Some things in life are breathtakingly beautiful in an undeniable way. The first time you gaze upon an ocean or see a luscious mountainscape. Catching a beautiful sunrise with your child and seeing the colors of God's canvas, covered in hues of orange, pink, blue, and lavender, reflected in their eyes. You unfortunately also have the exact opposite of that in life, like watching Jarrett Stidham square off against Drake Maye in an AFC Championship Game that annihilated the under with just 17 total points.
The NFL playoffs are almost over, and I think I speak for most of America when I say, “Thank God.” The Super Bowl is set after the New England Patriots did what every other team in the NFL could not: score 10 points in Denver to overcome a Broncos team that scored early, creating an aura around “Stiddy” that Sean Payton thoughtfully crafted all week, then completely forgot how to convert drives into points.
A Chiefs-centric lament on joyless playoffs and longing for the return of a meaningful Super Bowl.
There was some excitement on Championship Sunday, of course. The Rams and Seahawks gave us yet another high-scoring affair in one of the top DVOA matchups in playoff history, though the hype somehow hid the fact that the Rams' defense was bad enough to allow Sam Darnold to throw for nearly 350 yards and three touchdowns. But outside of Seattle and Boston, two of the more depressing places I can think of in the U.S., is anyone really that excited about this Super Bowl?
I can only answer that question for myself, but to me, the answer is a resounding, “Why would you even ask that?” I am admittedly crushing all of the sour grapes I somehow still have remaining after a 6–11 finish for the Chiefs this season, hoping they turn into a wine strong enough to make Super Bowl 60 watchable. But are we really intrigued by a battle between two teams that sport navy blue as a primary color?
A joyless playoff run and an unremarkable matchup highlight how much the NFL misses true dominance.
As much as I hate, well, hating, there have been so few intriguing storylines from these playoffs that it has been remarkably hard to even care enough to tune in. What has been compelling about this? Sure, the rest of the league was sick of the Chiefs’ sustained success, a bubble of excitement only we were privy to, but at the very least, there was something for folks to either root vehemently for or against when they were chasing history last season in pursuit of a three-peat. Even in seasons before that, the growing sense that the team was a budding dynasty created some froth on both sides of the Chiefs’ love-hate wagon.
I suppose you could count the Bills swallowing their own tongues in the divisional round once again as an intriguing piece of playoff-generated content, but the fact that it came at the hands of the Broncos makes it bittersweet at best for Chiefs Kingdom. The Bears could have been a cool story. But no one—I repeat, no one—could have found much compelling about divisional-round matchups between the Texans and Patriots, or the Seahawks and the corpse of the San Francisco 49ers.
Now, we’re just seeing if maybe the Patriots are back, or if Sam Darnold can hilariously become the first signal-caller from the 2018 draft to hoist a Lombardi Trophy. Somehow, even while they are both well into their winter vacations, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are still catching strays when it comes to their lack of playoff success.
People certainly get sick of seeing the same teams compete over and over again in championship games. There is a level of “greatness fatigue” that permeates all of professional sports. But this Super Bowl matchup feels a lot more like the 1999 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks than it does another thrilling tilt between Michael Jordan’s Bulls and the Utah Jazz. For those who are fans of things like parity and competitive balance, I’m sure these playoffs are great. This Super Bowl matchup is fantastic. But for those who like to see the best in the game bolster legacies and chase continued excellence, this frankly kind of sucks.
I will go on the record as rooting for the Seahawks in a couple of Sundays. Mike Macdonald’s energy is pretty electric, and the idea that Sam Darnold could beat Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson to a Lombardi is worth cheering for, accompanied by the fact that a good friend of mine is in the Seahawks’ front office. I will, without a doubt, watch the game, but the whole time I will be daydreaming about the next time we all get to collectively hold our breath for two weeks as we await another Super Bowl appearance by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.