VITO'S VIEWS

As the offseason begins, the test for the Philadelphia Eagles is to show if they can stay on top.

They had a great offseason last year, including bringing in Saquan Barkley as they bounced back from last year’s late season collapse to win the Super Bowl..

But repeating won’t be easy. The first problem is dealing with all the complacency and celebrating that comes with winning.

Then there is facing the fact that several NFC teams are going to be aiming for them. Detroit is likely to have Aiden Hutchinson and several other defensive starters back from injuries. Washington will have Jayden Daniels back for his second year. Chicago has a new coach. Minnesota and Green Bay will be contenders. So will the Rams and San Francisco may bounce back.

Then the players will be looking to cash in with bigger contracts now that they’re on top. They have to decide which players they can keep. Free agency is always a challenge for winning teams as they try to keep as many players as they can.

And they have to find a new offensive coordinator now that Kellen Moore is heading for the Saints.

General manager Howie Roseman has done a great job of improving the team.

The Eagles have now been in three Super Bowls since 2017 and won two of them.

Barkley is already talking about being part of a dynasty.

They’re talking the talk. Now they have to walk the walk.

Did we see the end of one dynasty and the beginning of a new one in the Super Bowl?

That is the big question after the Philadelphia Eagles crushed the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score sounded. The Eagles were ahead 24-0 at halftime and led 40-6 before the Chiefs added two late touchdowns.

The loss foiled the Chiefs big for the first three peat since the Green Bay Packers won three in a row from 1965-67.

The Eagles exploited the Chiefs shaky offensive line by being able to rush four defensive linemen without blitzing and sacked Patrick Mahomes six times and intercepting two passes – one a pick six – to dominate the game. They kept constant pressure on him.

It was the second time in three years the Eagles have been in the Super Bowl. They lost to the Chiefs two years ago.  They are now trying to match the Chiefs feat of repeating the previous two seasons. Before that no team had repeated for 17 years since the Patriots did it in 2003 and 2004.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs obviously have to improve their offensive line if they are to rebound and try to win their third in four years and become the fifth team to win four in a decade. They also are trying to become the first team to lose a Super Bowl and win it the next since Bob Griese and the Dolphins did it in their perfect season in 1972. Tom Brady and the Patriots did it once. 

Mahomes still needs four more Super Bowl wins to match Brady’s record of seven. Of course, the Brady fans point out he beat Mahomes twice including a Super Bowl blowout. But Brady also lost three Super Bowls 

Still, the Eagles bid for a repeat and the Chiefs attempt to rebound from the loss will add some interesting story lines to the upcoming season.

–We’ve seen this movie before.

The Kansas City Chiefs are heading for their third Super Bowl in a row and a shot at the first threepeat since the Green Bay Packers did it in the 1960s and the first time in the Super Bowl era after beating the Bills, 32-29, with a fourth period drive in the AFC title game.. Yes, they found a way to win another one score game and they did it with the help of a controversial call.

–The controversial call came early in the fourth quarter. The Bills were at the Kansas City 41 when they decided to try Josh Allen on the push play on 4th and one after failing to make it on third and one. Allen appeared to get just enough for the first down before being pushed back although it was difficult to tell because the camera angle was to Allen’s back. The officials on each side of the field seemed to disagree but the call that was made that he was stopped short and the review didn’t overturn it. The Chiefs took over and scored a touchdown and the Bills matched it to tie the game 29-29 before the Chiefs got a field goal for a 32-29 lead..

–The Chiefs took over with just over three minutes left. Plenty of time to drive for a game tying field goal or game winning touchdown. But the drive ended after six plays when the Chiefs called a corner blitz on fourth and five and Allen had to rush a deep throw and Dalton Kincaid dropped to it and the Bills had another heartbreaking loss the Chiefs. The Bills may have made a mistake by not giving James Cook a carry on the last drive. It was another heartbreaking loss for the Bills, who are 4-1 against Patrick Mahones in the regular season and 0-4 in playoffs.

