VITO'S VIEWS

Patrick Mahomes is getting a lot of comparisons to Tom Brady as he prepares to play his fourth Super Bowl in the last five years Sunday.

But as he points out, he has a long way to go before he gets close to Brady’s seven Super Bowl wins if he ever gets here.

But the emphasis on chasing Brady obscures the fact that Mahomes can join the ranks of the best quarterbacks of all time if he wins his third in the last five years.

Since the NFL started playing title games in 1933, winning three titles has been the mark of greatness.  Brady won three in first four years as a starter and then went nine years without winning one until he won three in five years for the Patriots before leaving for Tampa Bay where he won the seventh.

Except for Brady, no quarterback has won more than five titles, which Bart Starr did with the 1960s Packers.

Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Sid Luckman won four while Troy Aikman and Otto Graham won three NFL titles after winning four in a row with the AAFC, but the NFL doesn’t count their records the way it counts the AFL records.

 So that is just seven quarterbacks who won three or more titles. Mahomes can be the eighth. Then there is John Unitas who started three title winning games, but was injured in Super Bowl V and Earl Morrall finished up.

A Mahomes victory would also give him his first repeat and the first since Brady did it in 2003-2004. Bradshaw was the last one to repeat twice and last one to win four in six years. Starr also repeated twice and is the only quarterback since title games were started to win three in a row. The Green Bay Packers won three titles in a row from 1929-31 when Red Dunn at quarterback in the days when the team with best regular season record was the champion. That was before the Bears and Luckman popularized the T formation. The Packers under coach Curly Lambeau used what was called the Notre Dame Box and mostly ran the ball. 

  Here is the list in the order of the quarterbacks who have won three or more titles since the NFL went to title games:

–Sid Luckman won 4 in 7 years from 1940-46 with the Chicago Bears.

–Otto Graham won 3 in 6 from1950-55 with the Cleveland Browns after winning four AAFC titles in a row from 1046-49 before the team joined the NFL.

–Bart Starr won 5 in 7 from 1961-67 with the Green Bay Packers.

–Terry Bradshaw won 4 in 6 from 1974-79 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

–Joe Montana won 4 in nine years from 1981-89 with the San Francisco 49ers. 

–Troy Aikman won 3 in four years from 1992 to 1995 with the Dallas Cowboys.

–Tom Brady won 7 from 2001 to 2020. He won 3 in four years from 2001-2004 and 3 more  from 2014 to 2018 with the Patriots. He then won his his seventh in 2020 with Tampa Bay.

–John Unitas started three title winning games for the Baltimore Colts in 1958-59 and in Super Bowl V But he was injured in the Super Bowl and Earl Morrall went the rest of the way although the starter usually gets credit for the win.

Now the question is whether Mahomes will get added to the list this Sunday.

Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco coach, will coaching in his third Super Bowl Sunday, his second as a head coach.

And Brock Purdy will be starting his first Super Bowl after being the last player drafted in 2022.

Both have a lot at stake in this game against the Chiefs when they go in as slim favorites.

Shanahan was the play caller for Atlanta when the Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit in the third period to win in overtime. And Shanahan’s play calling was a major factor in the Falcons blowing the lead. They were in field goal position with about four minutes left and all Shanahan had to do was call three running plays and take a field goal boost their lead to 11 points. Instead after a first down run gained only a yard, he started passing. A holding call and sack pushed the Falcons out of field goal range. The Patriots then tied it and won in overtime.

In 2019, Shanahan was a head coach the Super Bowl for the first time and the 49ers had a 20-10 lead going into the fourth period and the Chiefs scored three touchdowns to win.

Purdy, meanwhile, took the 49ers to the NFC title game against Philadelphia as a rookie but suffered an injury and the 49ers lost.

Even though Purdy has the 49ers in the Super Bowl in his second year, he is still trying to live down the reputation of being a game manager surrounded by great talent. Getting a ring would quiet his critics. He had to rally the 49ers to their playoff wins over the Packers and Lions and probably would have lost to the Lions if coach Dan Campbell of the Lions hadn’t passed up two field goal attempts and then failed on fourth down both times.

