Confession: Personal rooting interests aside, I was really pulling for a Rams-Broncos exacta in yesterday’s NFL conference championship doubleheader. I’m personally most fascinated when titles are decided by teams that had theretofore never met for one. Of the four possibile Super Bowl matchups we could have gotten, that was the only one that had no precedence, thus allowing this year’s game itself to stand on its own.
That said, I’m exceptionally happy that the Seattle Seahawks are heading to Santa Clara this time around–it’s my bestie’s favorite NFC team and on a weekend where a good friend of hers who prided herself on being a “12” suddenly passed away the stirring performance we saw at Lumen Field was that much more satisfying. The hometown team at KOMO-TV provided the details:
Sam Darnold threw for three touchdowns, the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense came up with a critical fourth-down stop, and Seattle advanced to the Super Bowl, beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in an electrifying NFC championship game on Sunday.
The Seahawks overcame adversity throughout the season, and tonight’s win underscored the team’s preparation and belief in its identity — a mindset emphasized by Head Coach Mike Macdonald and reflected in Seattle’s strong defensive effort and timely offensive execution.
Led by Macdonald and Darnold — an eight-year veteran playing for his fifth team — the Seahawks (16-3) reached the fourth Super Bowl in franchise history and first in 11 years. Seattle lost that most recent appearance to New England, its opponent in two weeks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
And that’s about the point where I check out. The 2015 matchup in Glendale, Arizona that saw the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler intercept an ill-advised Russell Wilson pass in the game’s last minute, eschewing what to this day what most Seattle fans insist should have been yet another Beast Run by Marshawn Lynch was engineered by a bunch of veterans with long CVs of success. That silly call was made by Pete Carroll; the victorious Patriots had the savvy of both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady still very much in their primes. And Wilson had already achieved a level of regular season success that even Darnold had not.
Frankly, if Wilson had had the quality of receivers that Darnold had yesterday the Seahawks might have had a second Lombardi Trophy in their case already. The triple threat of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed provided Darnold with athletic options, and Macdonald’s playbook took full advantage of it. The 2014 interation was nowhere near as blessed.
The comparison is even less valid when one looks at what propelled the Patriots to their eleventh Super Bowl appearance in the Kraft family era. The youthful vigor and chip on one’s shoulder of its coach, coupled with the gritty tenacity of its young quarterback (ironically an alumnus of the school that now employs Belichick) and some other unlikely newbies made this all possible. As USA TODAY’s Chris Bumbuca wrote yesterday:
As Will Campbell answered questions amid a victorious celebration in the visitor’s locker room, where the New England Patriots toasted their 10-7 victory over the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game with cans of Miller Lite, Garrett Bradbury had to interject.
“He doesn’t even know what (expletive) means,” Bradbury shouted. How could a rookie left tackle put this into perspective? Bradbury, a seven-year veteran who was part of a high-impact free-agent class signed last offseason, could hardly describe the “absolute dogfight” that led to the Patriots becoming kings of the AFC – for a league-leading 12th time.
“You have to believe things, sometimes,” head coach Mike Vrabel said, “before you can see them…You get everybody to believe in something and buy in, and that doesn’t come without adversity,” said Vrabel, who repeated his popular refrain that his coaching calling is rooted in supporting the players. “
Having a second-year quarterback who is an MVP candidate in Drake Maye also helps when it comes to establishing winning ways. Now Maye and Vrabel did something not even Tom Brady and Bill Belichick could manage during their dynastic domination – win a playoff game at Mile High.
The uniforms are the same, and the venue will be the home stadium of an NFC West team. But be absolutely certain that at least when it comes to this game any comparison with Supe 49 and Supe 60 would be as ill-advised as passing for a touchdown on the two yard line.
Courage…