–Anyway, the Chiefs kept their drive alive for the first the first Super Bowl threepeat. They will take on the Eagles for the second time in three years in the Super Bowl. The Eagles beat the Commanders 55-23. Saquan Barkley ran 60 yards for a touchdown on the first snap and wound up with 118 yards and three rushing touchdown and quarterback Jalen Hurts added three more.. The Eagles scored three touchdowns off Washington turnovers.

 –The Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 without Barkley two years ago in the Super Bowl and it figures to be another close game now that the Eagles have Barkley. Let the hype begin.

One of the big story lines about the Super Bowl is that the Chiefs are attempting to become the first team of the Super Bowl era to get a threepeat.

But that is not the only milestone the Chiefs will be aiming for. They will attempt to become only the fifth team to win four titles in a decade since the league started playing title games in 1933. Eight teams won three in a decade, including the Patriots who did it in consecutive decade with a nine game gap between the two. The Chiefs are the ninth to do it and have a good shot at getting the fourth before their decade is over.

Here are the four teams that won four in a decade since the league started playing title games:

–The Bears won four in seven years from 1940-46. They also made the title game in 1942 but lost to Washington so they were in five title games in that span.

–The Lombardi Packers won five titles in seven years from 1961-67 and three peated from 1965-67 although the first one was the year before the Super Bowl was founded. They also lost the title game in 1960 to the Eagles so they appeared in six title games from 1960-67 and won five.

–The Noll Steelers were the last team to win four Super Bowls in six years from 1974-79. Kansas City can match that feat with a victory Sunday.

–The Walsh 49ers won four titles in nine years from 1981-89.

Here are the teams to win three titles in a decade but couldn’t get the fourth one:

–The Packers won three in nine years from 1936-44. The Patriots won three in four years from 2001-2004 and the Cowboys also won three in four years from 1992-1995. The Patriots also won three in five years from 2015-2019. They also made the Super Bowl in 2017 but lost to the Eagles so they made the Super Bowl four times in five years. Tom Brady was the only Patriot to be on the first three and second three title teams so it was like two different teams. Brady, of course, won his seventh with the Bucs. 

–The Cleveland Browns won three in six years from 1950-55 and appeared in the title game all six years in a row, a feat no team has duplicated. They also won four straight AAFC titles from 1946-49 but the NFL doesn’t count those records. But they appeared in ten title games in a row from 1946-55 and won seven.

–The Detroit Lions won three in six years from 1952-57 and they played the Browns in the title game three years in a row from 1952-1954. They won the first two and lost the third. It was the last time two teams have met in the title game three years in a row.

–The Raiders won three title games from 1976-83 while the then Redskins went to four from 1982-1990 and won three of them.  

–Of the teams from the league’s founding in 1920 to 1933 when title games were started, a team named the Bulldogs deserves a mention. The Canton Bulldogs won the title in 1922 and 23 and were then purchased by the owner of the Cleveland Indians and merged with the Bulldogs and won the title in 1924 as the Cleveland Bulldogs. The Packers won three titles from 1929-31 so they have the only two threepeats on their record. The Packers also won three from 1936-44.

  Teams that deserve to be mentioned: 

–The Giants appeared in the first three title games but only won one. They also appeared in the 1938-39 title games against Green Bay and split them so they appeared in five title games from 1933-39 but only won two. The Bears won the first title game in 1933 and appeared in the title game in 1934 and 1937 but lost both so they appeared in three titles games from 1933-37 before starting their four title game run in 1940s. The Bears were unbeaten in the regular season in 1934 and 1942 but lost the title game in both years including the so called sneakers game in 1934 when a Giants official went to Fordham to get sneakers at halftime for the Giants and they had better traction on a frozen field in the second half.

–The New York Giants went to six title games in eight years from 1956-63 but only won the first one including three straight losses from 1961-63. But they were very influential in the growth of pro football because they played in New York and their 1958 overtime loss to the Colts was dubbed the greatest game ever played. 

