VITO'S VIEWS

This might be considered a Throwback Super Bowl.

It is like the early days of the Super Bowl when it was a football game rather than a national holiday and festival featuring millions of parties. Remember, the first one in Los Angeles wasn’t a sellout.

Now that has all changed. 

The game usually attracts 100 million or more viewers in the U.S., but all bets are off because this is the first COVID-19 Super Bowl. TV ratings are down this year even though more people are staying at home. It doesn’t figure to get a record TV audience, although it will still likely be the most-watched TV show this year.

It will have a different feel. More fans will be watching at home with only their families. Health officials like Dr. Fauci are cautioning fans not to have Super Bowl parties to avoid spreading the disease. The stadium in Tampa won’t be filled.

There wasn’t as much hype because the press conferences were by zoom and Kansas City didn’t come into town until Friday instead of spending the week at the site. The Bucs don’t have to travel because they are the first team to host the game in their own stadium.

Still, the Bucs-Chiefs Super Bowl figures to be entertaining. The Chiefs won the regular-season matchup by three, although they jumped to a 17-0 lead before sputtering. And they’re favored by three in this game.

All the hype is about Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes, but the real matchup will be the Bucs defensive line against a battered defensive line of the Chiefs.

The thing to watch is whether the Bucs can rush Mahomes with four to get him out of his rhythm and then drop seven into coverage. If the Bucs can’t get to Mahomes with four and have to bring a fifth rusher, the advantage goes to the Chiefs.

There’s also the question of how well Brady plays. Getting to the Super Bowl at age 43 is amazing even in an era when quarterbacks are protected, but he is obviously not what he was in his prime.

In his last Super Bowl appearance two years ago, he put three points on the board against the Rams the first three quarters and won 13-3. Thirteen points won’t beat the Chiefs, who are also trying to become the first team to repeat since the 2003-2004 Patriots.

As good as Brady is, he didn’t threepeat and hasn’t repeated twice. We will find out Sunday if Mahomes can take that next step towards greatness by repeating.

Andy Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs veteran leader, is one of the best coaches of his time, but he also belongs to a club that no coach wants on his resume.

He is one of the six coaches who have lost to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. And he didn’t just lose. Like the other five, he was the victim of gaffes or mistakes in the game that helped Brady win it.

If the six losing coaches had coached better, Brady would not have six Super Bowl wins. The perception is that Brady has been lights out in the Super Bowl, but he had an 86.2 QB rating in his first Super Bowl win and a 71.4 QB rating in his sixth.

He has been above QB 101 only once in the six Super Bowl wins. His best Super Bowl was the second one against the Eagles when he threw for 505 yards with three touchdowns and a 115.4 QB rating and lost.

But the Patriots and Brady were able to take advantage of mistakes by the losers in the six Super Bowl wins. They took advantage of the opportunities there were presented to them.

And now Reid is the first of the six to get a second crack at Brady in the Super Bowl after facing him in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville in 2005.

The other five are Mike Martz, John Fox, Pete Carroll, Dan Quinn and Sean McVay. Fox and Reid made it back to the Super Bowl, and Reid became the only one of the five to win the Super Bowl after losing one to the Brady and the Patriots when the Chiefs beat the 49ers last year. 

And Fox became the only one of the six to beat Brady in the playoffs after losing to his team in the Super Bowl. Fox’s Broncos beat the Patriots in the AFC title game at the end of the 2013 season, 26-16,  but lost the Super Bowl to the Seahawks, 43-6, in the Super Bowl. 

Fox and Reid made it back to the Super Bowl and won it with different teams, but not against the Patriots. Martz, Carroll and Quinn haven’t made it back and Martz is now retired and Quinn was recently hired by the Cowboys as their defensive coordinator after being fired by Atlanta.

And Fox became the only one of the six to beat Brady in the playoffs after losing to his team in the Super Bowl. Fox did it twice as the Denver coach, beating the Patriots in the AFC title game 26-16 at the end of the 2013 season and 20-18 two years later. The Broncos were routed in the Super Bowl by the Seahawks 43-6 at the end of the 2013 season but beat his former Carolina team, 24-10 in the Super Bowl two years later.

