Superbowl Outcome and the Upcoming Offseason

The Kansas City Chiefs won Superbowl 57 with a last-second field goal 38-35. The Chiefs were able to overcome a lackluster first half with the only offense coming from a few Travis Kelce catches, the strong running of rookie Isiah Pacheco and a rare defensive touchdown off of a fumble from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Butker also missed a field goal, clanging the ball off of the post, leaving the score at 24-14 at the end of the first half. The Chiefs’ star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, was also left limping off of the field on the final play from scrimmage of the first half. All things were pointing towards an Eagles victory. The Eagles were on a roll in the first half – Jalen Hurts was running all over the Chiefs’ defense and had two rushing touchdowns and threw a long touchdown pass to A.J. Brown.

In the second half, the Chiefs woke up, energized by the play of ex-Giant Kadarious Toney, who scored a huge red zone touchdown and ran for a 65-yard punt return which set up a touchdown from rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore. The Eagle’s defense was all of a sudden getting cooked, letting up big play after big play. The Chiefs didn’t punt once in the second half! Jalen Hurts, who arguably could have been named the Superbowl MVP even in a losing effort, kept the Eagles alive with yet another rushing touchdown by barreling into the end zone for a two-point conversion to tie up the game late at 35-35.

Unfortunately, the Eagles’ offense left 5 minutes on the clock – which is too much time to leave a quarterback like Mahomes. Mahomes and Isiah Pacheco, with a little help from the referees on a questionable defensive holding call as well, ran down the clock to set up the game-winning field goal with 4 seconds left. One unsuccessful hail mary attempt later from Jalen Hurts, and the game was over. Jalen Hurts threw for over 300 yards and ran for over 70 yards. Hurts also scored 4 touchdowns (1 passing, 3 rushing – the 3 rushing touchdowns are a Superbowl record!). Patrick Mahomes threw for 184 yards and threw 3 touchdowns to bring the Chiefs back into the game, winning the Superbowl MVP as well.

With the season now finally over, teams are starting to look towards the offseason free agency period and the NFL draft to fill open spots in their staff and on their rosters. Players such as Lamar Jackson, Josh Jacobs, and Jason Kelce will be free agents this year unless resigned, and all can be a huge piece to any team they end up playing for. Teams such as the Jets, Falcons, Buccaneers, and Panthers are in need of a quarterback – so players like Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Aaron Rodgers may be switching uniforms in the offseason. There are also many defensive players that teams would love to have on their rosters, such as Jessie Bates III, Marcus Peters, and James Bradberry. This year’s offseason may bring surprises and unlikely signings, but don’t forget about this year’s draft in Kansas City where players such as CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, and Will Anderson, Jr. might change the paths of whichever NFL team they are ultimately selected by. Can the Chiefs and Eagles repeat this past season’s success? Are the Giants and Cowboys ready to take the next step in the NFC East and dethrone the Eagles? Can the Bills recharge and go all the way in a much more competitive AFC East? Will Derek Carr or Aaron Rodgers (via a trade) be the Jets’ quarterback next season and lead them into the playoffs? Where will veterans such as Ezekiel Elliott, Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, and Dalton Schultz end up playing? Will Tom Brady actually stay retired?! All these questions and more will be answered in the next few months – there’s always news to report during the year when it comes to the NFL.