—The Miami Dolphins went to three Super Bowls in a row from 1971-73 and won last two including their 1972 perfect season. The Buffalo Bills went to four in a row from 1990-93 and lost all four. The Minnesota Vikings played in four Super Bowls from 1959-1977 and lost all four. 

So now the Chiefs will be going for their place in the history books. Even if the Chiefs  lose Sunday to the Eagles, they will have more shots to become the fifth team to win four or more titles in a decade. This is their fifth Super Bowl appearance in the last six years and they have won three. Even if they lose, Mahomes will be 3-2 in Super Bowls, which was Brady’s record after his first five Super Bowls. He lost to the Bucs and Tom Brady in 2020. After winning three of his first four appearances, Brady lost his next two to the Giants. If Chiefs win, Mahomes will be 4-1 in his first five Super Bowls compared to Brady’s 3-2 mark.    

The two conference title games will be rematches. The Eagles and Commanders split their two regular season games while the Bills handed the Chiefs their only loss.

–As long as Jalen Hurts is health, the Eagles appear to have the edge on the Commanders.To start with they have Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 205 yards against the Rams last week. .But the Commanders have won seven in a row. And they held Barkley to 150 and 146 yards in the two games. Washington survived five turnovers in beating the Eagles 36-33 in week 16 while the Eagles wo 26-18 five weeks earlier.The Commander s will need a big game from quarterback Jayden Daniels to pull off an upset.

–Although the Chiefs have the home field edge and are a slight favorite, a victory by the Bills wouldn’t be surprising. They are playing well and haven’t had a turnover in four consecutive playoff games, which is a record. And Josh Allen has passed for 399 passing yards in two playoff wins with two touchdown passes. And they have a good runner in James Cook, who has rushed for 187 yards in the two playoff games. The Chiels also face challenge in stopping Josh Allen, who ran 12 times against the Chiefs in the regular season game, from scrabling. The Bills also figure to put heat on Patrick Mahones against the Chiefs shaky offensive line. On the other hand, the Chiefs are 3-0 against Allen in the playoffs and have an uncanny way findng ways to win  The Chiefs also tend to get the calls although they are only 6-5 against referee Clete BLakeman. It could be a classic game. 

The divisional round of the playoffs is often the best weekend of the year and it didn’t disappoint this year.

There was lot of drama including close games, frantic finishes one big upset and officiating controversy. But when it was over, there were some things that we expect. Three of the four home teams won and turnovers were a key factor. he four winners didn’t have a turnover while the four losers combined for minus 10 in turnover.

–It was no surprise that Kansas City beat Houston but it was much closer than expected. The Texans  became the first team to lose a playoff game despite outgaining their opponent by more than 100 yards and not having a turnover. That’s because

the Texans gave up eight sacks and lost seven points to missed kicks. The Texans also complained about the Chiefs always getting the calls, but they made too many mistakes. And bad calls are part of the game. The NFL should do more to improve officiating but it is not a priority for the league.

–The Chiefs will now host the Bills, who beat the Ravens, in the AFC title game. The Ravens were the victim of their own mistakes and couldn’t handle the snowy conditions in Buffalo. Lamar Jackson lost a fumble and threw a pick and Mark Andrews fumbled and dropped a two point conversion that would have tied the game with 1:33 left. And John Harbaugh’s coaching didn’t help. He had the Ravens go for two after they narrowed the deficit to 21-19. When they didn’t get it they had to go for two at 27-25 and Andrews dropped it. If Harbaugh had kicked the extra point the first time they could have tied it the second time with another kick. 

–The Lions couldn’t take advantage of being the top seed. They lost to the Commanders and their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. All their defensive injuries caught up with them. And they made too many mistakes on offense. Coach Dan Campbell was near tears after the game.