Reid has lost twice to Brady in the playoffs – at the end of the 2015 and 2018 seasons — since his only Super Bowl coaching experience against him. The Chiefs 2018 loss when Dee Ford jumped offsides to nullify a Brady interception that would have clinched the game for the Chiefs was their last playoff loss.

So he goes into Sunday’s game with a three-game losing streak against Brady in the playoffs.

Reid first faced Brady when he coached the Eagles on Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville in 2005. The Eagles tied the game 14-14 late in the third period before the Patriots scored on consecutive drives to take a 10-point lead.

After Donovan McNabb threw an interception and the Eagles forced the Patriots to punt, the Eagles got the ball back trailing by 10 with 5:40 left. They went 79 yards in 13 plays, but didn’t use the hurry-up or the no-huddle and didn’t score until there was 1:48 left.

They then forced the Patriots to punt but they were pinned back on their own 4 with 46 seconds left. Game over.

Why the Eagles didn’t go to the no huddle remains a mystery. Reid said after the game, “Well, we were trying to hurry up. I don’t know what happened.” Even the Patriots were puzzled. Rodney Harrison told the Philadelphia Inquirer years later, “I’m looking at Tedy Bruschi and I’m like, “What the heck are they doing? Why aren’t they going to the hurry-up offense?”

Harrison said Bruschi said it was the dumbest thing he had ever seen. And that wasn’t Reid’s only gaffe. Reid also left two time outs in his pocket at the end of the first half, which ended with the Eagles on their own 41. They got the ball on their 19 with 1:10 left. McNabb threw 10 and 14 yard passes to get to the 41 before Reid called his first time out of the half. Another wasted opportunity.

And he had McNabb throw 51 passes in a three-point game, but then Reid has always leaned on the passing game. There has been talk that McNabb threw up on the final drive, but even if he did, he did end the drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass. McNabb denied he threw up.

Thirteen years later, the Eagles handed Brady one of his three Super Bowl losses with Doug Pederson as the head coach and this time it was the Eagles who came up with the big play with the Philly Special.

And now Reid gets another chance at Brady in his first year with the Bucs. This time, Reid has Patrick Mahomes on his side and he’s favored. But Reid has a beat-up offensive line after losing tackle Eric Fisher in the AFC title game, and the Bucs have a good pass rush.

And he faces veteran coach Bruce Arians, who is the oldest coach to make a Super Bowl debut at age 68 years 127 days.

Reid, who is 62 years and 325 days old, can become the oldest coach to repeat. Vince Lombardi was 54 when he won the first two.

“I’m still part of the Geritol crew,” Reid said this week. “We are a little bit older and there is experience that comes with that and I guess you could say wisdom with age.”

Reid did show some wisdom when he joined the Chiefs in 2013 after being fired by the Eagles. He said he didn’t want to be the GM so he could concentrate on coaching. That turned out to be a good move. Now Reid gets a chance to avenge that Super Bowl loss when he was outcoached and end a three-game playoff loss string to Brady.

Reid, though, has a lot of company in coaches making bad moves while losing to Brady in the Super Bowl.

Here is a look at the other five:

–Mike Martz and the St. Louis Cardinals were two touchdown favorites to beat the Patriots in Brady’s first Super Bowl at the end of the first 2001 season. It was Brady’s first season of playing and he passed for only 145 yards with one touchdown and no picks and an 86.2 quarterback rating in the game. But Martz was outcoached by Belichick and that was the difference. He played a nickel defense to stop the Rams’ passing game. Martz should have countered by running Marshall Faulk, but he gave him only 17 carries. Meanwhile, Kurt Warner passed 44 times and 365 yards but threw two picks. The Greatest Show on Turf scored only three points the first three quarters and fell behind 17-3. Warner finally rallied to tie the game in the fourth quarter with 1:30 left but Brady then directed a drive to put Adam Vinatieri in position for the game winning 48-yard field goal.

