In one of the most shocking Super Bowl results in recent memory, the Philadelphia Eagles demolished the 17-2 Kansas City Chiefs and thwarted KC’s attempt for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat. Though the game was not competitive for all but the first couple minutes, the outcome left plenty for NFL fans to dissect heading into the offseason. The Super Bowl isn’t the only news item, though — close award races, Hall of Fame selections and trade requests have also made their way into the headlines.
Let’s break down the flurry activity from the final week of the 2024 NFL season, both on and off the field:
On the EAGLES: Defensive pressures and takeaways decide Super Bowl LIV. The Eagles compiled one of the most impressive Super Bowl stat lines I’ve ever seen: zero blitzes, six sacks, 11 quarterback hits, three Patrick Mahomes takeaways. The Eagles didn’t commit any additional defenders beyond their defensive line to rush the quarterback and still managed to make Mahomes’ life miserable in the pocket. That pass rushing success enabled Philadelphia to blanket the Chiefs’ receivers (and future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce) and bait Mahomes into two uncharacteristic first-half interceptions, including one that rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean returned for a pick-six. Defensive tackle Milton Williams was the breakout performer of the night with a recovered fumble and two sacks, while linebacker Josh Sweat added 2.5 sacks and six total tackles. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts posted his finest performance of the season and took MVP honors with 221 passing yards, a Super Bowl-record 72 rushing yards and a trio of touchdowns, but the lopsided 40-22 result was a testament to the mantra “defense wins championships.”
On the CHIEFS: Kansas City falls short on historic quest for three Super Bowl wins in three years. Of all the outcomes I expected for Super Bowl LIX, the Eagles taking a 40-6 lead midway through the fourth quarter was not one of them. In many ways, the Eagles’ romp over Mahomes and the Chiefs resembled Mahomes’ other Super Bowl loss, a 31-9 shellacking in Super Bowl LV. Poor offensive line play doomed Mahomes both times, neutralizing the best quarterback of his generation in stunning fashion. But the 2024 Chiefs came to New Orleans with just a single blemish on their resume when playing their starters (a tight loss to the AFC runner-up Buffalo Bills) and an incredible streak of 17 wins in one-possession games — factors that seemed to make them the team to beat heading into the Super Bowl. Coming so close to a Super Bowl three-peat and losing in blowout fashion will sting for Kansas City, but the Tampa Bay loss provides precedent that the Chiefs’ dynasty can withstand a crushing Super Bowl defeat. And they will almost certainly return the head coach-quarterback duo of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, which has never failed to reach an AFC Championship Game. The Eagles left no doubt that they were the better team in New Orleans on Sunday and ended the Chiefs’ reign of terror, but Kansas City’s dynasty is not imploding after a single loss.
On LAMAR JACKSON: Two-time MVP has his best season… and still loses MVP. The NFL’s MVP voting typically restrains its intrigue to the regular season, when candidates (mostly quarterbacks) are jockeying for top positioning for the league’s biggest honor. This year, the entertaining race was a major storyline throughout the 18-week regular season, but the real shock came with the award’s announcement at NFL Honors. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, a two-time winner and the reigning MVP, secured the AP first-team All-Pro honors as the game’s best quarterback at the end of the regular season. If that did not make Jackson’s case airtight, consider that Jackson’s passing stats surpassed his performances from his MVP seasons and his role in leading Baltimore to a 12-5 record and come-from-behind AFC North division title. Buffalo’s Josh Allen, the quarterback who knocked off Jackson in the playoffs, won the award instead. There is no doubt that Allen had a fantastic season, and his argument for the award is strong given his middle-of-the-pack supporting cast and mesmerizing performances. That argument was enough to sway a strong contingent of voters, even those who saw Jackson as the better quarterback. According to the voting results, multiple voters chose Jackson for first-team All-Pro as the best quarterback but opted for Allen for Most Valuable Player. How could the best player not be the most valuable? Factor in that Jackson won the head-to-head matchup in the regular season, 35-10, and the bewilderment of Ravens supporters sure feels warranted. Allen’s case is more than justifiable — he had a MVP-caliber season. The issue is that the definition of the Most Valuable Player honor is ambiguous and flawed, and the result is, quite possibly, the biggest awards snub of all-time.
