We were treated to a great Super Bowl last night. It featured the two best teams in the NFL fighting it out to the finish, with both quarterbacks delivering impressive performances. The penalty on the last drive was unfortunate because it prevented a final drive from Jalen Hurts and the Eagles to tie or win the game, but the holding call was probably correct. In the end, the Kansas City Chiefs were able to pull out a win over a tough Philadelphia Eagles team that came to play.

Point Spread

Going into the game, the Eagles were a 1.5 point favorite with the over/under at around 50. The game was very close and lived up to the billing of the two best teams in the NFL making it to the game. The Eagles were the sexy pick to cover, and the Patrick Mahomes injury was certainly a factor, but as we pointed out, the Eagles hadn’t faced a very tough schedule. Could their defense hold up against Mahomes if he was relatively healthy?

Chiefs Running Game

Andy Reid is known as an offensive genius, but he’s also known for abandoning the run too quickly at times. It’s hard to blame him when he has top quarterbacks like Mahomes and Donovan McNabb, but running the ball can be important at times. This was one of those times. The Eagles run defense isn’t very good, and they also have an excellent pass rush. Running the ball effectively would be crucial to take some pressure off of Mahomes and the offensive line, and Reid committed to the run, particularly in the second half.

Horrible Field Conditions

That said, the condition of the field may have also been a factor in slowing down the Eagles pass rush. They didn’t register a sack of Mahomes for the entire game, which few would have predicted. You can see Eagles defensive linemen slipping on a number of plays throughout the game, and that lack of pressure certainly helped a hobbled Mahomes.

Red Zone Calls

Reid, with the help of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, drew up two beautiful plays that gave the Chiefs critical touchdowns in the red zone. In two very similar plays against different Eagles defensive coverages, Kadarius Toney and then Skyy Moore went in motion towards the quarterback and then sharply revered course to the outside, completely faking out the Eagles defenders for wide open touchdowns.

Jalen Hurts Performance

While Patrick Mahomes put on a show and certainly deserved the Super Bowl MVP trophy, Hurts was magnificent in defeat. Some argued he should have won the MVP award even as the losing QB. It’s amazing how far Hurts has come as a passer, and he’s a lethal threat as a runner as well. He’s not as flashy as Lamar Jackson, but he’s become the player many thought Lamar could be. Unfortunately for Hurts and the Eagles, one mistake marred his performance. A fumble that resulted in a scoop and score TD for the Chiefs was a critical error in this close game, even if it was a fluke play.

The Deshaun Watson trade has rocked the NFL in many ways. After a grand jury in Texas decided against indicting Watson, the Browns won a bidding war to acquire the talented quarterback, and secured the deal with a fully-guaranteed contract for $230 million.

There was already plenty of controversy around any trade for Watson with 22 pending civil lawsuits, but the guaranteed money made the move even more controversial. NFL teams avoid large guarantees, and this contract blew away the guarantees given to other top quarterbacks. The fact that Watson, with all his legal troubles, was the recipient of this contract made it even worse for many. People will have different reactions to the Browns trading for someone saddled with these allegations, but the monetary award made it worse for many fans who felt that the Browns and the NFL were rewarding bad behavior.

But other NFL owners have also been complaining. They know that the Browns have turned the market upside down and that they will ultimately need to consider similar deals if they’re fortunate to land a top-tier quarterback. Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was vocal in his displeasure, not that the Browns or their fans give a damn what the owner of the Ravens thinks about this. The Ravens will have to pay Lamar Jackson, and Browns fans will be happy to see that franchise also saddled with a monster, guaranteed contract, as most Browns fans see Jackson as a more limited quarterback than Watson.

And that leads us to the real issue here. The game in the NFL has been changing as the rules make it easier and easier for elite quarterbacks to dominate the game. Sure, defenses can still make a difference, but a team’s chances of winning a Super Bowl are very low without one of the 8 – 10 elite quarterbacks in the game.

