Chiefs’ very own Eras Tour. 

Emblematic of a regular season that often was a grind and at times made the Chiefs appear vulnerable and splintering, they fell into a 10-0 first-half deficit that featured more airing of grievances in Travis Kelce’s appalling and berserk dash into Chiefs coach Andy Reid. 

Also mirroring the season, though, they reset and rallied courtesy of the defense that never rested and four field goals by Harrison Butker — including a Super Bowl record 57-yarder and a 29-yarder with 3 seconds left to send the game into overtime. 

And with the considerable help of a stupefying special teams blunder by the 49ers that set up the Chiefs’ vital first touchdown on a pass from Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling — the picture of redemption this postseason after a dud regular season. 

While perhaps none of this recent run could eclipse the sheer thrill of winning Super Bowl LIV after a 50-year drought, the real triumph has been all they’ve achieved since … and it would be hard to top how it went Sunday. 

As the air has gotten thinner and thinner on the way to the top in a league predicated on creating parity, the Chiefs fended off so many factors — including their own issues — to achieve something seldom seen in the annals of pro football history. 

Whatever else is to come, the victory cemented an enduring legacy for the Chiefs and particularly Reid and Mahomes — the man who altered the very meaning of what it is to be a Chiefs fan and even the self-image of Kansas Citians. 

With a third Super Bowl victory to his name, Reid now trails only Bill Belichick (six) and Chuck Noll (four) and is on trajectory toward becoming the winningest overall coach in league history should he continue to coach for another five or six seasons. 

With Mahomes’ third Super Bowl title, he now is 15-3 in postseason play and in Super Bowl wins trails only Tom Brady (seven) and Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw with four apiece. 

At age 28. 

If that speaks to the abundant future possibilities with Mahomes, the victory also embodied the rich intersection of the Chiefs’ past and present. Because it reiterated the momentous place in the pro football world of the Hunt family, starting with Chiefs and AFL founder Lamar Hunt, who died in 2006, and Norma Hunt, who died last summer. 

In the first Super Bowl ever played without the regal “First Lady of Football,” the Chiefs punctuated a season of wearing a patch honoring her with an exclamation point paying further tribute. 

The game and season also will be remembered for the glitz and glamor of the Taylor Swift Effect: The worldwide pop icon’s rabidly followed relationship with Kelce has had a multiplier effect on the popularity of the NFL itself but also on the Chiefs’ ambitions to become “the world’s team.”

 (As if the Swift-Kelce dynamic hadn’t been phenomenon enough, having one of the most popular performers on Earth fly here between concert dates in Japan and Australia to attend one of the most-watched events in the history of the planet makes for a mind-blowing impact that could take years to fully comprehend.) 

And that world’s team campaign surely was enhanced by winning their third Super Bowl in five years to give them four overall — two fewer than New England and Pittsburgh’s record six and one behind Dallas and San Francisco’s five. 

But something else distinguished the meaning of this win. 

Not just the result but the journey. 

Not the glitz but the grit, perhaps captured in a snapshot of a chunk of Mahomes’ helmet being knocked off in the 30-below windchill of the playoff opener against Miami. T

his has been not so much about the spectacular scenes that have so defined the Mahomes Era but the resolute and methodical moments from a simplified offense and the anchoring of a stellar defense that paved the way and enabled all this. In this four-year cycle, as general manager Brett Veach put it last week, “everything has just kind of flipped itself.” 

With a laugh, he thought of the contrast between previously just hoping the defense could get the opponent “to punt once” to give the Chiefs a chance to feeling that if the offense can just score once “we’re good.” 

While the offense reset from an epidemic of dropped passes and pivotal offensive penalties and other issues, that came only after it pushed off bottom after the Christmas Day debacle against the Raiders. 

The hideous 20-14 loss was marked by disorganization and sideline dissension, including the bizarre spectacle of Reid turning his back to the start of an offensive drive to block the return of Kelce’s helmet to him after Kelce had spiked it. To that point the Chiefs were an aimless 9-6, and nothing was assured — even a playoff berth. 

“It’s almost like because of the (past) success, there’s that mindset (that) this team might be just fast-forwarding to the playoffs,” Veach said. “But it’s so hard to do, you can’t do that. And (if) you do that, you might not end up making the playoffs.” 

So that Raiders game, Veach said, made for a “come-to-truth moment” that may not have been as effective if the Chiefs had snuck in a win and been lulled into thinking everything was fine.

 The Star’s Sam McDowell diagnosed the turning point last week: 

The coaches met alone first, without any players, and decided to “make things easier for the players schematically,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. So coaches shortened play calls to reduce the lengthy and complicated verbiage, reduced substitution patterns and made a concerted effort to get plays into Mahomes’ headset more promptly.

 The decluttering helped diminish crucial pre-snap mistakes and clarify assignments, making for far crisper offense. 

But the Chiefs have continued to play a more complementary style to take advantage of the breakthrough defense — traits that proved essential on the way to the monumental win on Sunday that stands for something more. 

“Each one is more satisfying than the last,” Veach said the other day. 

He was speaking of just getting to the Super Bowl, but the same doubtless applies to winning it. 

So the Chiefs will revel in this for days, including at the parade on Wednesday. But soon they will be looking toward the future and another tier of possibility. No team ever has won three straight Super Bowls. 

That in itself will be a fresh challenge, and the Chiefs will have to contend with some offseason question marks before they embark: 

Will they be able to sign Chris Jones to a long-term deal after being unable to last offseason? 

What if Travis Kelce were to retire — a prospect he has hinted at considering only to later walk back? 

And might Reid, now 65, be pondering that despite the Chiefs’ brain trust saying they expect him to stay for years longer? 

But that’s all for another day while we try to process and appreciate this momentous feat — all the more incredible considering the half-century of futility before. 

Asked the other day if he ever steps back and thinks to himself how this all happened, Hunt immediately pointed to the hiring of Reid after the 2012 season as the day it all started to change. 

Optimistic as he was then, he smiled and added, “I would be lying if I told you that (I thought) we would have this level of sustained success with him.” 

Sustained enough already to call it the “D word” — a term that may need amplifying in the years to come.

Kansas City Chiefs: Super Bowl LVII Champions

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named MVP after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 for the franchise's second Super Bowl victory in four years.

"He's the MVP. The MVP," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in his postgame on-field interview. "That's all that needs to be said: MVP."

Mahomes, hobbled with what appeared to be the same high ankle sprain suffered earlier in the postseason, keyed a second-half rally and finished the night 21-of-27 passing for 182 yards and three touchdowns. He was masterful on the game-winning drive, a 12-play, 66-yard series that churned out 5:07 of fourth-quarter clock and resulted in a 27-yard Harrison Butker field goal with 8 seconds to go.

"M-V-Pat, you know what I mean," Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said in his postgame on-field interview. "You can't say how much he means to this team."

The Chiefs trailed 24-14 at the break but Mahomes guided the comeback by throwing two of his scoring passes after halftime. He also rushed for 44 yards in the win.

"I told you all this week there's nothing that's going to keep me off that football field," Mahomes said. "I just want a shoutout to my teammates -- we challenged each other, we needed everyone to win this football game -- so shoutout to my teammates. We're Super Bowl champs!"

Mahomes no doubt benefited from some extra treatment thanks to a longer halftime to allow for Rhianna's performance inside State Farm Stadium. And by the time the field was cleared of the stage, No. 15 was at the head of the pack, knowing the Chiefs would get the opening kickoff.