So the pressure will be on both Shanahan and Purdy to prove they can win it all. It will be a long offseason for the coach and the quarterback if they don’t win.

This will be remembered as the year when the coaches who weren’t hired got more attention than those who did.

Despite eight openings, Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel  weren’t hired after being fired at the end of the year. In Belichick’s case there were several factors besides his age as he nears 72 like his losing record without Brady and his shaky personnel record. And he is used to having total control of the franchise. The Falcons were the only team that even interviewed him although there were reports the Commanders considered him.

In Carroll’s case, he’s also in his 70s and hasn’t been winning although he said he is open to coaching again in the right situation. It remains to be seen if he will find that situation in the future.

ln Vrabel’s case, he was interviewed but it is unclear why he wasn’t hired although his philosophy of running the ball and playing defense is somewhat out of step in today’s game.

Now a look at the eight coaches who were hired:

RETREADS

Dan Quinn of the Commanders.

After Ben Johnson turned the job down, the Commanders turned to Quinn, who was fired by the Falcons and then got the defensive coordinator’s job in Dallas. He made one Super Bowl in Atlanta but blew a 28-3 lead although the play calling of Kyle Shanahan was a major factor in the collapse. Some coaches to do better in their second job. He hopes to be one of them.

Raheem Morris of the Falcons

Morris was the head coch of the Bucs from 2009 to 2011 where he was 17-31 and then interim head of Falcons in 2020 after Dan Quinn was fired so he is familiar with the Falcon organization. This is likely to be his last chance at a head coaching job.

COLLEGE HIRE

Jim Harbaugh is not a typical former college coach because he coached with 49ers before being pushed out by then GM Tret Baalke, who is now with the Jaguars. Harbaugh is somewhat quirky but is coming off a national championship season at Michigan where he served a suspension for cheating allegations. He arrived with the Chargers talking but about winning multiple Super Bowls but he is in the same division with Patrick Mahomes so that will be a tall order.

PROMOTED

Antonio Pierce and Jerrod Mayo started last year as assistant coaches. Pierce was promoted to the head coaching job when Josh McDaniels was fired in mid season and became the first interim coach to be hired full time since Doug Marrone of the Jaguars in 2017. Mayo replaced Belichick and apparently was tabbed to be his successor before last year. Mayo has a tough job taking over a depleted roster.

NEW HIRES

Brian Callahan of the Titans, Mike Macdonald of the Seahawks and Dave Canales all got head coaching jobs for the first time. Going from an assistant coach to a head job with a new organization is always a challenge and it will be interested to see how they fare. Canales has the toughest job because Byrce Young struggled in his first season and owner David Tepper is not noted for being patient.

–The big winners of the conference games were Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy. The losers were Lamar Jackson and two coaches, Todd Monken, offensive coordinator of the Ravens and Dan Campbell, head coach of the Lions.

–Mahomes was the underdog in his first road conference title game and led the Chiefs on touchdown drives on his first two possessions. The Ravens defense then held him to a field goal the rest of the game but since the Ravens were struggling on offense, he was content to play conservatively the rest of the game and avoid turnovers or mistakes that could have jumpstarted the Ravens offense. The result is he earned his fourth Super Bowl berth in the last five years.

–Lamar Jackson was aiming for his first Super Bowl appearance but is now 2-4 in the playoffs as he only put seven points on the board. Jackson didnt play well as he threw an interception in end zone into triple coverage and was a victim of a strip sack. It didn’t help that Zay Flowers fumbled on the one-yard line. But Monken got away from the run game and put too much emphasis on Jackson throwing. And Jackson didn’t seem to look for running lanes, either. It was a frustrating end to an MVP season for Jackson and raises questions about whether he will figure out a watch to play in the playoffs like he does in regular season.

–Brock Purdy is often called a game manager, but he led the 49ers to the best comeback in conference title game history after the 49ers trailed the Lions 24-7 at halftime. Purdy lacks some of the physical skills of the top quarterbacks but his abilityto  not get rattled when team gets off to a bad start is the reason why he is in the Super Bowl in his second season.