–John Fox coached the Panthers in Brady’s second Super Bowl after the 2003 season. The Panthers fell behind 21-10 early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers then came back for a touchdown to make it 21-16 with 12:39 left. Fox then made the decision to go for two and didn’t make it. So, the score was 21-16 instead of 21-17 if he had kicked the extra point. With 6:53 left, Jake Delhomme thew an 85-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad to give Carolina a 22-21 lead. And he went for two again and didn’t make it. So he was only ahead 22-21 instead of 24-21 if he had kicked both extra points. The Patriots then scored with 2:51 left to take a 27-22 lead and Belichick decided to go for two, which he said he wouldn’t have done if the score was 27-24. The Patriots got the two points for a 29-22 lead. The Patriots lead would have been 28-24 if Fox had kicked two extra points and Belichick kicked one.The Panthers then scored a touchdown and went for one to tie the game 29-29 with 1:08 left. If Fox had just kicked extra points after the two previous touchdowns and Belichick had kicked one, the Panthers would have been ahead 31-28.The Patriots took over on their 17 and drove to the Carolina 23 and Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field to win the game. If Fox hadn’t gone for two twice, which caused Belichick to go for it once and make it, the field goal would have tied the game and they would have gone into overtime. The fact that Fox cost the Panthers a shot in overtime has been almost forgotten, but the decision helped Brady win his second Super Bowl.

–As we discussed earlier, Reid then failed to go to the no huddle in the Super Bowl after the 2004 season as Brady won his third Super Bowl in five years.–Brady didn’t win another Super Bowl the next nine years and made it only twice, losing both times to the Giants. And he appeared to be on the cusp of losing Super Bowl XLIX after the 2014 season when the Seahawks had second down and one time out at the New England one in the final minute. Instead of running Marshawn Lynch, Seahawk coach Pete Carroll decided to call a pass and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell called a pass in traffic in the middle of the field and Malcolm Butler intercepted it and Brady had his fourth Super Bowl win. Seattle hasn’t been back in the Super Bowl since. 

–Two years later, the Patriots were trailing Atlanta 28-3 and you know what happened then. The Falcons still led 28-20 with 4:40 left and had a first down at the Patriots 22. All they had to do was run three plays and kick a field goal for an 11-point lead and even Brady probably couldn’t overcome that. But after Devonta Freeman lost a yard on first down, Kyle Shanahan, the offensive coordinator, called a pass and Matt Ryan was sacked for a 12-yard loss. On third down, a holding call pushed the Falcons back to the New England 45. The Falcons punted and Brady led them to a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game 28-28. In overtime, the Patriots won the toss and drove for the game winning touchdown and Brady had his fifth Super Bowl win. The Falcons haven’t returned to the Super Bowl since and Quinn was fired last season. If the Falcons had kicked the field goal, they probably would have won by three.–The following year, the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the Eagles for Brady’s third Super Bowl loss.

–New England then made the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season after the 2018 and beat an overmatched Ram team, 13-3, that only got into the game because of their win over New Orleans in the NFC title game. They won it because of a non-call on what should have been a pass interference penalty on the Rams. The odds are that the Saints would have scored more than three points if they had made the Super Bowl. The Rams-Patriots game was tied 3-3 after three quarters before the Patriots scored 10 points in the fourth period. Brady completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards with one pick and no TD passes and a pedestrian 71.4 quarterback rating. Even though there wasn’t a big single gaffe, McVay later admitted he didn’t prepare well for the game. “I’d be lying if I said that if things go a little off track, you probably have too many thoughts in your head,” he said later in a podcast. The moment seemed too big for both McVay and quarterback Jared Goff, who was recently traded. McVay told SI that he “over-prepared” and lost perspective. Whatever it was, Goff had a 57.9 quarterback rating. The bottom line is Brady got his sixth Super Bowl win.

So that’s the story of his 6-3 Super Bowl record that has earned him GOAT status. But he easily could have lost two or three more if not for gaffes by the opposing team and a 4-5 or 3-6 Super Bowl record wouldn’t look as gaudy. So many ifs. If Fox hadn’t gone for two, if Seattle had run from the one, if the Falcons had a kicked a field goal. Now he goes for his seventh win against a coach who knows what it is like to lose a Super Bowl to Brady.

Will Reid be ready to make up for last time? We find out Sunday.   

There wasn’t much Tom Brady could do to cement his legacy as the GOAT in the NFC title game. But he did it anyway.

He not only won a conference title game for the 10th time – first in the NFC – he did it in the most improbable way while leading the Bucs to a victory over the Green Bay Packers.