Mahomes suffered the sprain in the Chiefs' divisional round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He aggravated the injury late in the first half Sunday but remained in the game. His 14-yard scramble was the key play on a touchdown drive to begin the second half.

"The offensive line, Pat Mahomes and the rest of the offensive players -- they did a great job,'' Reid said.

Mahomes was also named MVP of the Super Bowl in 2020, when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20. And he is now the 13th quarterback to win multiple Super Bowl championships.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Whoever wins the Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Chargers have lost

Amid the sound and fury of the Brian Flores lawsuit, you may have forgotten that the Super Bowl kicks off on Sunday at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. As challenging as it is to pick a winner between the Cincinnati Bengals and the hometown Rams – barely a field-goal favourite, by Vegas’ reckoning – one team has already lost: the Chargers.

You remember the Chargers. They’re the other NFL team that calls Los Angeles home, the one with the cute yellow lightning bolt on the sides of their helmets. Of course for 55 years they were the San Diego Chargers, the pro sports standard bearer for a sleepy SoCal idyll famous for sun and fun (they actually started life in LA before heading south in 1961 after a single season). In San Diego, they were one of the league’s heritage teams, in that group of pioneering AFL franchises with the Raiders and the Chiefs. Among other things, the Chargers were the team where Al Davis got started in pro football and where the vertical passing game was laboratory tested and perfected. They played at Jack Murphy Stadium, an architectural marvel that played host to three Super Bowls and two World Series – handling one of each in 1998.

For a time they seemed an ideally situated franchise – beloved by locals, nationally respected and synonymous with a town any football fan would kill to visit in December or January – and opposing fans from Chicago or Cleveland were famous for taking over the Murph. As someone who mainly attended games there as a member of the working press, the real treat was being able to watch the action from a lower bowl, outdoor press box. I can think of few better ways to spend a 72-degree fall Sunday.

Of course the picture in San Diego was not all sunny. The Chargers fanbase could be fickle (I was too when I lived in San Diego). The city, while nationally renowned, was a small market relative to California’s other NFL towns. And after the turn of the century the Murph was a dilapidated relic that couldn’t compete with JerryWorld, University of Phoenix Stadium and other football Taj Mahals. Seeing the writing crumbling from his stadium walls Dean Spanos, the Chargers’ longtime steward, did that thing all bajillionaires sports owners do when they feel the market has dealt them a bad hand; he threatened to move to Las Vegas or Oakland or Timbuktu unless the city built him a new stadium. And when his corporate welfare stickup was rebuffed, because San Diegans are awesome, Spanos took his ball and went north on I-5 to LA, leaving the town with a giant hole where a civic institution used to be.

Talk about a copycat league. The Chargers didn’t just follow the Rams (formerly of St Louis) to the City of Angels; they’re little better than dollar-per-year subletters at SoFi Stadium, the pet project of Walmart consort and Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Before moving into SoFi in 2020, the Chargers played inside a black box MLS stadium in Carson, which – culturally and sometimes with traffic – is about as far from Hollywood as Dubuque. And while they’re not the only NFL teams to share a stadium – New York’s teams share one in New Jersey – the Giants and Jets at least are an unbroken tradition in the TriState. The Rams and Chargers – who started in LA in 1946 and 1960, respectively – had been gone too long for locals to remember why they should care about them in the first place. In the interregnum the Raiders, Dallas Cowboys and the USC Trojans became LA’s football teams.

If there’s anything LA respects, it’s a winner. So it figures that now that the Rams are playing in their second Super Bowl in three years, and on their home field to boot, the Chargers barely register. In a recent survey designed to weed out the “saddest” NFL fans, or those “most emotionally upset” by wins and losses, the Chargers ranked dead last – which provides some sense of the depth of apathy here. Attendance is another quality indicator, and before the move to SoFi – again, the Rams’ house – the Chargers came in dead last through the turnstiles, too. And while LA Chargers crowds have picked up since they moved into SoFi, the vaccines rolled out and the superb young quarterback Justin Herbert came to town, at the end of the day, most of that lucre flows to Kroenke’s Rams.

It didn’t have to be this way. Besides the best town and loyal fans, the San Diego Chargers had another thing going for them. They were less than 20 miles away from Mexico, the closest NFL team besides the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills to an international border. Had Spanos been thinking ahead, he could’ve owned the Mexican market decades before the Cowboys, Raiders and 49ers set up shop. While the league was establishing games in London as a thing, it was also drawing similarly sized crowds for kickoffs in Mexico City. Spanos could have expanded his market to include an entire country, encroached deeper into Latin America and used those riches to build the stadium of his dreams. Given the NFL’s world-conquering ambitions and its efforts to ingratiate itself with the Latin community, leave no doubt: this is a massive fail.

The Chargers could have been exemplars – first to take off outside the US, leading the NFL’s foreign expansion, a more valuable franchise than perhaps even the Cowboys. Instead, they’re a second-class team in an A-list town. Only a bajillionaire detached from reality could see this as winning.

Kansas City Chiefs: Super Bowl LIV Champions

LEN DAWSON
FORMER CHIEF, HALL OF FAMER

“The excitement you’ve brought to this city reminds me of that magical season when we won the Super Bowl 50 years ago. It’s now your turn to bring the trophy home.” — Dawson, the Chiefs’ Super Bowl IV MVP and Hall of Famer, via KMBC-TV in a message to this year’s team

GEORGE BRETT
ROYALS LEGEND, HALL OF FAMER

When we called him, he was running home to pick up his iPad so he could watch Chiefs highlights at the gym. “Well, what DON’T you like about the Chiefs? I watched the Chiefs’ comeback against the Texans the other day. Then I went home and I watched the Royals’ comeback in Game 4 (against the Astros in the 2015 American League playoffs). I’m going, how could this happen? To the same city, against the same city?”

MELISSA ETHERIDGE
SINGER-SONGWRITER

This rock icon from Leavenworth has sung the national anthem at Arrowhead. How many people can say that?: “Last Sunday (Jan. 12, vs. Houston), when (Daniel) Sorensen made that tackle on the fake punt, my eyes welled up with tears because I felt it: that heart, that soul, that, ‘We are doing this for KC’ feel. It’s hard to describe, but it’s why I have been a fan since the 1970 Super Bowl.”

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#MyChiefsLove
DAVID KOECHNER
ACTOR, COMEDIAN

Koechner, a native of Tipton, Missouri, who attended Mizzou, has an allegiance to the Chiefs that goes back to Christmas 1971 and their double-overtime playoff loss to the Dolphins. “Which we all know didn’t turn out right. Because the Dolphins cheated. A lot of people don’t know that,” he said with a laugh during a recent Facebook Live session with The Star. Count him among those enamored with this season’s team: “Wow, it just keeps getting better. You know, we had that little hitch in the middle of the season, but that’s the right time to have it. … You can’t help but think we’re in great shape.”

TECH N9NE
RAPPER, ENTREPRENEUR

The rapper, producer and entrepreneur who’s still based in Kansas City, and whose lyrics often include nods to the city or things related to the region says, “What I love about our players is they are FEARLESS! Executing plays as if it were their very last game on Earth ... at least it feels that way to me!”

WENDY GUILLIES
PRESIDENT/CEO, KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION

“In so many ways, this team reminds me of the 2015 Royals. It feels like their time — they have a will that’s undeniable and they find ways to win. They are quintessential Kansas City: full of heart.”

