By: Matthew S. Taylor
The NFL Championship weekend ended in two games that were decided by four points or less. The New England Patriots became the AFC Champions after facing the Denver Broncos and coming out on top in a low-scoring 10-7 game. The divisional rivalry between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams was as entertaining as ever, but quarterback (QB) Sam Darnold managed to lead his new team, the Seahawks, to victory with a season-high performance, ending in the final score 31-27.
It’s impossible to write about this NFL season without being up-front about my personal bias. I have been a fan of the Denver Broncos since 2011 and was overjoyed to see my team win its first playoff game since Peyton Manning’s retirement after winning Super Bowl 50 in 2016. Following a first-round bye that they secured via tiebreaker, due to the Patriots’ early loss against the Raiders, they were slated to host Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills.
After a series of debatable penalties called on both teams, the Broncos won with an overtime field goal, making the final score 33-30. This victory, however, was short-lived. In a post-game interview, head coach Sean Payton announced that Denver’s second-year QB Bo Nix would miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. This hammered the first nail in the coffin for Denver’s playoff hopes.
The Patriots also came into their game with a second-year QB, Drake Maye. Maye is currently nominated for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after a phenomenal season, leading the league in pass completion rate. As a Broncos fan, it is easy to disregard Maye’s path to the Super Bowl for a number of reasons. The Patriots were given the statistically easiest schedule of the season. Three of their games were against teams with winning records. Of these three, they managed to defeat only the Buffalo Bills, although they lost in their other meeting this season.
The Patriots’ playoff opponents were all lacking in key areas. In the Wild Card, they hosted the Los Angeles Chargers, who struggled to protect QB Justin Herbert with their worst-ranked offensive line. In the Divisional Round, they faced a struggling Houston Texans offense without their star wide receiver (WR) Nico Collins, as their third-year QB, C.J. Stroud, threw four interceptions. Finally, the Denver Broncos were forced to start their backup QB, Jarrett Stidham, in his first game in over two years through a game that ended in a blizzard.
While it would be easy to rely on these statistics alone, there is no denying that the Patriots deserve to be considered one of the best teams in the league. The three defenses they faced this postseason were ranked in the top five for yards allowed per game: Los Angeles Chargers (5th), Houston Texans (1st), Denver Broncos (2nd). While Maye failed to pass over 100 yards in the Championship game, he managed to bridge the gap with enough rushing yards to close out the game. This, however, is unlikely to be enough against the NFC Championship winners.
The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams faced each other twice before in the regular season. Each time, the home team prevailed. Their first meeting was in Los Angeles on Nov. 18. This game ended in a close 21-19 victory for the Seahawks. Their rematch in Seattle on Dec. 18 went the other way, with the Seahawks winning 38-37.
This division rivalry has been historically even. Their record was decided by a single game this season: 29 wins for the Seahawks, 28 wins for the Rams. Matthew Stafford, veteran QB for Los Angeles who was nominated for MVP against Patriots QB Maye, sought to balance the all-time record in his path to his second Super Bowl. Stafford’s supporting cast made this a promising opportunity. In the backfield, he was supported by running backs (RBs) Kyren Williams and rookie Blake Corum. He also was supported by the elite WR duo of Offensive Player of the Year nominee Puka Nacua and veteran Davante Adams.
However, the Seattle Seahawks matched the Rams in nearly every way. They also had a dependable backfield with RBs Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Jaxson Smith-Njigba, third-year Seahawks WR, led the league in receiving yards in a contested season-long battle against the Rams’ Nacua. The Seahawks also were supported by Cooper Kupp, a former elite Los Angeles Rams receiver, in his third revenge game of the season.
The area where the Seahawks managed to outplay their division rivals was in their extraordinary defense, ranked 6th in yards allowed per game. Despite the odds, QB Stafford threw for 374 yards, three touchdowns (TDs) and not a single interception. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold managed to challenge his stats with a nearly identical performance: 346 yards, three TDs, zero interceptions. Both Nacua and Smith-Njigba recorded over 150 receiving yards, cementing their historical seasons.
Stafford has the most recorded game-winning drives of any current NFL quarterback, yet his magic failed to work in the final seconds of the game. Seattle managed to take the victory over their division opponents in a 27-31 victory. Darnold registered his 30th win in his past two seasons, becoming the first QB of the 2018 draft class to lead his team to the Super Bowl. He reached this monumental achievement before notable names such as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield.
All eyes will be on Levi’s Stadium as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots converge Feb. 8 for a Super Bowl rematch from 2015, where Tom Brady’s Patriots managed to defeat Russell Wilson’s Seahawks in a last-second interception. With the Seahawks at full strength, QB Maye faces his greatest challenge yet with an opportunity to prove the doubters (including myself) wrong. Darnold has a chance to cement his legacy and prove that he cannot be defined by his unimpressive tenures with the Jets, Panthers and 49ers through 2023. Legacies will be made. The results will break records and hearts. This is American football at its greatest.
