Championship Weekend Recap + Rumor Mill & HC Deals

 It has been quite the eventful week around the league. First we obviously witnessed quite an interesting championship weekend that OFFICIALLY has Super Bowl 57 SET! It will be the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES going up against the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS. Both the 1 seeds in their respective conferences and with so many storylines and just two overall amazing teams, it is going to be a good one! Today I will recap both games and then delve into rumors around the league and analyze recent moves, such as the hirings of multiple HC's. We have a lot to get to today.

NFC Championship: Philadelphia Eagles 31, San Francisco 49ers 7

In what figured to be an unreal, defensive, back and forth performance turned into a one-sided mess that left the 49ers hanging on for dear life. The game started out with a bang as the Eagles went down the field right away and scored a TD, behind an incredible one-handed grab by WR Devonta Smith on a 4th down that, upon review, probably should have not stood but the Eagles were smart and rushed to the line to run another play so it could not be challenged. When the Niners got the ball on offense first, this game really crumbled for them. Brock Purdy, the rookie QB who has taken the league by storm down the stretch was strip sacked by OLB Haason Reddick and injured his elbow badly. He instantly came out of the game and we knew we would not be seeing him (or at least him at full strength) for the rest of the game. Journeyman backup QB Josh Johnson came in and finished out the first half, but it wasn't pretty and after a lucky scoring drive, that would be it for SF the rest of the day.

In the second half Johnson, too, got injured with a concussion and was out for the game. From there on out we saw RB Christian McCaffrey take wildcat snaps and even PURDY came back in for a few sets but only could hand the ball off and throw dump offs as his elbow was clearly banged up bad. We now know he will need Tommy John surgery, a common baseball elbow surgery, and it will likely have him out an entire year. Brutal break for an unreal story. The Eagles were not playing anywhere near a full strength offense, but their defense was absolutely stifling from start to finish and allowed just 7 points, while the running offense was at its complete best. These Eagles have a formula to win games, they stick by it, and they win. I'm not sure how KC and their suspect defense will gameplan for this RPO heavy offense while figuring out how to limit the best pass rush in football against a hobbled Pat Mahomes. The Eagles head to the Super Bowl for the second time in 5 years, but behind a different HC/QB duo and an elite all around roster that was barely in place the first time around.

AFC Championship: Kansas City Chiefs 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20

This was the even more highly anticipated match of the weekend, and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT! The Chiefs rolled in with a head of steam, stifling Joe Burrow and the dangerous Bengal offense early on. The Bengal OL looked exactly like last year's putrid unit as they gave up multiple first half sacks on Burrow and there was really nothing this offense could do. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bengals were also looking like a shell of their usual selves. After falling down multiple scores in the first half, Burrow and co. mounted a couple of good drives heading into half to cut the deficit to 13-6. The second half is really where this game picked up. The halftime adjustments that these Bengals continue to make week after week is beyond impressive to me, and it was all of that in this game. The Bengal defense came out on fire, figuring out how to limit explosive plays from Mahomes (even though he certainly got off a few anyway), but for the most part limiting him. Their offensive line shifted blocking schemes and suddenly Burrow was playing with a lot better protection. Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase deserve a mega shoutout. They are unreal, best WR duo in football! Tee Higgins reeled in one of the craziest TD catches I've seen, backshoulder high-pointing a perfectly thrown ball in the endzone for a TD, and then later in the game, on a 4th down, Ja'Marr Chase caught a ball 30-yards down the field in double coverage for a game-changing first down.

It was not all roses for the Bengals though, clearly. I cannot express enough just how AWFUL these referees were, almost to the point where the game seemed fixed in favor of the Chiefs at times. The Bengals had multiple huge plays negated by questionable holding calls that the refs seemed to swallow their whistles for when the Chiefs did the same thing. I will not get into it much because the whole NFL world has already been talking about it, but I've never seen anything like that crazy double third-down scenario the Chiefs were GIFTED. And then the fact that they got a first down off a hold in the end is just insane. Even with all of the crazy help the Chiefs were getting from the zebras, the game found itself tied at 20 with under 2 mins to go. 

Joe Burrow and his offense were mounting a seemingly signature drive, but they eventually had to punt it back to KC with under a minute to go. Instead of booming the kick out of bounds, the Bengal punter gave it a line drive to the middle of the field, where rookie Chiefs return man Skyy Moore was able to burst away for 20+ yards to set KC up near mid-field with multiple timeouts. The game was decided when Patrick Mahomes went to scramble for a small sum of yards and Cinncy rusher Joseph Ossai committed and awful unnecessary roughness penalty with Mahomes clearly already out of bounds. It was definitely the right call there, but the refs had been so bad all day, that it felt like a damn shame the game was decided off a penalty. With that call it set KC up in easy field goal range where Mr. Clutch Harrison Butker drilled the 45-yarder to send KC to another Super Bowl. This game deserved to go into OT (with the new rules) but instead KC, with the help of the refs, are into the Super Bowl. This Burrow and Mahomes rivalry will clearly be the best one of the next decade, the new Manning/Brady, and we are here for it! The Chiefs will face off against Philly in the Super Bowl, where Mahomes and co. will look for their second title in four years.

Denver Broncos hire Sean Payton to be their next Head Coach, sends 2023 1st-rounder (#30 overall) and 2024 second-rounder to New Orleans for Payton and a 2024 third-rounder

After weeks and weeks of speculation, the expected move finally happened. The Broncos have their next HC, and it is Sean Payton, the former Super Bowl winning coach who retired a season ago after years in New Orleans but is ready to come back for more. With that retirement leaving multiple years left on his deal, the Saints still owned his rights when he came back, thus making it necessary for Denver to deal assets to New Orleans if they wanted him. A+ work for Saint GM Mickey Loomis. You just acquired two PREMIUM draft picks in exchange for something that you could not use anymore. If the Saints didn't approve the trade, Payton would have had to stay in retirement. Amazing job for the Saints who are looking to rebuild anyway. 