NED YOST
FORMER ROYALS MANAGER

“I’m sitting here in Georgia, but Andy Reid is my coach, Patrick Mahomes is my quarterback, (Travis) Kelce’s my tight end.” He says this season’s Chiefs are like the 2015 World Series champion Royals because of how close they came the season before: “The experience gained is invaluable. And now that they’ve been there, they understand what it’s like. And once you get a little taste of it, it’s like a mountain lion with blood: Once you get a little taste, nothing’s going to stop you.”


BOBBY BELL
FORMER CHIEF, HALL OF FAMER

Bell, the first Chiefs player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, helped the club to a pair of Super Bowls, including their victory 50 years ago in Super Bowl IV. “What I love is they’re winning games, big games. ... They’ve got a lot of character. We haven’t seen anything like this in how many years?”

DONNA MAIZE
KCFD CHIEF

“Besides that exuberant feeling of community you get walking into Arrowhead Stadium on game day, what I really love about the Kansas City Chiefs is the excellent teamwork utilizing everyone’s strengths to achieve a common goal, which embodies what KCFD excels at each and every day.”

ALBERT PUJOLS
MLB ALL-STAR

Pujols, the three-time National League Most Valuable Player and two-time World Series champion who played high school baseball at Fort Osage in Independence, said: “I love the determination from their core of young players and veterans. It seems like they only became hungrier after last year’s AFC Championship Game.”

BILL SELF
KU HOOPS COACH

“I think they’re ... what did they call the Rams back in the day? The Greatest Show on Turf? And this may be the Greatest Show on Grass. I’m just amazed with how many weapons and how fast ... it doesn’t matter who you put out there, it seems like they can all make people miss, and then you’ve got the most talented guy in the league orchestrating it all. I think they’re so fun to watch. But not being a football expert, I think defensively is where we’ve gotten so much better. ... We’re flying around, and even if people score points, the defense has to feel good that, ‘Hey, if we only give up 21, it’s going to be a good day for us.’”

TOM WATSON
GOLF LEGEND

The winner of eight major golf tournaments, including two Masters championships, is a lifelong Chiefs fan who wants to see them “make amends for Super Bowl I against Green Bay. I love the intensity and fun with which they play. To see their joy and passion in playing a game. You can see it in how the team plays, how the players respond to each other ... that’s what I love about the Chiefs.”

TRAI BYERS
ACTOR

Star of the TV drama Empire and the movie Selma and native of Kansas City, Kansas: “The grit, the fight and the next-man-up mentality is exactly how we ended up here! And EXACTLY why the road to the Super Bowl goes through the world’s loudest stadium with the world’s best fans. LETS GO CHIEFS.”

ROGER MARSHALL
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, R-KANSAS

“They’re just so exciting. I mean, I’ve got to tell you, in my conversation with the President — we had an hour together — I bet we spent 10 minutes talking about the Chiefs and just what an exciting game that (win over Houston) was. You know, I’ve got a buddy there in Kansas City, a pledge brother, we’ve been waiting now for 50 years to go to a Super Bowl. I grew up with Len Dawson and Otis Taylor and Jim Lynch and Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell and Ed Podolak. We watched some great teams and so we’ve been waiting anxiously for this team.”

ROB RIGGLE
ACTOR, COMEDIAN

Riggle, who attended Shawnee Mission South High and KU, has been obsessive for as long as he can remember about the Chiefs and Royals, once telling The Star that their fates and his are entwined. “I love this year’s team,” he said in a recent Facebook Live session with The Star. He said Patrick Mahomes changes everything. “I definitely think he creates things. Not only like a broken play, but whatever he sees out there, he’s always making it up. A lot of it, you have a plan, but the defense has a vote in that plan. A lot of times it gets screwed up, and so you have to adjust. And he is one of the best at adjusting on the fly, and he’s got all the physical skills to make that happen. Yeah, I’d say he’s an improv genius.”

TONY GONZALEZ
FORMER CHIEF, HALL OF FAMER

Gonzalez, the NFL’s most prolific receiving tight end ever and 2019 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, spent 1997-2008 with the Chiefs. “With Patrick Mahomes, I love the ad-libs,” said Gonzalez, now an NFL studio analyst for Fox. “The magic in anything is in the ad-libs. When there’s a breakdown and things go awry, that’s what gets us out of our seats. When the pocket breaks down, guys get open, Tyreek Hill over the top, it’s so much fun to watch.”

CLAIRE MCCASKILL
FORMER SENATOR, NOW TV ANALYST

The former Democratic senator from Missouri puts it like this: “Well, how can anyone not love this team? Last week showed the country why the Kingdom is having so much fun. And while Mahomes is breathtaking, Reid’s creativity and a much-improved defense is our ticket to Miami.”

KEVIN HARLAN
VETERAN BROADCASTER

A resident of Mission Hills, Kansas, Harlan punctuated his calls with his trademark “Oh, baby, what a play!’’ as radio voice of the Chiefs from 1985-93. He’s now an NFL play-by-play man for CBS Sports. “What I like about the Chiefs is how they continue to compete every season,” Harlan said. “That is such a difficult thing to do in the NFL. … I love how they’re continually good, because we know that for so many years, there wasn’t hope and the level of their play was not close to this. Every year now, they’re always in the conversation, and that’s what I like best.”

HEIDI GARDNER
‘SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’

Says the SNL star and Kansas City native: “What I love about the Chiefs is they’ve got each other’s backs always. On the field and off the field, they’re brothers. They’re all accountable and step up when called. It’s not offense, defense, coaches, all separate. It’s one big family. And I love that.”

JOE CARTER
FORMER MAJOR-LEAGUER

Carter, who hit the walk-off home run that won the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays, has made his home in Leawood since the end of his baseball career. “I see 53 guys having fun who love one another. It’s a big family, and that makes it fun to come to work. It starts with Coach Reid and goes to Mahomes and goes down. When you’ve got a special guy like Mahomes leading the charge … you’re going to be happy for the next 15 to 20 years.”

MITCH HOLTHUS
VOICE OF THE CHIEFS

“Resiliency,” said Holthus, radio voice of the Chiefs since 1994. “They embody the spirit of what makes up the people of the Chiefs Kingdom. They reflect this region. Hard-working. Tough. On task. Take nothing for granted. They’re a neat group.”

KATHY NELSON
KANSAS CITY SPORTS COMMISSION

Says the president and CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission (and championship team parade planner): “There is so much energy and excitement around the city! Driving home at night has become an emotional high to see so many buildings lit up in red. And wearing red every day of the week has become an anticipated challenge. How can you not love these guys? Sundays can’t come soon enough right now. It’s becoming easier to visualize and plan another parade, this time in red.”

CARL PETERSON
FORMER CHIEFS GM

Peterson, the Chiefs’ president and general manager from 1989 to 2008, revived a struggling and stagnant franchise by turning the team into an annual playoff contender and creating the frenzy in the parking lots and seats that continues today at Arrowhead. “I love their never-say-die attitude. They never think they’re out of a game and have proven it a number of times, and the Houston game proved it big-time. A great deal has to start with the quarterback. He’s exceptional.”

PAT WARREN
KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Warren is president of a track that plays host to a NASCAR playoff race every year, so he knows something about postseason pressure. “This team has a confidence in itself unlike anything I’ve seen in professional sports. They always believe they can win. It’s a culture that exists in a team, and it’s a culture that breeds winning and is cool to see. When they were down 24-0 (vs. Houston), the attitude was not defeatist. It was, ‘How are we going to get back in this thing?’”

RICK SUTCLIFFE
FORMER MAJOR-LEAGUER

Sutcliffe, of Independence, was the National League Cy Young Award-winner in 1984 with the Chicago Cubs. He attended Chiefs games with his grandfather and has established relationships with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. “I love them more as people than even as players,” Sutcliffe said. “That’s so important to a community. That’s the reason you see so much red in Kansas City. You fall in love with them even more once you get to meet them.”