On the JETS: Led by new head coach Aaron Glenn, New York is charting a new course at quarterback. The Aaron Rodgers-Aaron Glenn arrangement will not only be short-lived in New York City — it will be essentially non-existent. According to reports, the Jets told Rodgers that he will not be the team’s starting quarterback in the 2025 season, now that the team has welcomed a new head coach/general manager duo of Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey. In the short-term, moving on from Rodgers could prove to be a downgrade: Rodgers stayed relatively healthy and ranked in the top 10 league-wide in passing yardage and touchdowns. But the 41-year-old Rodgers has not been a fit with the Jets, and a clean break is probably best for both sides after two disastrous seasons. I’d be intrigued to see Rodgers play at least one more season on a one-year contract for a team with a solid roster and in the playoff mix, while the Jets are in a fascinating position with a couple of dynamic young players (running back Breece Hall, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, cornerback Sauce Gardner), a stout defense and no commitments at quarterback.
On MYLES GARRETT: Trade request from Cleveland understandable for 2023 DPOY winner. I don’t mean to rag on Cleveland — the Browns made the playoffs last season and won a playoff game a few years before. But I entirely understand why premier pass rusher Myles Garrett is antsy to get out of Cleveland and get to a contender in 2025. The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year is squarely in the prime of his career, but the Browns’ front office has squandered some of his best years with abysmal offensive play and the decision to commit guaranteed resources to quarterback Deshaun Watson. Having a team in the middle of its contention window win just three games is a real shock, and Garrett is justified in looking to greener pastures if he wants to win immediately — it might take a while for the Browns, especially in the cutthroat AFC North. Thankfully for both, the Eagles’ pass-rushing dominance in the Super Bowl could convince hopeful contenders to go all-in for Garrett. Buffalo, Green Bay and Detroit are all teams that could fit this bill and help Garrett achieve his Super Bowl dreams.
On PATRICK SURTAIN II: What PS2’s Defensive Player of the Year win means for Denver. It’s been quite a year for cornerbacks playing in the state of Colorado: the Buffaloes’ Travis Hunter took home the Heisman Trophy in college football and the Broncos’ Patrick Surtain II followed it up with some hardware of his own, the Defensive Player of the Year award. While Hunter ran away with the honor with his penchant for game-changing plays on both sides of the ball, Surtain secured his award by locking down the game’s best wide receivers week after week. Both players were essential in leading their teams to the postseason (Buffs to the Alamo Bowl, Broncos to the wild card round) and could still improve in the years ahead. Surtain’s signature moment was his 100-yard pick-six against the Raiders in the Broncos’ Orange Crush throwback uniforms — a sound, stylish play that, like the rest of Surtain’s season, helped Denver’s defense come alive. Surtain has been one of, if not the best Bronco in recent seasons and has raised the standard each season, and his selection provided well-deserved national attention for a defensive position and a team that doesn’t win Defensive Player of the Year very often. What does the win mean for Surtain and his team? The Broncos now have a Rookie of the Year finalist in quarterback Bo Nix, a Defensive Player of the Year in Patrick Surtain II and a two-time Pro Bowler at returner in Marvin Mims Jr. Those are three terrific foundational pieces in the three phases of football. Denver has room to grow and build to become a true contender, but Surtain’s successful DPOY campaign should give the Broncos confidence and a visual that they can match up against the very best.