–The Detroit Lions had the biggest meltdown in conference history against the 49ers. They made a lot of mistakes in the second half with dropped passes and a key fumble and were unlucky when a pass bounced off the helmet of a Detroit player and turned into a 49ers touchdown. But Campbell must take his share of the blame for passing up two field goals, one which would have given the Lions a 17-point lead in the third quarter after the 49ers had cut the deficit to 14 and one that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter and running the ball on third and goal and then burning a timeout. Campbell is noted for his aggressive style but it backfired on him this time.

–Can the Lions pull an upset? Will Brock Purdy rebound from last week’s lackluster performance? Whick quarterback will prevail in the Lamar Jackson-Patrick Mahomes duel?

–Those are the big questions to be answered in the conference title games Sunday when Detroit goes to San Francisco and Kansas City goes to Baltimore.

–Detroit is a seven-point underdog but Purdy wasn’t at his best against Green Bay and Deebo Samuel’s injury status is uncertain. He is listed as questionable so he may be a game time decision.

–Detroit is the most popular team in the tournament because they haven’t won a title since 1957 when they beat the 49ers in the title game. But are they ready to win in San Francisco? That is the task they face.

–Jackson and Mahomes will face off in the AFC title game with Mahomes playing in the title game for the sixth year in a row but for the first time on the road. Mahomes has already won two Super Bowls while Jackson is trying to get into the Super Bowl for the first time. It is likely to be a classic matchup. 

–If there is one lesson from the divisional round, it is that Patrick Mahones and Josh Allen seem destined to be the next Brady-Mannng if not the equivalent of Ali-Frazier.

–The two quarterbacks threw haymakers back and forth and it seemed the game was going to come down to Mahomes having the last 1:47 to break a tie or the game was going into overtime. But a Bills missed field goal gave the game to Chiefs and was a devastating loss for the Bills. It brought back memories of Scott Norwood’s wide right kick in the Super Bowl.

–The Chiefs now move on to the AFC title game against Ravens, the sixth AFC title game in a for Mahones. It is his first on the road and he will face Lamar Jackson, who got his second playoff win against the Texans after being tied 10-10 at halftime. We can expect playoff games involving Jackson, Mahomes and Allen to be part of the NFL landscape n the future but only one of them can be in the Super Bowl each year. And C.J. Stroud, Deshaun Watson, Joe BurrowTua Tagovoloa, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis all in the mix. That is 11 quarterbacks and more could be added even though only seven can make it.each year

–The Detroit Lions beat the Bucs to advance to the NFC conference title game at San Francisco despite Baker Mayfield doing his best to keep the Bucs in the game. Since the Lions haven’t won a title since 1957 (when they beat the 49ers) they are a popular choice to make the Super Bowl.

–The 49ers weren’t at the top of their game and needed a missed field goal by the Packers and a late drive to beat the Packers. Jordan Love played well but an ill-advised throw across his body led to an interception that sealed the game for the 49ers. The 49ers are seven-point favorites over the Lions but nobody will be surprised if it is much closer than that.

–If the oddsmakers are right, the divisional around of the playoffs will be like the wild card round when only one of the six games was close and the home team won five of the six games.

–The oddsmakers have the two top seeded team, Baltimore and San Francisco, favored by more than a touchdown margin on Saturday. The Ravens are nine point favorites over the Texans and the 49ers are 9.5 points over the Packers.

–The pressure is on the two quarterbacks of the top seeds, Lamar Jackson of the Ravens and Mark Purdy of the 49ers. Jackson has been injured at the end of the last two seasons and hasn’t had much success in the playoffs. He needs to have a big game. Meanwhile, Purdy was hurt in the playoffs last year and wants to show he is more than a game manager surrounded by good talent. The two opposing quarterbacks, C.J. Stroud of the Texans and Jordan Love of the Packers are both in their first year of playing although Love is in his fourth year and have nothing to lose since they are big underdogs.

–In the first game Sunday, the Lions are 6.5 point favorite over the Lions. The Lions are probably the most popular team left in the playoffs because their fans have put up with so much losing and now they are on the cusp of playing in the NFC title game if they beat the Bucs.