He did it at 43 with a wild card team that had to win three road games and he did it with a new team in a COVID-19 year when he didn’t have an off season or a normal training camp with a new team.

And he did it while throwing three interceptions – on three consecutive second half drives – and that was the second time he won a conference title game with three picks. All he does is win.

He also had the advantage of the opposing team making bonehead mistakes as has happened so often in his career.

Remember the Seahawks on the one-yard line? And he twice has won playoff games while throwing what should have been a game ending pick against the Chargers in 2006 and two years ago against the Chiefs.

The Chargers Marlon McCree fumbled the ball away after making the 2006 interception and the Patriots came back to win.

And two years ago, Dee Ford jumped offsides to nullify the Chiefs pick and the Patriots again came back to win.

This time, coach Matt LeFleur of the Packers, made the head scratching decision to kick a field goal on fourth down from the eight-yard line with just over two minutes left.

That cut the deficit from eight to give points and the Packers never got the ball back. And Aaron Rodgers didn’t come up big just as he didn’t in the team’s 2014 NFC title loss to the Seahawks.

Rodgers had a first down on the eight and threw three incomplete passes before the field goal. On the third down, he probably could have run it in for a score.

And Rodgers got only six points off Brady’s three interceptions as the Packers abandoned the run and Rodgers didn’t hit the passes.

Brady can be beaten in the playoffs. He’s lost three Super Bowls and seven other playoff games. But you don’t beat him by making mistakes.

—The biggest loser in the playoffs was Rodgers, who still has only one Super Bowl win on his resume and said after the game he faces an uncertain future and there were reports he wants a contract extension despite having three years left on his contract. The Packers responded by saying he is still in their plans. But will he win another Super Bowl? Was this his last best chance? Stay tuned.

—The Kansas City-Buffalo game was overshadowed by the Bucs victory. As expected, the Bills were no match for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. The only negative for the Chiefs is that they lost tackle Eric Fisher, which may make it more difficult for them to protest Mahomes against the Tampa Bay pass rush. The Green Bay loss means there won’t be a rematch of Super Bowl I but CBS loves the Brady-Mahomes matchup. It pits the GOAT against the quarterback who may be the best for the next decade. A Mahomes victory will give him two Super Bowl wins in his first four years, which is what Brady did back from 2000 to 2003. Both both sat out their first season so they won two in three years. It would also give him a shot at a threepeat, which Brady never did. And it would mean he would need four Super Bowl wins in the next dozen years or so to tie Brady’s record of six Super Bowl wins.

—It was a difficult loss for the Bills, who know they have to go through Mahomes if they expect to get to the Super Bowl any time soon. And Josh Allen wasn’t up to the challenge. And Buffalo coach Sean McDermott made a head scratching decision which has been a theme for losing coaches in the playoffs. He twice kicked field goals from fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard-line and fourth-and—3 from the eight yard line when they needed touchdowns. McDermott said he did it to help the team’s morale. It would have helped their morale if they had scored touchdowns in those two situations. The Bills lost 38-24 so they probably would have lost anyway but you play to win the game, not to help morale.

Rematches.

That’s the theme of the two conference title games. Both are rematches. The Bucs routed the Packers 38-10 and the Chiefs beat the Bills 26-17 in the regular season.

The big question is whether the team that won the regular season game will prevail in the conference title game.

The other big question is whether the two home teams will win. This is the first year that the only teams to get the bye were the first seeds. That should give the Packers and Chiefs an advantage.

—There are interesting quarterback matches in both games. The Bucs-Packers game features two aging veterans heading to the HOF – Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. The Chiefs-Bills game features two young guns who are likely to be dueling each other for the next decade long after Brady and Rodgers are retired – Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Mahomes has the most at stake this weekend. A victory and he goes for his second Super Bowl title in a row, and if he pulls that off again next year, he will attempt to become the first quarterback to threepeat in the Super Bowl era. The Chiefs also have to give him the best chance of staying healthy and not call any risky option plays that resulted in a concussion last week. Mahomes probably shouldn’t be playing because players who suffer concussions are in more danger of suffering another one. But there was no way Mahomes was going to be held out of this game. If he is not injured again, the Chiefs figure to win. Rodgers figures to have the edge on Brady, who is 43 but Rodgers is missing two starting offensive linemen so that may be a problem. Rodgers has more at stake because he has won only one Super Bowl and is 1-3 in conference title games. Brady has won six rings so his legacy is set in stone.