QUINTON LUCAS
MAYOR OF KCMO

Weeks after his inauguration last year, “Q” stood atop City Hall and envisioned a championship parade for the team he has cherished forever: “What’s not to love about this team? I mean, you look at the excitement, the happiness they have to be around each other, the fact that they have a young quarterback who can come back from 24 down. … This is the sort of thing you want to follow. It’s infectious. There’s joy every day. They hang out together. They care about Kansas City.”

DICK VERMEIL
FORMER CHIEFS COACH

The former Eagles, Rams and Chiefs coach who keeps as busy as ever with his Vermeil Wines operation in California, still follows the Chiefs closely and loves this group for several reasons. His email on the topic: “# 1, I love the coaching job Andy (Reid) & his staff have done! #2, I love how they get the ball down field in the passing game. # 3: I love the improvement in the defense coordinated by Steve (Spagnuolo) & staff! Go Chiefs!”

KEVIN WILLMOTT
WRITER, KU PROFESSOR

Kevin Willmott, a professor of film and media studies at the University of Kansas who won an Oscar for co-writing “BlacKkKlansman”: “Have been a fan since fifth grade when I got a Chiefs vs. Vikings electric football game of their Super Bowl win for Christmas. Exciting time for Kansas City.”

TRENT GREEN
FORMER CHIEFS QB

Green, the Chiefs quarterback during 2001-06, now serves as the club’s preseason television analyst and is a commentator for CBS television and radio. “The excitement they bring is infectious. The offense has been that way for a couple of years, but the defense has brought a lot of energy. The additions of Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu … there’s a whole new attitude on that side of the ball.”

DAYTON MOORE
KC ROYALS GM

“I mean, I’m a fan like everybody else and like to see action on the field and athletes playing against one another. But from my viewpoint across the street, I think it begins and ends with the great leadership that they have in their organization. That speaks to the consistency, and that’s what I admire about it. Regardless of what happens going forward — because what happens on the field, as we all know, is very unpredictable at the professional level — the steady, quality leadership is something that I notice and pay attention to.”

LIDIA BASTIANICH
CHEF, AUTHOR

The proprietor of Lidia’s Kansas City says: “The Chiefs are amazing to watch and cheer for. It is extraordinary how the team energized the city and makes Kansas City rally together. The comeback by Patrick Mahomes (against Houston in the Chiefs’ playoff opener) shows that if you put your mind to something, you can do anything. I am so proud that Lidia’s is a part of Kansas City’s fiber and a cheerleader for the longstanding tradition of the Chiefs.”

BILL HANCOCK
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF DIRECTOR

Says Hancock, who calls Prairie Village, Kansas, home: “What I love the most is the balance between the offense and the defense. They are very good on both sides of the ball, and I always enjoy that in a football team. You don’t see it very often.”

JAN STENERUD
FORMER CHIEF, HALL OF FAMER

Stenerud, the first pure kicker inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, made all three of his field-goal attempts in the Chiefs’ victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl IV. “In addition to their tremendous talent is the impression I have of the whole team, that they’re nice young men. I like the way they represent the organization. Every time you see someone interviewed, I’m impressed with the way they handle themselves. I’m proud of them.”

CHRIS GOODE
FOUNDER/OWNER OF RUBY JEAN’S JUICERY

“As a lifelong Kansas Citian, the biggest change I’ve seen is the depth of camaraderie the players have amongst each other. There’s this sense of family that we have in Kansas City and I believe the Hunt family, along with coach Andy Reid, have found a nucleus of guys that not only mesh on the field, but off as well. You can see them genuinely supporting each other’s community endeavors and lifting each other up when there’s a dropped ball, or when we’re down. That energy is reflective of what is so special about Kansas City and makes me admire this Chiefs squad. It reinforces the sense of pride I feel to call KC home.”

VLATKO ANDONOVSKI
U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM SOCCER COACH

“The excitement around the Chiefs in Kansas City is just awesome. We have a great community feeling in Kansas City and the Chiefs bring everyone even closer together, so for them to be having such a successful season is fun for everyone. I really love how entertaining they are and how they play aggressively, creative and fast. Coach Reid, the assistant coaches and all the players have done a great job and I appreciate how much they want to win for the fans. I know they can get to the Super Bowl and bring a championship back to Kansas City.”

KAY BARNES
FORMER KCMO MAYOR

“Remembering the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win 50 years ago, I’m just as excited today about the Chiefs hopefully winning again.”

JOE POSNANSKI
AUTHOR, FORMER KC STAR COLUMNIST

“There are so many things to love about these Chiefs, but I think you have to start with Patrick Mahomes. How can you not? What a joyous presence. What a fantastic player. But even that doesn’t quite cover it. I was in Kansas City for so many Chiefs heartbreaks. And the thing that stood out was that the Chiefs simply couldn’t find their own quarterback. Trent Green was a fine player, but he had bounced around for a few years. Elvis Grbac — we all remember that. Rich Gannon came and went. Joe Montana stopped by for a time after already becoming a legend. You couldn’t help but wonder: When would the Chiefs ever have another quarterback who owned the town the way Len Dawson did? And this kid came along and he played fearlessly and the Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl. He’s the screensaver on our oldest daughter’s phone. I don’t know what else you need to say.”

GEORGE TOMA
GROUNDSKEEPING GURU

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Man has served as a groundskeeper for all 53 Super Bowls, and No. 54 falls on Feb. 2, his 91st birthday. The longtime groundskeeper for the Chiefs and Royals was selected as head groundskeeper for Super Bowl I after then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle admired the pristine green grass at KC’s old Municipal Stadium. “This team has a hell of a coach in Andy Reid. I took care of his practice fields in Jacksonville for the Super Bowl when he was the Eagles’ coach, and he was so gracious and I think the world of him.”

CHRISTIAN OKOYE
FORMER CHIEF

The Nigerian Nightmare led the NFL in rushing with 1,480 yards in 1989, when the Chiefs’ offense was built on a power-run game. “We were exciting when I played, but it’s totally different now with Mahomes and how he plays,” said Okoye, who runs the California Sports Hall of Fame, which he founded in Ontario. “What I love about them is not giving up. When they were 24 down, and fans were going home, I looked at the players, and they didn’t flinch. I saw Mahomes talking to his teammates, and I told the people I was with, ‘We’re going to win this game.’”

JASON KANDER
FORMER MISSOURI SEC. OF STATE

“Like the ’14/’15 Royals, this team feels truly connected to the community and they help people around the world learn more about this awesome town. Plus, watching the Chiefs win takes me back to my childhood growing up in the ’90s. I can almost taste the Velveeta queso.”

MATT BESLER
PRO SOCCER STAR

Besler, a Sporting KC and U.S. National Team veteran who attended Blue Valley West High, says this: “Watching the win against Houston as an athlete, with seven of my teammates, I couldn’t help but notice two things in particular about this special Chiefs team. The first was the tremendous enjoyment that every Chiefs player displays on the field. We saw firsthand the passion they have for the sport, the passion they have to compete and the passion they have to represent Kansas City and its amazing fans. The second thing that stood out to me: confidence. They’ve shown it all season long. No matter who they play, where they play or what the score is, this Chiefs team believes it can win. They’re not afraid of anyone.”