I also love this move for Denver. Sure, that is a lot to give up for anyone, especially a non-player, but Payton is going to be every bit worth it. Denver was already in too deep after the financial and capital commitment they made with the Russell Wilson move last off-season, and if there is anyone who can fix Wilson, it will be the offensive genius Payton. Seriously, if not Payton, they would have maybe had to go for a first time, unproven coach to try and mend Wilson and squeeze any of his last good years (if there are any left) out of him. Payton was the only offensive guru available and likely will be the best available option there ever was on the open market over the past 5 years. In a way, Denver is doubling down on a potential colossal error they made last off-season, but this was the only thing they could do. I love it for both sides. A's all around!

Houston Texas hire former 49er DC DeMeco Ryans as their next Head Coach

The other HC domino that fell earlier this week was 49er defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans accepting the Houston Texans' position. This is a home run hire for this organization, which has faced so much turmoil and scrutiny over the past couple of seasons. Other than Payton, who was available, but basically with an asterisk due to the addition assets you had to pay to get him, Ryans was THE best available option on the market. The Texans have fired their first year HC in back to back seasons, which is not a good look for the franchise and does not make many candidates desire to be there, on such a short leash. It worked out for this team though, as by seemingly sheer luck, the best available candidate happened to be a former longtime Texan during his playing days. The 38-year-old Ryans is not far removed from his playing days, and he was drafted by Houston in the early 2000s and played many seasons there, winning DROY and even having an All-Pro season. He is one of the best players in the brief history of the Texans. It was their lucky day.

Ryans is fresh off of commanding an ELITE 49er defense all season long, and now will try and apply his success in that field of football to shaping an all around team in Houston. He will have assets galore to do so, with the second overall pick in the draft this season along with a second first rounder this and next year too. This was a great hire for the Texans, and a great fit for Ryans, who will get to build this team from scratch his way.

Tom Brady, the GOAT, retires

It feels crazy to not have this as the main headline of the article. Tom Brady, the greatest player to ever play the sport, is officially done. He says it is for good this time, as he retired last off-season briefly, before deciding to come back for another year in Tampa. As the season was winding down, there was a lot of uncertainty around Brady. His play was clearly starting to finally decline, at age 45, and we know well his family struggles outside of the game, with his pending divorce to Gisele. Still, he gave it his all this season and the led the Bucs to a third playoff appearance in his three years in Tampa. Set to be a free agent this off-season, there were many rumors that Brady would not return to the Bucs under any circumstance and that he would possibly reunite with former OC Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. That will never come to be, as Brady is now officially done and will soon start a new career, as a lead analyst at FOX Sports, which is pretty cool itself. Thank you for the memories Tom!

Aaron Rodgers to the Jets?! Or Raiders??!

It really is a changing of the guard right now in the NFL. With Brady retired, another all-time great QB is set for some big change in 2023. Aaron Rodgers has had his share of struggles with the Packers and their management for multiple off-seasons now, and this time it feels like he will actually be on his way out. The Packers continue to fall short of winning any Super Bowls and Rodgers is not getting any younger. Green Bay drafted QB Jordan Love in the first round a couple years back to sit and learn behind Rodgers to potentially become his successor one day. With reports of major development for Love coupled with Rodgers' continued displeasure with the team, a divorce seems inevitable. With that being said, the New York Jets have appeared to become a quick front-runner to land him.

Everyone knows the Jets need a QB, and with multiple good veteran options set to be on the market this off-season, Rodgers figures to be at the top of their list. The Jets have the draft capital to make a trade work, and Jet owner Woody Johnson already publicly stated how badly he wanted Rodgers and how he would be willing to really give anything to make it work. If that wasn't enough, the Jets, who fired their OC a few weeks back, quickly turned around and hired former Bronco HC Nathaniel Hackett to fill the position. The key there is that Hackett was in Green Bay as the team's QB coach for years before that and is one of Aaron Rodgers' best friends. Hackett being in New York as the playcaller is yet another reason for Rodgers to come to New York. This could be interesting.

On the other hand, Rodgers has other ties in another AFC landing spot. The Raiders are clearly about to cut ties with QB Derek Carr, whether that be via trade or release, and they will obviously be looking for an immediate successor who can propel this team back into playoff and Super Bowl contention. They have a win-now team and just need that elite signal caller now. Could it be Aaron Rodgers? Rodgers' longtime WR1 Davante Adams happens to be on the Raiders now, and he is reportedly lobbying for a move that could reunite him and Rodgers in the silver and black. The Raiders could have the cap space with a Carr move and do own the 7th overall pick in the 2023 draft which could be highly desirable for Green Bay to get back in a potential Rodgers trade. Don't look now, but Rodgers could be a Raider in no time. 

The Bears will likely move out of the #1 pick in the draft; Colts and Texas to watch...

In a not so shocking rumor, the Bears are likely to trade the no. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. With Justin Fields already on the roster as their franchise QB, the Bears will look to move back and acquire serious extra draft capital to build around him while a team who is in big-time need of a franchise guy can come up and overpay to get him. The Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texas are expected to be the main teams to battle it out and get a trade done, as both are in dire need of a franchise guy and both teams will have new HC's who probably want to pick their QB...