—Green Bay usually has a big edge at Lambeau Field in January, especially against a warm weather team. But there won’t be Ice Bowl conditions in Green Bay. The forecast is for the low 30s so weather won’t be a factor. The Bucs, though, have to be concerned about wind because Brady’s arm is no longer what it once was.

—A Tampa Bay victory will give them a shot at becoming the first team to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium. The 49ers and Rams played Super Bowls in the San Francisco and Los Angeles area but neither played in their home stadium. The 49ers played at Stanford and the Rams at the Rose Bowl. The 49ers won and the Rams lost.

—I’m going with the home teams and with Mahomes and Rodgers.

The Back to the Future scenario for the NFL has virtually become a reality.

In 1966, the Chiefs played the Bills in the AFL title game and the winner went on to play Green Bay in the first Super Bowl.

This year, the Chiefs are playing the Bills in the AFC title game and the winner is almost certain to play Green Bay in the 55th Super Bowl.

—Green Bay now seems almost a lock to make the Super Bowl after crushing the Rams in the divisional game. They will now meet the Bucs, who beat the Saints. Five years ago, an Aaron Rodgers-Tom Brady Super Bowl would have been a must watch game. But Brady showed his age in the victory over the Bucs. Rodgers is six years younger and still at the top of the game and the Packers are home and should win easily.

—The Chiefs kept their streak alive with their eighth win in a row by one score in the win over Browns (Chiefs lost to Chargers in season finale after Chiefs had clinched). But it shouldn’t have been that close if not for a gaffe by Chiefs coach Andy Reid,who had Patrick Mahomes run an option on a short yardage play. He suffered a concussion and missed the rest of the game. Chad Henne bailed the Chiefs out by milking the last four minutes off the clock, scrambling on a third and 14 play to come within inches of a first down and then throwing a fourth down pass for the first down that clinched it. But if not for Reid’s bad call the Chiefs would have won easily although they got a break with a fumble out of the end zone when the Chiefs should have been penalized for a helmet hit. Reid has now taken two teams to the conference title game three years in a row but has won only one Super Bowl. He also lost one to the Pats in 2004 game when he didn’t go to the hurry up trailing by 10 in fourth quarter and lost by three. Reid is a good coach but not a great one.

—The Bills did not look particularly impressive in the win over the Ravens, but Lamar Jackson handed them the game with an ill-timed Pick Six. Now the Bills have to wait to see if Mahomes passes the concussion protocol and is allowed to play. It is hard to imagine Chad Henne beating the Bills.

—Drew Brees will likely now retire to the broadcast booth but it is obvious he stayed one year too long. Brees didn’t have much zip on the ball in the home loss to the Bucs. Brees finished his two decade career by losing on the last play in the playoffs three years in a row and then going out with the loss to the Bucs. Brees is a HOFer but wound up winning only one Super Bowl in his career. But it is one more than Dan Marino won.

The Kansas City Chiefs take the first step in their bid for a repeat when they face the Browns.

The Chiefs figure to take that step and beat the Browns, but the surprising thing is they’re 10-point favorites. This is a team that has posted its last seven wins by one score. And last year they had to come from behind in all three playoff wins.

You might think the oddsmakers would be wary of all their close wins and be concerned they could be vulnerable against an up and coming Browns’ team.On the other hand, they are not likely to overlook the Browns after the Browns upset the Steelers last week.

Still, Andy Reid had two weeks to prepare. Look for the Chiefs to advance to the AFC title game.

–The Saints-Bucs game is all about Drew Brees, who will likely retire at the end of the season, vs. Tom Brady. The Saints will be trying to beat the Bucs for the third time, which isn’t as difficult as one might thing. Since 2002, seven teams went for the three-game sweep and five of them pulled it off. Brady figures to return next year win or lose and the odds are that he will lose. Brees has the better matchup against the Bucs’ defense. The last three years the Saints have lost in the playoffs on the final play so the Saints fans will be nervous if it is close at the end.