HARRIS FAULKNER
TELEVISION NEWS ANCHOR

Faulkner, anchor of Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered Overtime,” spent 1992-2000 as a news anchor at WDAF-TV (Ch. 4) in Kansas City. “Loving the Kansas City Chiefs is first driven by my fascination with sports. ... There are a lot of NFL superstars out there but, through the 50 years leading up to this moment, Kansas City players have carried a banner of passion and talent that fans can be proud of. Glad to count myself among those loving fans this Super Bowl Sunday — GO CHIEFS!”

DAVID COOK
MUSICIAN, AMERICAN IDOL WINNER

David Cook has worn, and continues to wear, many hats: musician, American Idol winner. Broadway star. Blue Springs native. And unabashed fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. “I love this team’s resiliency and focus. They remind me of the vibe surrounding the 2015 Royals. No deficit feels too large, and no moment too big.”

WILL SHIELDS
FORMER CHIEF, HALL OF FAMER

Shields, the Pro Football Hall of Fame guard, has started more games, 223, than anyone in Chiefs history: “The simple fact is they’re putting up big numbers, they’re winning games, and are electric in what they do. They give you that optimism of saying, ‘We have a chance to get to and win a Super Bowl.’’’

DAVID DASTMALCHIAN
ACTOR

Overland Park native and co-star in the Ant-Man movies, Blade Runner 2049 and next year’s The Suicide Squad, which is now filming: “I’ve never thrown a Super Bowl Party before. I’m having preposterous amounts of KC BBQ shipped to an undisclosed location where I’m working on an undisclosed film with a handful of undisclosed individuals. A couple are 49er fans, so they won’t be getting any of my BBQ.”

WILLIE LANIER
FORMER CHIEF, HALL OF FAMER

“All of the games that you’ve participated in in your life start trying to give you some answers to an illogical situation,” said the ever-analytical Lanier, an anchor of the Chiefs’ 1969 Super Bowl champion team and Hall of Famer who went on to a distinguished business career. When the Chiefs found themselves in a 24-0 hole against Houston, Lanier considered their plight to be “aberrations of the moment” as he waited to see what it would lead to. The result was testimony to experience and a group dynamic he considers essential in a championship team, like the trust and accountability that buoyed those 1969 Chiefs.

JEFF KRUM
PRESIDENT OF BOULEVARD BREWING CO.

“No longer just one-dimensional, this team — like a fine beer — is beautifully balanced. With their spirit, energy and integrity, these Chiefs are easy to cheer for, and we’re proud to have them represent our city.”

BILL SNYDER
FORMER K-STATE FOOTBALL COACH

The Wildcats’ coaching legend and College Football Hall of Famer knows the game better than just about anyone else, but the things he’s most struck by in watching these Chiefs start with their MVP quarterback: “Like most, I’m impressed with Patrick and Andy, but I’m also so very impressed with how well their offensive line protects the quarterback and the improvement of the defense. Above all, I appreciate the continuity and teamwork of both players and staff. No true weak links.”

EMANUEL CLEAVER
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, D-MISSOURI

The KC congressman said his three favorite things about this year’s Chiefs team are: “Mahomes’ chemistry with the Legion of Zoom; the luncheons held by our pass-rushers in opponents’ backfields every week; and Mathieu taking the defense to another level and demonstrating his superior football IQ.”

JOSH HAWLEY
U.S. SENATOR, R-MISSOURI

“One thing that comes immediately to mind is I just love the creativity and almost the joyful and kind of childlike joy the team plays with. I think Mahomes really sets the tone for that. ... It just reminds me of the best parts of Little League. The sense that you’re out there, you’re loving the game, it’s so much fun. … I don’t want to be quoted as saying I’m comparing Mahomes to a Little League ballplayer, but in just the love of it. It’s just so fun.”

JONATHAN JUSTUS
CHEF

Executive chef/owner of the former Justus Drugstore and Black Dirt and future executive chef/owner of Justus Drugstore 2.0. “These guys, at the end of the day, are looking you down, and smiling while licking the barbecue sauce off of their fingers and sayin’ ‘Who’s next?’”

JEAN PETERS BAKER
JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR

“The Chiefs stadium is truly a Kansas City experience. It’s not about the coach, any player, or the fans. It’s about the moment. The minutes before the kickoff when we collectively embrace the palpable energy and an unwavering belief that we cannot lose. It’s exciting, unifying, and a little bit scary in a blur of red. But win or lose, it’s our team, our town and our pride.”

KELLY COLE
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF HALLS

“This team loves their fans as much as we love them. They are great supporters of Halls, and we appreciate them.”

PAT ROBERTS
U.S. SENATOR, R-KANSAS

The senator said his favorite things about this year’s Chiefs team are: “They are a team everybody can cheer for ... whether you’re from Missouri or Kansas, you are a Chiefs fan. It really brings the community together. The Chiefs have completely changed the game this season. With Patrick Mahomes using the no-look pass, the Chiefs have become the Golden State Warriors of the NFL. ... I love seeing my Wildcats find professional success, and No. 13, Byron Pringle, the wide receiver, is a K-State alum.”

MICHAEL MACCAMBRIDGE
AUTHOR, HISTORIAN

“What’s so compelling about this year’s Chiefs is that it’s not only about the Magic Unicorn Quarterback and The Legion of Zoom. In 2019, the defense has a clear identity and personality as well, thanks in large part to the man with perhaps the most nicknames in the NFL, Tyrann ‘Honey Badger’ ‘T-5’ ‘Kingdom Landlord’ Mathieu. The road to the AFC Championship Game has been tougher this time around, but this team is more balanced, more battle-tested and more resilient than the Chiefs of 2018. Also, Patrick Mahomes is a year smarter and more experienced, and — this part hasn’t changed — remains more fun to watch than any athlete in the country.” MacCambridge attended the Barstow School and was editorial coordinator of the Chiefs’ Hall of Honor. His books include a biography of Lamar Hunt and “’69 Chiefs: A Team, a Season and the Birth of Modern Kansas City.”

GARY PINKEL
FORMER MU FOOTBALL COACH

“There’s a lot of things (to love). … We were shooting ourselves in the foot about every way possible (against Houston) … (then) the leadership came through. When things got really, really tough, they weren’t yelling and screaming at each other. They were encouraging each other. … That’s how you get a chance to get out of it. … (And) when you’ve got Patrick Mahomes, you’re never out of a game. There’s a guy like that in New England.”

BILL JAMES
AUTHOR, HISTORIAN, STATISTICIAN

The Holton, Kansas, native and KU alum says: “It is fun for us to be the team that has that guy that you just can’t stop, like Elway or Aaron Rodgers or Brady or whoever … it’s fun that now we have that guy. The thing I enjoy is the creativity of the offense. Andy Reid will always come up with something that you haven’t seen before, and before you can process what he has been doing, he moves on to doing something else entirely. I know that he is responding to something the defense has done, but that’s all over my head: It’s like watching a chess match. I’m thinking one step behind and they’re working two steps ahead. But it’s fun to watch.”

JEREMY DANNER
4 HANDS BREWING CO.

The on-premise specialist/brand ambassador for 4 Hands Brewing Co. enjoys watching the Chiefs achieve success and says he especially appreciates what QB Patrick Mahomes and longtime girlfriend Brittany Matthews do for our furry friends: “I’m a healthy level of obsessed with Patrick and Brittany’s dogs, Steel and Silver. As a pit bull owner and advocate myself, I think their dogs are gorgeous, but beyond that, I appreciate what they do to help them serve as ambassadors for pits and Cane Corsos. Their Instagram feed is super cute!”

