Final observations from a very entertaining Super Bowl LIV
Feb 4, 2020, 6:36 AM | Updated: 6:37 am
Two days later, here are some hot observations from Super Bowl LIV:
• The scariest thing about Patrick Mahomes is he was lousy for the first three quarters. Yet, he never let it bother him and was at his best when he absolutely needed to be. Mahomes has “it” and that is scary for the rest of the NFL.
• Kyle Shanahan coached offenses in his last two Super Bowls have been outscored 40-0 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Coincidence? That’s a tough number to just blow off. Just like when he was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons, Shanny chose the wrong time to ignore his above average running game. Andy Reid has been dogged for years with being bad at clock management -that dubious honor may have been passed onto Kyle.
• More on Kyle: His decision to be so passive at the end of the first half was a mistake. Years of watching Tom Brady and the Patriots has taught me that teams always have to be on the attack. Playing it safe against great quarterbacks will get you beat. Going for it on fourth down. Pushing for touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. And, not sitting on three timeouts with more than a minute left in the first half.
• Anyone notice how quickly and smoothly the game moved? Amazing what can happen when flags aren’t flying and the flow of the game isn’t bogged down by endless replays.
• I like it when officials in any sport swallow their whistles during crunch time. Let the players decide the outcome.
• I don’t like what I’ve heard from Broncos fans in the aftermath of Kansas City winning. Moving forward, there’s a lot of “Let’s see what happens when Mahomes gets paid” or “Let’s see if KC can stay hungry and healthy.” Hoping the Chiefs slide back to the Broncos can’t be a strategy. The Broncos have to get better. The standard has been set. They have to go beat it.
• I can understand how Broncos fans are thinking go out and build up the defense in free agency and the draft to combat Mahomes. I look at it differently. San Francisco has put a ton of work into their defense and they still gave up 21 fourth quarter points to cough up the Super Bowl. The Broncos must build an offense that can average at least 26.0 points per game. That means building around Drew Lock. Offensive line. Wide receivers. Maybe a different mix with their running backs.
• The best Super Bowl commercials were
1. Bill Murray / Groundhog Day / Jeep
2. Shrinking Jason Mamoa
3. Walmart – just because it featured Bill from “Bill and Ted.” Can’t wait for their new movie. Excellent.
• The fact that so many people are talking about and debating the morality of the halftime show means they got it right. I’m not clutching my pearls about J-Lo and Shakira’s performance. It was a show. It was entertaining. I’m still a red-blooded enough American male that I can appreciate sexy women showing off what they got. My son is 13. I’m not so naive to think they’ve never been exposed to that – and more. Yeah, I would prefer to see Guns N’ Roses do the halftime show. Or Pearl Jam. Or Springsteen. But I’m not the target audience. I can handle it. If I don’t like it, I’ll go grab more chicken wings.