–The Commanders will now take on the Eagles in the NFC title game. They split the two regular season games. The Eagles beat the Rams in the regular season and in the playoffs on a snowy field. They couldn’t stop Saquan Barkley either time. According to NFL Research, Barkley is the first player to get 200 plus scrimmage yards against the same opponent in the regular season and playoffs.

–The two top seeds, Kansas City, starting its bid for a three peat, and Detroit make their playoff debuts Saturday after having a bye last week, but neither is playing in a feature attraction.

–Both top seeds are big favorites with the Lions a 9.5 choice over the Commanders and the Chiefs a 6.5 choice over the Texans. Both figure to win and the  main question is whether they can cover the big spreads. The Chiefs host Houston Saturday at 4:30 pm on ESPN and ABE while the Lions host the Commanders at 8 pm Saturday on Fox. For the sake of the ratings, the NFL hopes the two seeded teams don’t win easily. The ratings were down eight per cent for the wild card games compared to last year.

–The first game Sunday is at 3 pm on NBC with the Rams at Philadelphia. The Eagles are 6.5 favorites but the Rams can’t be overlooked. 

–The feature game of the weekend is at 6:30 p.m. Sunday with the Ravens at the Bills on CBS. The Ravens are a one point favorite so this game is up for grabs. It is also huge for both quarterbacks – Lamar Jackson of the Ravens and Josh Allen of the Bills. Both have yet to make a Super Bowl and the loser won’t even make it to the NFC title game. Assuming the Chiefs win Saturday, the winner goes to Kansas City next Sunday to play for a berth in the Super Bowl.

–The NFL playoffs are getting too predictable, especially in the wild card round. And the games tend to be one-sided. The average margin of victory this year was 18 points. Last year the average was 20.8. Last year the only close game in the wild card round was Detroit’s one point win over Rams. This year, it was Washington beating Tampa Bay on a field goal that hit the uprights and bounced in on final play.

–Although Green Bay upset the Cowboys last year when they were the seventh seed, it was back to business as usual this year as both second seeds easily beat the two seventh seeds as the Bills beat the Broncos 31-7 and the Eagles beat the Packers 22-10. Adding a seventh wild card team hasn’t made much difference except for helping the league make even more money. 

–The home teams also have a big edge. Last year, of the four AFC division winners, the first seed got a bye and the other three division winners won. The year these same four teams are in the divisional round in the AFC – Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore and Houston although last year Baltimore and Buffalo were the top two seeds and Kansas City repeated as the third seed. The last three years the home teams were 14-4 in the wild card round. They were 10-2 last two years and 5-1 this year.

— This year, the Chiefs are going for a three peat as the top seed. This year in the NFC, Detroit is the only team to make the divisional round the way the Lions did last year. San Francisco and Dallas were the top two seeds last year and didn’t make the playoffs this year while Tampa Bay won the NFC South and lost to the Rams, who didn’t make it last year.  

–The big losers in the wild card round were the Vikings, Steelers and Chargers. The Vikings were 14-1 and then lost regular season finale to Detroit to become a wild card team and were routed by the Rams, 27-9 in the wild card round . The Steelers lost their last four regular season games and were smoked by the Ravens, 28-14 and the Chargers lost to the Texans 32-12. All three defenses weren’t good but there are questions about the three quarterbacks Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson and Justin Herbert. It is a question whether Darnold and Wilson will be back and the Chargers need to get Herbert a better supporting cast and protect him better. The Chargers have lost in the wild card round twice in the last three years and blew a 27-0 lead to the Jaguars in 2022. 

—There should be more drama in the NFC than the AFC in the wild card weekend. The second and third AFC seeds, the Bills and Ravens, are heavily favored to beat the Broncos and Steelers this weekend. But the NFC games figure to be closer although the top seeded Lions are favored to go to the Super Bowl after getting the bye this weekend. The top seeded Chiefs will get the AFC bye but cud face a tougher road to the Super Bowl as they go for a three peat.