CHASE MCANULTY
FOUNDER/CEO, CHARLIE HUSTLE

“The best thing about these Chiefs is they represent who we are as a city. They share the same values we do as citizens and embody the heart and spirit this city thrives on. A true team on the field, led by the best organization off of it.”

MICHAEL SMITH
CHEF

The chef/co-founder of Farina and Extra Virgin In The Crossroads says: “Patrick Mahomes always gives the Chiefs a chance to win a ballgame. Over the years they’ve never had THE quarterback that could score in a flash from anywhere on the field. There are only a handful of quarterbacks in the NFL who can flip a game and give the fans eternal hope that the team can come from behind and win a game. That feeling and belief will be with Chief fans for the next dozen years.”

GARY WOODLAND
PRO GOLFER

The PGA Tour star and University of Kansas grad says: “I love the energy this team brings. Obviously starts with Andy Reid, which it feels like every player wants to play for. Then Mahomes controlling the sideline like a veteran and playing like he’s in the backyard with his buddies is awesome. All brought together with the attitude Mathieu has brought to the defense. It’s exciting to watch.”

DERRICK JOHNSON
FORMER CHIEF

Johnson, the Chiefs’ career leader with 1,262 tackles from 2005-17: “I love the confidence they play with. I had some really good years here, but they have taken confidence to the next level. They’ve raised the bar, and the Super Bowl is right in their grasp and it could make their dreams come true.”

CLINT BOWYER
NASCAR DRIVER

Bowyer, the NASCAR Cup star from Emporia, Kansas, attends games when they don’t conflict with his racing schedule and was in the stands for the playoff comeback win against Houston. “What do I love about the Chiefs? Here’s a simple answer: All of it. I love it all. I love what they’ve done for the city, what Arrowhead means as a fan, to be able to watch them go to battle every week. I love the quarterback, I love Andy Reid, how far the defense has come. And I love knowing you’re an elite group in the playoffs and knowing the team you root for is the team everyone in these playoffs are worried about.”

JACK SOCK
PRO TENNIS STAR

Sock, a two-time Wimbledon and 2018 U.S. Open tennis doubles champion and four-time state champion at Blue Valley North, counts some Chiefs players as friends. “They feel like my NFL family. We have the best fans in the league. I’m all about the CHOP. What’s not to love?”

BUBBA STARLING
ROYALS OUTFIELDER

The Gardner, Kansas, native was the No. 5 pick overall in the 2011 baseball draft after starring in both football and baseball at Gardner Edgerton High. “I think they’ve got the potential to go all the way. … I mean, I could see the Chiefs, the next however many years, getting to that point. But it’s like, it doesn’t happen very often, just being in the Super Bowl, and, gosh, that would be sweet to go cheer them on.” One more thing: Starling was picked in elementary school to get to wear the KC Wolf costume. “The most awesome thing I’ve ever done,” he said, laughing.

FRANK BOAL
TV/RADIO BROADCASTER

“I’ve been covering this franchise since 1981, I’ve never seen anything quite like this team. They are on the verge of something special and no one deserves it more than the Hunt Family and the Chiefs Kingdom. As Patrick Mahomes said, ‘Let’s do something special.’ How about a ‘sea of red’ flowing through downtown in all of our February splendor?”

COLBY GARRELTS
CHEF AND CO-OWNER OF BLUESTEM AND RYE

“The Kansas City Chiefs define our city’s culture by bringing friends and families together to share great food and great memories. When we go to the Super Bowl you will always know where you were and who you were with!”

CROSBY KEMPER III
DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SCIENCES

The outgoing executive director of the Kansas City Public Library’s reason for loving the Chiefs is short and sweet: “Snatching victory from defeat.”

— Quotes collected by Randy Covitz, Derek Donovan, Pete Grathoff, Vahe Gregorian, Blair Kerkhoff, Allison Kite, Bryan Lowry, Sam Mellinger, Jesse Newell, Jon Niccum, Glenn E. Rice, Jeff Rosen, Joyce Smith and Lynn Worthy

New England Patriots: Super Bowl LI Champions

HOUSTON -- The greatest quarterback of all time capped off the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, leading an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of the first Super Bowl overtime ever played. Here's what we learned in Super Bowl LI:

1. After throwing a second-quarter pick-six to put his team in a seemingly insurmountable 21-0 hole, Tom Brady bounced back in the most dramatic fashion possible, earning Super Bowl MVP honors for an unprecedented fourth time. En route to a Super Bowl-record 466 passing yards, Brady erased a 25-point second-half deficit by orchestrating four touchdown drives and a field goal in New England's final five series. Thumbing his nose at Father Time in the last game of his thirties, Brady completed 27 of 34 passes (79.4 percent) for 302 yards (8.9 YPA), two touchdowns and a 123.3 passer rating on those five legacy-cementing possessions from the middle of the third quarter through James White's game-ending touchdown run.


"There were a lot of plays," Brady told Terry Bradshaw during the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy. "Coach talks about how you never know which play it's going to be in the Super Bowl. There were probably 30 of them tonight. Any one of those would have been different, the outcome would have been different."

2. If the quarterback position wasn't the most uniquely important in all of professional sports, White would have been the runaway choice as MVP. The shifty scatback authored the most brilliant performance of his career on the game's brightest stage, hauling in a Super Bowl-record 14 receptions for 110 yards while adding three touchdowns and a clutch two-point conversion. From Kevin Faulk to Danny Woodhead to Shane Vereen and, now, to White, no quarterback utilizes pass-catching "satellite" backs to greater effect than Brady.

3. Nine years later, the Patriots extracted a decent payback for David Tyree's miraculous "Helmet Catch," instrumental in the Giants' Super Bowl XLII upset. Facing an eight-point deficit with 3:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, Brady unfurled an ill-advised pass over the middle into double coverage. Although the ball was tipped by Robert Alford as two other defenders arrived, the cornerback's leg prevented it from falling incomplete. Julian Edelman plucked the ball off of Alford's ankle, bobbled it for a second and somehow hung on without allowing it to hit the turf. Edelman's "Ankle Catch" is New England's answer to the circus-catch antics of Tyree and Seahawks wideout Jermaine Kearse.

"I couldn't believe it," Brady said after the game. "One of the greatest catches. You know we've been on the other end of a few of those catches."

4. If the prolate spheroid had bounced differently in the second half, the Falcons could have turned Super Bowl LI into a lopsided laugher. Reminiscent of the Seahawks' lopsided Super Bowl XLVIII victory, when Dan Quinn's Seattle defense dominated Denver's record-breaking offense, the Falcons simply outclassed the Patriots in terms of speed and athleticism for the first 40 minutes of Sunday's ultimate affair. Atlanta jumped out to a forbidding 28-3 lead, with fleet-footed middle linebacker Deion Jones setting the tone as a true sideline-to-sideline force on defense and big-play tailback Devonta Freeman shredding New England's defense on the other side of the ball.


Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff cut his teeth in the Patriots front office, learning how to construct a successful organization from team-building master Bill Belichick. When Dimitroff was afforded the chance to run his own operation in Atlanta, he parted ways with his mentor in one key area: Whereas Belichick emphasized size and power, Dimitroff coined the phrase "urgent athleticism" to describe his own draft philosophy. That difference played out in stark terms for one half at NRG Stadium Sunday evening. Despite the heartbreaking loss, the talented young roster compiled by Dimitroff, Quinn and Scott Pioli is poised to remain an NFC powerhouse for the next few years.