–The Packers have a big advantage at home against a warm weather team in January. Although they are dealing with injuries in the offensive line, Aaron Rodgers also gives them an edge over the Rams Jared Golf. He is back practicing full time, but has an injured thumb. The Packers should advance to the NFC title game.

–The Bills-Ravens game should be the feature attraction of the divisional around with a lot of emphasis on both young quarterbacks. Josh Allen has taken a major stride forward this year while Lamar Jackson finally won his first playoff game last week and now wants to show he can take the team deep into the playoffs. The Bills have the edge with the home field advantage.

–The big question this week is whether there will be an upset with all four home teams favored.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Lamar Jackson were the big winners during the NFL’s first tripleheader wild card weekend.

The Chiefs didn’t even play, but got a break when the Browns upset the Steelers. That means they will play against the Browns in the divisional round and if they beat the Browns, they will play the winner of the Bills-Ravens game. If the Steelers had won, they might have had to beat both the Bills and Ravens to get to the Super Bowl.

Jackson, meanwhile, doesn’t have to deal with the “can’t win in the playoffs” scenario after leading the Ravens to the victory over the Titans with the help of a defense that contained Derrick Henry.

Now he’s got a tough game at Buffalo. He also overcame a 10-point deficit after losing the first six times he was down by 10.

—The big losers were the Steelers. After going 11-0, they lost five of their last six games and were blown out by the Browns. They now haven’t won a playoff game the last four years and have to wonder whether Ben Roethlisberger has anything left in the tank. They had beaten the Browns 17 times in a row in Pittsburgh.

—Tom Brady showed his tank isn’t empty as he led the Bucs to the win over Washington. Among other things, he became the oldest player at 43 to throw a touchdown pass.

—Mike Tomlin, Frank Reich and Mike Vrabel all made questionable game management decisions that help cost their teams games. Vrabel faced a 2nd-and-2 at Baltimore 40, the Titans coach didn’t give Henry the ball. Instead, he dialed up two passes. Both were incomplete and he punted. Reich passed up a field goal to go for it on 4th-and-2 and Tomlin punted on 4th and one early in the fourth quarter. All three decisions backfired.

—Green Bay had the first-round bye and now has the home field edge in January. They get to host the Rams in their first game and if they win that one, they play the winner of the game between two aging quarterbacks – Brady and Drew Brees.

The NFL unveils its new playoff format this weekend with tripleheaders Saturday and Sunday.

Seven teams qualified from each conference with only the top seeds in each conference having byes. But the attractions probably aren’t as good as the league had hoped.

For example, the Bucs are favored by 10.5 points over the Washington football club and the Saints are favored by 9.5 over the Bears.

Adding more playoff games doesn’t mean they are better games, but the idea is to make more money.

—Two other games, Pittsburgh hosting Cleveland and Seahawks facing the Rams, also figure to be easy wins for the home teams although the spreads are only 3.5 and 4.5 points. Cleveland has been hit by the virus and the Rams don’t know the condition of quarterback Jared Goff. And the Bills are 6.5-point favorites over the Colts. The Bills appear to be the hottest team and figure to advance.–That leaves just one really good attraction – Ravens at Titans. Both teams are 11-5 and both teams like to run. The Ravens are the hotter team as they closed out the season with five consecutive wins. And they are favored by 3.5 points even though they are on the road and Lamar Jackson is still looking for his first playoff win after losing the last two years. Another first round loss would raise questions about whether Jackson can win in the playoffs. There may be more pressure on Jackson than any other player in the playoffs. The winner of this game and Buffalo are the two teams with a realistic chance of keeping the defending champion Chiefs out of the Super Bowl.

—The Chiefs have the bye but are not overwhelming favorites to repeat because they won seven one score games in a row before they lost their finale to the Chargers after they had clinched. They are three wins – two at home – away from repeating. The last team to repeat was the 2003-2004 Patriots. Can they do it? Stay tuned.

The two quarterbacks to watch in the playoffs are two veterans – Tom Brady and Drew Brees. This is probably Brees last season regardless of whether the Saints win or lose. He is likely headed towards the announcer’s booth. But Brady, trying to win his seventh Super Bowl and first without Bill Belichick, appears likely to keep playing.

The regular season comes to a close with all games on Sunday.