–The weekend starts with the Chargers at the Texans on CBS at 430 p.m. Saturday with the Steelers at the Ravens in the second game at 8 pm on Prime. There will be a tripleheader on Sunday with Denver at the Bills at 1 p.m on CBS, the Packers at the Eagles at 4:30 pm on Fox and the Commanders at the Bucs at 8 p.m.on NBC and Peacock. The Monday nightgame on ESPN and ABC will have the Vikings at the Rams although the game may be moved because of the wild fires in Los Angeles.

–The Bills figure to beat Denver, the seventh seed in the AFC, while the Ravens, the third seed, are expected to beat the sixth seeded Steelers. The Ravens and Steelers usually play close games but the Steelers lost their last four games of the season and Mike Tomlin doesn’t have a good history in the playoffs in the last decade.The teams split the two regular season games, but the Ravens won the second game 34-17 in Baltimore and again have the home field edge. If the Bills and Ravens both win, they will play next weekend. The fourth seeded Texans have a tough assignment against the fifth seeded Chargers. The winner of this game will go to Kansas City if both the Bills and Ravens win. 

–In the NFC, the second seeded Eagles virtually had last week off after they rested several starters last week, including Saquan Barkley who lost a chance to break Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record. But the Packers could be a tough test even though they are a seventh seed because three teams from the NFC North made the playoffs. Last year the Packers were the seventh seed and knocked off the Cowboys in their first game. But the Packers are 0-5 against the Eagles, Lions and Vikings this year. The third seeded Tampa Bay Bucs take on the sixth seeded Commanders as rookie Jayden Daniels makes his rookie debut for the Commanders. 

–Minnesota isn’t happy about being the fifth seed despite winning 14 games and will be favored to beat the fourth-seeded Rams, who lost their homefield edge when the game was shifted because of the wildfires in Los Angeles.

If Shad Khan’s press conference with general manager Trent Baalke after the firing of coach Doug Pederson was a Broadway play, it would have closed after opening night because of bad reviews.

Khan’s decision to keep Baalke after firing Pederson did not go well with the team’s disgruntled fans, who have seen the team lose 18 of its last 23 games. They generally wanted a fresh start with a new GM and coach and possibly an executive vice president to oversee the football operation.

But they were even more upset after watching Khan’s press conference on zoom and flooded social media complaining about the direction of the team and some said they were not renewing season tickets.

They were particularly upset when Khan was asked about why he wasn’t making a complete overhaul of the team. Khan obviously needs some coaching on how to conduct a press conference.

“I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,’’he said and later added, “Certainly over the last few years, we’ve built a football administration and things are  working out well there.”

Not working out well enough to win more than one playoff game with Baalke as GM.

 “What is a completely overhaul?,” he said. “You look at it, health and wellness of the players. medical, statistics, analysis, scouting, … a number of other elements … all of those areas we have really changed, improved. You’ve got 85 people working on that side and you say “I’m going to get rid of them and find 85 new people better than that? That’s like shooting yourself in the foot.”

He said it would be “suicidal,” Of course, nobody was talking about firing 85 people. The overall was about changing the top administrators.  Khan had to know that or should have known it. All he did was enrage the fan base even more.

He also said they could add an EVP if they found the right person. So how intense will that search be? Do they really want a EVP or not? Who knows.

He also said the team on the field didn’t have enough deception and was too predictable. That may be true but did Khan bring that up with Pederson when the team started 0-4?

So where do the Jaguars go from here? The old saying is when you did yourself in a hole, you need to stop digging. 

At the very least he needs to make a home run hire like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson if he is going to placate the fan base.

Johnson’s name was on the list of the eight coaches they want to interview for the job. But there are fears that a candidate like Johnson, who is likely to have options, may be leery of working with Baalke.

Khan said the Jaguars have a compelling case on what they can offer to a coach. “Players, salary cap, the city, brick and mortar, facilities, our division … a very compelling case,” he said.

He didn’t mention the team’s record. Will the top coaching candidates think they can win with Baalke’s players? We will see.