5. That said, Quinn and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will battle persistent nightmares over an ultimately decisive sequence in the middle of the fourth quarter. After Julio Jones tight-roped the sideline for one of the most acrobatic catches in postseason history, the Falcons simply had to call three straight runs that would have forced the Patriots to use their timeouts. They would then have the opportunity for a field-goal attempt of roughly 40 yards, extending the lead to 31-20 with less than four minutes remaining. Instead, Trey Flowers sacked Matt Ryan for a third time, turning a three-point opportunity into a punting situation. It's hard to crush play-callers for remaining aggressive, but this was a costly miscalculation for the Falcons.

6. Atlanta's epic second-half collapse will effectively circumvent wall-to-wall post-Super Bowl coverage of an offense that ranks among the greatest in NFL history. Had the Falcons held on for the win, they would have recorded the most points in a season by a Super Bowl champion, featuring an MVP quarterback fresh off the hottest playoff streak of all time. Extending his own record of 120-plus passer ratings to seven games, Ryan finished the postseason completing 70 of 98 passes (71.4) for 1,014 yards (10.4 YPA), nine touchdowns and a staggering 135.3 passer rating. His eight completions of 15 or more yards tied Carolina's Jake Delhomme (Super Bowl XXXVIII, also in Houston versus the Patriots) for the most in one Super Bowl game.


Considering the inflated, offense-friendly environment in which they shined, the 2016 Falcons won't quite stack up to the era-adjusted dominance of the 2007 Patriots, 2000 Rams, 1998 Vikings, 1994 49ers, 1983 Redskins and 1950 Rams.

7. When Julio Jones' Hall of Fame bust is unveiled in Canton 10-15 years from now, they will run a loop of highlights from his spectacular 2017 postseason run, played through a painful toe injury. Double- and even triple-teamed at times, Jones made the most of his four targets, hauling in all four for 87 yards. His balletic, leaping sideline grab over Eric Rowe is perhaps the best example of aerial acrobatics since the Flying Wallendas made big-top magic -- or at least since Lynn Swann's sensational Super Bowl X leap.

8. Flowers, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and defensive end Chris Long were the standouts for a Patriots defense that buckled down in the second half. After going 20 consecutive possessions without a three-and-out sequence this postseason, the Falcons were forced into a pair of quick punts twice in three third-quarter sequences as New England chipped away at the lead. Hightower hit Ryan's arm in motion, forcing and recovering a fumble that put the ball in Brady's hands at Atlanta's 25-yard line. Brady found Danny Amendola for a six-yard touchdown five plays later, trimming the lead to one score in the middle of the fourth quarter.

9. Dwight Freeney isn't ready to make a decision on retirement after a fantastic performance in which he and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett dominated the Patriots' offensive line for three quarters. "I don't know what the story will be for me after this," Freeney told reporters after the game. "I don't know if I'll return next year." Freeney, 36, is no stranger to languishing on the open market until he finds the right fit with a Super Bowl contender.

Peyton Manning: Is He Done!?

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- If Peyton Manning is going to walk off into the sunset following the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl 50 victory, the decision will take a backseat to celebration.

Manning was noncommittal regarding his future plans in a post-game interview with CBS' Tracy Wolfson.

"I'll take some time to reflect. I got a couple priorities first," Manning said. "I'm going to go kiss my wife and kids. I want to hug my family. I'm going to drink a lot of Budweiser tonight, Tracy, I promise you that. I'm going to take care of those things first. Definitely got to say a little prayer to thank the man upstairs for this great opportunity. I'm just very grateful."

Manning later told CBS' Jim Nantz that is heeding the advice of former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, who cautioned against making an emotional decision in the heat of the moment.

Few Hall of Fame quarterbacks are fortunate enough to go out on top. Manning has an opportunity to join Broncos general manager John Elway as the only members of that exclusive club after a unique 2015 season which saw the 39-year-old quarterback transition from perennial MVP candidate to fading liability to injured backup and, finally, to postseason game manager.

The Super Bowl 50 victory gives Manning a winning postseason record (14-13) and a pair of Lombardi Trophies. He joined Norm Van Brocklin as the only quarterbacks to win NFL championships with two different organizations. Van Brocklin was the original Elway, retiring after his 1960 title with the Philadelphia Eagles.

"It's just awesome because he was on a team that could help him get a win," coach Gary Kubiak said after the game. "He didn't have to go out there and do it all on his own and he knew that. I told him that I watched John Elway win a championship with 120-something yards passing, and he got one today with about a 100 and something yards, too. I'm just so proud of him."

Few qualities trump perseverance in professional football.

Only one of 32 teams can win the Super Bowl, which means each year ends in disappointment for 97 percent of the NFL's players, coaches and front office executives. The game itself batters and bloodies its combatants, shortening their seasons as well as their careers.

Two months ago, all signs pointed to an ignominious end for Manning. Instead, he persevered in the face of a nagging plantar fascia tear and the embarrassment of being unceremoniously demoted for the first time in his legendary career.

Manning knows it took a fluky C.J. Anderson fumble to unseat Brock Osweiler in the regular-season finale. He understands the Broncos' 194 yards of offense on Sunday were easily the fewest ever by a Super Bowl winner. He might be holding out faint hope for the fountain of youth, but he still realizes his battle-worn body was a liability in converting just one of 13 third downs versus the Panthers.

Through all of that adversity, he can find satisfaction in avoiding back-breaking mistakes while watching two of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks implode in the AFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.

Manning famously carried a team with one of the worst defenses in football to a Super Bowl XLI Colts victory. Surely he can relish the fairytale ending of hitching his wagon to a star-studded defense in the final act of a storied career.

Denver Broncos: Super Bowl 50 Champions

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The Denver Broncos authored one of the greatest defensive performances in Super Bowl 50, helping Peyton Manning write one of the game's most improbable stories in the process.

The Broncos are Super Bowl champions for a third time after dismantling the Panthers 24-10 inside a raucous Levi's Stadium. It was only fitting that the game's decisive moment was made by Broncos linebacker Von Miller. Miller was named Super Bowl 50 MVP.

Late in the fourth quarter in a one score game, Miller fought off Panthers tackle Mike Remmer's initial block, dipped his shoulder, kept his balance and reach his long left arm at Cam Newton. The ensuing fumble was Carolina's fourth of the day and fourth turnover overall. Like the high-powered Steelers and Patriots offenses before them, the Panthers' offense had no answers for this incredible Broncos group.

Peyton Manning said after the game that he will "take time to reflect" before announcing any potential retirement, but every sign points to this being Manning's final game. After coming up short so often in the playoffs with high-powered offenses, it will be hard for Manning to resist riding off into the sunset on the back of this Broncos defense.

"I'll take some time to reflect. I got a couple priorities first" Manning told CBS' Tracy Wolfson after the game. "I'm going to go kiss my wife and kids. I want hug my family. I'm going to drink a lot of Budweiser tonight, Tracy, I promise you that. I'm going to take care of those things first. Definitely got to say a little prayer to thank the man upstairs for this great opportunity. I'm just very grateful."

Manning knows that defenses like this don't come around often. They hit Cam Newton 13 times and sacked him seven more. The Panthers' high-powered offense kept getting chances in the second half, but Denver's defense kept stuffing them. Denver's special teams and defense essentially out-scored the Panthers on their own, setting the Broncos up for 17 points.

New England Patriots: Super Bowl XLIX Champions

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Ten years removed from his last Super Bowl win, Tom Brady wasn't letting this one slip away.

Sure, the brilliant Brady needed a huge play by an undrafted rookie to preserve New England's 28-24 Super Bowl victory over Seattle on Sunday night. But Brady's imprint was all over the Patriots' sensational fourth-quarter rally for their fourth NFL championship of the Brady-Bill Belichick era.