There wasn’t a Thursday night (New Year’s Eve) game and won’t be a Monday night game. The only primetime game is the Washington-Philadelphia game on Sunday night, which isn’t much an attraction.

Philadelphia has nothing to play for while Washington can clinch the NFC East with a losing record at 7-9. If the Washington team loses, the winner of the Dallas-Giants game will win the division with a losing record.

Dallas is 6-9 and the Giants are 5-10 and can host a playoff game and win the division at 6-10 with a victory over the Cowboys.

–In the AFC, three teams, the Chiefs, Steelers and Bills are in the playoffs and five teams are fighting for the other four spots, the Ravens, Browns, Dolphins, Colts and Titans. Tennessee, which plays Houston, Baltimore, which plays Cincinnati, Miami, which plays at Buffalo, and Cleveland, which plays Pittsburgh, are all in if they win. The Colts need a win over the Jaguars and help. A win gets them in if Baltimore, Cleveland or Miami lose.

–With the Titans playing Houston and Baltimore playing Cincinnati, those two teams are close to locks and that leaves Miami, Cleveland and the Colts fighting for the last two spots. The Miami-Buffalo and Pittsburgh-Cleveland games are the hardest to handicap because Buffalo and Pittsburgh have clinched playoff spots.

–In the NFC, Green Bay, New Orleans, Seattle and Tampa are in. The fifth spot goes to the NFC East winner with Washington, Dallas and the Giants fighting for that spot. That leaves two spots open. The Rams-Arizona winner gets one of them and Chicago gets the other one with a victory over Green Bay, which clinches the first-round bye with a win. If the Bears lose, they get in if Arizona loses. And the Rams get in if they lose to Arizona if the Bears lose.

–With seven teams in the playoffs in each division, there was speculation a wild card winner could get in with a losing record. As it turns out, the NFC East winner will be the only losing team in the playoffs.  

The NFL may relive some history this year.

In 1966, the Chiefs beat the Bills in the AFL title game to go to the first Super Bowl to face Green Bay. Kansas City is top seed in the AFC this year and Buffalo is looking like the second-best team, so they could play in the AFC title game.

 And Green Bay at 12-3 looks like it will get the home-field edge in the NFC. Green Bay beat Dallas in the 1966 to get to the Super Bowl, but that is not likely to be repeated even if Dallas wins the NFC East with a losing record. Seattle or New Orleans at 11-4 are more likely to make the NFC title game against Green Bay if the Packers make it.

–The 14-1 Chiefs don’t get many style points but they keep winning. They won another close one – seven in a row by one score – when Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo missed a late field 39-yard goal attempt that would have sent the game into overtime. Of the Chiefs’ last seven wins, three were by three points and one by two. The victory clinched the top seed so if an AFC team is going to keep the defending champion Chiefs out of the Super Bowl, they will have to do it at Arrowhead.

–Buffalo has looked more impressive lately than the Chiefs. They lost to the Chiefs in October but have won eight of nine since then. And they crushed Denver 48-19 a week ago and then routed the Patriots Monday night 38-9. The Bills will have to play a first-round game but it will be at home.

–The Bills’ rout of New England gave them a sweep of the Patriots for the first time in two decades. And showed there is a new king of the hill in the AFC East. The Patriots now face a rebuilding program under Bill Belichick starting with finding a quarterback of the future now that Tom Brady has departed.

–The Jaguars loss to Chicago and the Jets victory over Cleveland handed the Jaguars the top pick in the draft for the first time in their history. So, they get to draft Trevor Lawrence, who is supposed to be a once in a decade quarterback. They have yet to make the Super Bowl but they will be getting a new GM and coach with the goal of building a Super Bowl team around him.

–The NFC East winner will have a losing record after Washington lost to Carolina to drop to 6-9. But they can win the division at 7-9 if they beat the Eagles. If they lose to the Eagles, the winner of the Cowboys-Giants game wins the division. If the Giants win and Washington loses, the three teams would be 6-10 and the Giants would win the division on the tie break.

–The Steelers, the first team to start off 11-0 and then lose three in a row, are now the first team to start off 11-0, lose three in a row and win a game to go 11-4 and win the division. They rallied to beat the Colts, who remain tied with the Titans at 10-5 in the AFC South going into the final week of the season.