CLIFTON PARK, NY – Wow.
Honestly, I didn’t see this coming.
I said it a couple of weeks ago… Russell Wilson and Matt Ryan couldn’t beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. How was Nick Foles going to take them down?
Boy, did he prove me wrong.
Foles was sensational en route to being named Super Bowl MVP. Throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns. Sure, there was an interception mixed in, but it was on a tipped ball.
Holy cow.
This wasn’t the defensive showdown many – myself included – expected, but it was of the most-exciting Super Bowls in recent memory.
Yes, Super Bowl LI went into overtime, but it was mostly a blowout. Sunday was a back-and-forth slugfest that was entertaining from start to finish.
Hats off to Tom Brady. He threw for 505 yards. Sheesh.
But the Eagles played such a complete game. Five players touched the ball at least five times and five players racked up at least 67 yards of offense.
Philadelphia had too much depth for New England to keep track of. Honestly, it was their most complete game offensively all season.
Heck, two players threw touchdowns for the Eagles: Foles and tight end Trey Burton. To Foles.
Now, I know most of you came here for my hawt taeks, so there are probably some long faces right now.
Don’t worry. I got you.
This is the last time Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will compete in a Super Bowl together. Just remember, Father Time always wins.
Brady will be 41 next season.
I don’t care how good he is, but at some point he’ll fall off of that metaphorical cliff.
Peyton Manning did. He won the MVP in 2013 only retire two years later due to inefficiency in his final season.
If it can happen to Manning, it can happen to Brady too.
As far as Bill Belichick goes… Something’s off. The guy benched Malcom Butler on defense instead of making him a healthy scratch.
New England could have used Mike Gilleslee. The Patriots only gained 113 yards on the ground, compared to Philadelphia’s 164.
If you’re going to limit one of your starting cornerbacks to special teams than why activate him at all?
Here’s Matt Patricia giving the same answer to repeated questions about Malcolm Butler. pic.twitter.com/hdTLFROUQs
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) February 5, 2018
He played more snaps than any New England defensive player this season. It makes no sense.
This is all on top of the reported tension building up between himself, Brady and Robert Kraft and the fact he’s losing both his offensive and defensive coordinators this week.
You don’t have to like ESPN, but I fully believe Seth Wickersham’s report from January about New England’s foundation crumbling. As a fellow sports writer, there’s no way I’m publishing that piece if I don’t fully trust my sources. It doesn’t even matter if no one went on record. Who would for a story like that? And there’s no way ESPN promoted it like they did without it being fully vetted first.
While Las Vegas already has New England as the Super Bowl favorites next season, I’m not buying it.
This is the beginning of the end.
Oh, and Frank Reich, Ronald Darby, Nigel Bradham, Corey Graham and Jason Peters are Super Bowl champions. So in a way, the Buffalo Bills are champs, too.
Sort of.
😉
Feel free to comment below, check out Ben Whitney and please follow us on Twitter at @ByDJEberle, @MeetTheMatts and @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram at @meetthematts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
By the way, the best thing I saw on Sunday was Playoff Caliber, the documentary on the Bills ending their playoff drought.
It’s a must-watch.