"You know, whatever it takes," the record-setting Brady said after throwing for four touchdowns, including a 3-yarder to Julian Edelman with 2:02 remaining as New England rallied from a 10-point deficit. "Every team has a journey and a lot of people lost faith in us ... but we held strong, we held together, and it's a great feeling."

The Patriots (15-4) had to survive a last-ditch drive by the Seahawks (14-5), who got to the 1, helped by a spectacular juggling catch by Jermaine Kearse. Then Malcolm Butler stepped in front of Ricardo Lockette to pick off Russell Wilson's pass and complete one of the wildest Super Bowl finishes.

Brady leaped for joy on the Patriots sideline after Butler's first career interception.

"It wasn't the way we drew it up," said Brady, who won his third Super Bowl MVP award. "It was a lot of mental toughness. Our team has had it all year. We never doubted each other, so that's what it took."

Brady surpassed Joe Montana's mark of 11 Super Bowl touchdown passes with a 4-yarder to Danny Amendola to bring the Patriots within three points.

Seattle, seeking to become the first repeat NFL champion since New England a decade ago, was outplayed for the first half, yet tied at 14. The Seahawks scored the only 10 points of the third period, but the NFL-leading defense couldn't slow the brilliant Brady when it counted most.

"He's Tom Brady," Edelman said. "He's the greatest quarterback on the planet."

It didn't matter how much air was in the balls, Brady was unstoppable when the pressure was strongest. While pushing aside the controversy over air pressure in the footballs stemming from the AFC title game, the Patriots moved the ball easily in the final 12 minutes.

Seattle didn't quit -- it never does -- and Kearse's 33-yard catch with 1:06 remaining got it to the 5. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 4 yards, then backup cornerback Butler, who was victimized on Kearse's reception, made the biggest play of his first NFL season with 20 seconds remaining.

"I just had a vision that I was going to make a big play and it came true," Butler said. "I'm just blessed. I can't explain it right now. It's crazy."

Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin was ejected in the final seconds for instigating a near-brawl, delaying the celebration for the Patriots.

Soon they were mobbing one another on the same field where their 2007 unbeaten season was ruined in the Super Bowl by the Giants. They also fell to the Giants for the 2011 title.

But thanks to superstar Brady and the obscure Butler, they are champions again.

"Malcolm, what a play," Brady said. "I mean, for a rookie to make a play like that in a Super Bowl and win us the game, it was unbelievable."

Brady has equaled Montana with four Lombardi Trophies and three Super Bowl MVPs. He stands alone with 13 Super Bowl touchdown passes. He was 37 for 50 for 328 yards against the NFL's top-ranked defense.

He also was picked off twice; Brady was intercepted a total of two times in his previous five Super Bowls.

Yet, he picked apart the Seahawks on fourth-quarter drives of 68 and 64 yards, solidifying his championship legacy.

His heroics offset those of Chris Matthews, one of Seattle's least-used players before the postseason. Matthews recovered the onside kick that helped the Seahawks beat Green Bay in overtime for the NFC crown, and had a breakout performance Sunday.

Having never caught a pass in the NFL, Matthews grabbed four for 109 yards and a touchdown. Lynch ran for 102 yards, but didn't get the ball at the 1 on the decisive play -- a decision the Seahawks will rue forever.

"For it to come down to a play like that, I hate that we have to live with that," coach Pete Carroll said, "because we did everything right to win the football game."

The teams got down to football under the open retractable roof at University of Phoenix Stadium -- the first venue to host an indoor and an outdoor Super Bowl -- after dealing with distractions far beyond the typical Super Bowl hype. The Patriots are still being investigated for using under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game.

It was a game of spurts by both teams before a crowd of 70,288 that was clearly pro-Seattle.

Jeremy Lane made the first big play to negate a nearly eight-minute drive by the Patriots with a leaping interception at the goal line late in the first quarter. Lane made his first pro interception, but left with a wrist injury after being tackled by Julian Edelman.

His replacement, Tharold Simon, got torched by Brady the rest of the way.

Wilson didn't get off a pass in the first quarter. When Brady completed his record 50th postseason TD throw, 11 yards to Brandon LaFell against Simon, it was 7-0.

Seattle went to its bench to help tie it.

Matthews' first career catch, a reaching 44-yarder over Kyle Arrington and by far the longest first-half play for Seattle, led to Lynch's bruising 3-yard TD run to make it 7-7.

But Brady to Rob Gronkowski made it 14-7 and seemed to finish off a dominant first half for the Patriots. Except no one told the resilient Seahawks.

A dormant offense turned dangerous in a span of 29 seconds, covering 80 yards in five plays, including a late gamble. Lockette caught a 23-yard pass and Arrington was flagged for a facemask, putting Seattle at the 10 with :06 remaining. Carroll went for it and the new Seahawks star, Matthews, grabbed Wilson's pass in the left corner of the end zone.

It was the most lopsided halftime tie imaginable.

Then Seattle stormed to a 24-14 lead in the third quarter on Steven Hauschka's 27-yard field goal and Doug Baldwin's 3-yard TD reception. New England was stumbling -- until Brady once again stepped up.

"I've been at it for 15 years and we've had a couple of tough losses in this game," Brady said. "This one came down to the end, and this time, we made the plays."

Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press

Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25

Champions: Green Bay Packers bring Lombardi Trophy back to Titletown

BY TONY WALTER • TWALTER@GREENBAYPRESSGAZETTE.COM • FEBRUARY 6, 2011

• Type Size A A A

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Green Bay Packers are world champions again.

.Champions! Champions! Champions! Champions! Champions!

The word won’t grow weary to the ears of thePackers and their fans, just as the sight of today’s Super Bowl XLV victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers here and the countless replays won’t disturb the eyes.

The Packers rule the country’s biggest sports stage.

Champions! 

That’s 13 now, the most of any franchise in the history of professional football.

The evidence, laid before the nation at Cowboys Stadium, cannot be refuted.

The victory brought to a joyful conclusion an adventurous 2010 Packers season that moved between the valley and the mountaintop and finally, with resolve, was not denied the ultimate prize.

The Lombardi Trophy’s 14-year sabbatical from Wisconsin has ended, and Packers fans around the world are rejoicing.

Champions!

Packers fans passionately follow the team, but watching their favorite players win a title is a dream.

That dream seemed fantasy less than two months ago when the Packers stumbled against the Detroit Lions, lost valiantly to the New England Patriots and were left with only one option.

Win the rest of the games. All of them.

The Giants, the Bears, the Eagles, the Falcons, the Bears, and the Steelers.

It is an accomplishment that will find its deserving place in the team’s proud history, alongside Curly Lambeau’s direction of triple titles of 1929-31, the three-peat of Vince Lombardi’s 1965-67 teams, and the Mike Holmgren-led victory in Super Bowl XXXI at the end of the 1996 season. 

This has been a story more than a year in the making since the football bounced away from Aaron Rodgers and gave the Arizona Cardinals that overtime playoff victory 13 months ago.

But Super Bowl was on the tongues of Packers fans even before the players put their pads on at training camp. The ebb and flow of the season challenged the optimism that was so vibrant in the summer, but the surge that began in December became an unstoppable force through Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Arlington.

The Packers and their fans won’t get tired of celebrating this one, and they won’t get tired of saying it.

Champions!


Tony Walter is a columnist for the Press-Gazette. He can be reached at (920) 431-8360 or attwalter@greenbaypressgazette.com