On FOX: What is up with the irritating FOX score bug? Despite the lopsided score, I enjoyed almost every part of Super Bowl LIX: the tactical battles from the sidelines, the well-conceived halftime performance by Kendrick Lamar, the above-average ads, the FOX shots of the New Orleans iconic sites. One aspect that did not get a passing grade was the score bug. FOX went as minimal as possible, and the result was quite a shock. Instead of the colorful, modern graphics that help the experience of watching NFL games at home almost as fun as watching in the stands, viewers were subjected to a couple of boxes and text placed directly over the field of play. Maybe the look was designed to throw back to simpler, earlier broadcasts, but the result was not easy on the eyes and did not live up to the quality of the rest of the Super Bowl broadcast. I’m hoping that FOX leaves this experiment as a one-timer and returns to the fun score graphics we know and love.
On KELLEN MOORE: After winning Super Bowl LIX, Kellen Moore gets first shot at a head coaching position. The final hire of the 2024 head coaching carousel has already established a track record of winning at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans. A couple days after winning Super Bowl LIX as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, Moore is staying around in Louisiana as the Saints’ next head coach. The Saints opted to wait for Moore to finish his run to the Super Bowl rather than make a hire along with the rest of the teams with openings, and their prize is one of the league’s bright offensive minds. The 36-year-old Moore has experience working with the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the newly crowned Super Bowl MVP, Jalen Hurts. But the blueprint to success is much less clear in New Orleans, which likely doesn’t have its quarterback of the future on the roster heading into the offseason. The bright side is a very winnable division, but in the short-term, Moore will have to make the most of a roster that did not earn a single Pro Bowl selection (center Erik McCoy was picked as an alternate after the initial reveal). In the long-term scope, Moore will be the Saints’ first pivot away from the wildly successful Sean Payton era — a task that is more difficult and high-pressure than any offensive coordinator position he’s held before.
On the HALL OF FAME: Canton didn’t miss with four inductees, but the class size is disappointing. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is number one on my sports bucket list, and the announcement of each year’s class is one of the highlights of the lead-up to the Super Bowl for me (especially now that I’ve seen most of the finalists play when I was growing up). Beyond serving as a benchmark for elite play, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is where football greatness is commemorated, celebrated and documented. Football history has no shortage of great players who deserve to be enshrined in Canton, but the flip side is that too many inductees inherently makes the honor less selective. With the 2025 class, the Hall of Fame veered toward the selective side, with only four players selected for induction this upcoming summer: Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, Vikings/Chiefs pass rusher Jared Allen, Eagles cornerback Eric Allen and Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. All four players are deserving, but the most newsworthy aspect of the announcement was the small size of the class. Let me make the case for a couple of finalists who did not get the nod this year. Adam Vinatieri is the greatest clutch kicker of all-time and a four-time Super Bowl champion. Terrell Suggs ranks in the top ten all-time in sacks recorded (139) and won both Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2011. Steve Smith Sr. is arguably the greatest Carolina Panther in franchise history and ranks eighth in all-time receiving yards, along with selections to two All-Pro first teams and one All-Pro second team. All three of those players, just to name a few, brought consistent, elite play over lengthy careers and shaped the playoff games they participated in. I am confident all three will be inducted at various points, but adding them to this class would not have compromised the selectiveness or prestige of the Hall of Fame while adding to the festivities and celebration of football greatness.
ON the FUTURE: What color will the confetti be at this time next year? There’s a good chance next year’s confetti will be green or red. Running it back and reaching the Super Bowl two years in a row isn’t a given, but as this year’s participants showed, squads with terrific leaders and rosters will always be dangerous come playoff time. What other teams could make a run and knock the Eagles and Chiefs off their perch? The Chiefs and Eagles obviously comprise the top tier, but the Ravens, Bills and Lions are Tier 1B — tested contenders that will be in the championship mix if healthy. As for long shots to make a Commanders-esque run in 2025? I’ll go with the Packers, Chargers and Vikings of the teams that made the playoffs in 2024 and the Bengals and Niners as teams that could go from missing the playoffs to the league’s final weekend. If I had to make the call right now… I’m going with two teams that have never won the Super Bowl, the Chargers and Lions, duking it out in Santa Clara.
Riker's Block 