–In the best game of the weekend and probably the playoffs so far,the Bills are 3.5 favorites at home over the Chiefs. Both teams are 11-6 and have had up and down seasons although both were impressive last week. The Chiefs are the defending champions and Patrick Mahomes is going for his third title. Buffalo has a history of failing in the playoffs and have yet to reach the Super Bowl since the Jim Kelly days. This could be a classic Mahones-Josh Allen duel.

–Now that the NFL has added two more teams to the playoffs and is staging six wild card games on Wild Card weekend, it has promoted it as Super Wild Card weekend. Unfortunately, it was anything but super last weekend.  Five of the six games were decidec by double digits and five of the home teams won.

–The big news of the weekend was the Cowboys losing at home to the Packers but it shouldn’t have been a surprise. The Cowboys have a history of losing in the playoffs the last 28 years since they won the Super Bowl in 1995 and Jerry Jones refuses to accept the fact he is the problem and needs to hire a general manger because he wants to be in charge.

–It was also not a surprise that Miami lost to Kansas City in freezing weather. As a cold weather team the Dolphins aren’t good at coping with bad weather and this year they had problems against good teams. The Chiefs were up  and down this year but still had the home field edge.

–The best game of the weekend was the Lions beating the Rams by a point. The Lions have become a popular team because their fans have endured decades of losing.

— Houston’s easy win over Cleveland showed C.J. Stroud is on the cusp of being an elite quarterback and the Browns had gone as far as they could with their fourth quarterback. The Bills win over the Steelers was no surprise as the Steelers are not a playoff caliber team and the Eagles losing to the Bucs wasn’t really a surprise because they lost five of their last six regular season games after starting out 10-1.

–Now the Ravens and 49ers, the two top seeds, make their playoff debuts this weekend, against the Texans and Packers and if they win, they will both advance to the conference championship round.

–The Baltimore Ravens and the  San Francisco 49ers have the two byes this weekend as they await seeing which teams they will play in the divisional round. If all three wild cards lose, they will play he fourth seed. If one or more wild card team wins, they will face a wild card team.

–The news of the week has been the NFL’s decision to put the Kanas City-Miami game on Peacock and the bad weather conditions in Kansas City and Buffalo. ay In Kansas City, Miami has to deal with bad weather  because they lost to the Bills lsat week. If they had won, they would  have been home. And the game will draw the fewer viewers than any otherplayoff game because it is on Peacock. The NFL is getting $110 million from Peacock but Is facing a backlash from fans  who dont wantto sign up for a service for one game.

The weather in Buffalo  will be big factor for the game against the Steelers.  The weather forecast is so dire that they NFL moved the game from 1 p.m. Sunday to 430 pm Monday in hopes the weather will improve.

That means there will be two games Saturday Sunday and Monday.  The weekend starts Saturday with the Cleveland at Houston game Saturday where the weather won’t be a factor at the Houston stadium and then the Chiefs-Dolphins game at night.

Green Bay will be at Dallas in a matchup of the two teams that played in the Ice Bowl following by the Rams at Detroit and a homecoming for Matthew Stafford. And then Monday will be the Bills and Steelers followed by the Eagles at Tampa Bay.

–The big winners of the final weekend of the season were the Bills, Texans, Packers, Cowboys, Steelers and Bucs. The losers were the Jaguars, Colts, Dolphins and Eagles.

–The Packers, Bucs, Bills and Cowboys all won their final games to clinch division titles and a first round home game.

–The Texans beat the Colts Saturday night  and then were handed the division title when the Jaguars lost to the Titans.

–The Colts lost to the Texans when they couldn’t complete a fourth and one pass and were eliminated.  The Dolphins lost second seed and will be a wild card team after loss to Bills. The Jaguars lost to Titans and were eliminated after starting off 8-3. Trevor Lawrence lost his last five starts. The Eagles lost to the Giants to finish 1-5 and a team hasn’t ended 1-5 and won a  playoff game since 2000. 

–The fans lost when the NFL decide to stream the Miami at Kansas City wild card game Saturday night on Peacock so you have to sign up for their service to see the game.