Just look at the Browns. Baker Mayfield had helped to resurrect the franchise and won a playoff game in the 2020 season, but the Browns front office realized that Baker wasn’t elite. He’s a decent NFL starter, but he needed an elite roster around him to compete at the highest levels. Paying Baker big money would have been an anchor on the franchise. You can’t be successful with a big part of the salary cap reserved for an average quarterback.

Over time you’ll see that reflected more in the betting markets, particularly for futures and playoff bets. The teams with top QBs will be favored, and the smart money will avoid the good teams with average quarterbacks for Super Bowl bets. You’re better off with pretty much any other bet, like vulkan vegas 50 free spins.

In this evolving landscape, elite quarterbacks have much more negotiating leverage. The Watson contract is inevitable, and the Browns are ahead of the curve here. You’re going to see all of the top quarterbacks getting fully-guaranteed deals in the near future. It happened in this instance because it’s so rare for a top quarterback to become available before the age of 27. This was a rare opportunity, irrespective of the legal issues, and the resulting bidding war is a logical result of the situation.

Bisciotti and the Ravens brain trust can’t be happy as they probably realize that Jackson is an elite player but not necessarily an elite quarterback. He’s so talented that he can literally take over a game. But he’s inconsistent, and his “hero ball” approach to the game leads to bad habits and disastrous results. It will be fascinating to see what contract he goes for.

As for the rest of the NFL, things will start to look a little more like the NBA, with star quarterbacks, and sometimes star receivers, setting the market and insisting on guarantees. Elite quarterback play and explosive plays now dominate the NFL, and the financial terms of NFL contracts are now starting to catch up.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns had plenty of hype coming into the season, and many in the pressed relished watching them struggle in their opener and then suffer some horrible play calls from Freddie Kitchens last week against the Rams. Many loved mocking Baker Mayfield for his slow start.

This poll from last week summed up the silliness we’ve been hearing. Lamar Jackson is a very talented player with a unique skill set, but there’s no way you take him over Baker Mayfield.

Who would you rather build your franchise around?

— GMFB (@gmfb) September 28, 2019

Naturally, Colin Cowherd led the chorus of pundits trashing the Browns heading into this game as he predicted the Ravens would cover the healthy 7-point spread.

Week Four, Blazin 5. Picks have been lately pic.twitter.com/faxA1505xC

— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) September 29, 2019

But then the Browns responded, and reality set in for Jackson and the Ravens. They finally faced a real defense as th Browns harassed Jackson all day. Suddenly, the accuracy issues surfaced again and we saw Jackson’s limitations. Meanwhile, Baker started trusting his line and hanging in the pocket. The Ravens keyed on Odell Beckham Jr. and Baker found easy completions. Jarvis Landry had a field day ripping off yards after the catch. Nick Chubb ran for three touchdowns, including an 88-yard back-breaker that sealed it for the Browns.

The narrative has now changed dramatically. Instead of being 1-3 and facing a chorus of criticism, the Browns lead the division at 2-2. Also, with the Steelers reduced to mediocrity with the injury to Big Ben, the Browns now have a much easier division to contend with, along with a very easy second-half schedule. Things are looking up in C-Town . . .

#10 Louisville destroyed #2 Florida State this afternoon 63-20, and quarterback Lamar Jackson put on quite a show with five touchdowns and 362 total yards. Naturally the Heisman talk dominated Twitter as many were ready to hand Jackson the trophy right now, while forgetting how Leonard Fournette seemingly had it wrapped up last season.

The other meme pumped today had many comparing Jackson to Micheal Vick, which seems like a good comparison. Vick then got into the act as well with a very gracious tweet:

Lamar Jackson 5x better than what I was at V-Tech….Enough said!! #future

— Mike Vick (@MikeVick) September 17, 2016

Jackson is a huge talent, so we’ll see if he lives up to the hype as the season progresses.