With the Super Bowl coming closer, it is only fitting for a tumultuous year to result in surprising playoffs. Both the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns have broken decade long losing streaks. Additionally, a staple team of the playoffs, the New England Patriots, have not made it for the first time in years, while the Seahawks, another staple team, have done significantly worse than expected.
The Bills and the Browns resurgence is what made this postseason so fun to watch. While the Browns season is over, the way they went out serves as a testament to how impressive their run was. In their game against the Chiefs, predictions had the Chiefs winning by more than ten points; however, the Browns only lost by five. In fact, if not for an unpopular rule that ended a Browns drive, they could have pulled off an impressive upset and won. The secret to the Browns record breaking season was a combination of their very good backfield, with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, as well as quarterback Baker Mayfield’s steady improvement.
The Bills are a really interesting story. They won their game against the Ravens, and face off against the Chiefs next. Similarly to the Browns resurgence, the Bills quarterback played a key role. The Bills have truly invested in their mediocre-to-bad quarterback, Josh Allen, and built an offense around him, giving him the tools to succeed. In his first two seasons Allen played poorly, but today he is one of the main reasons that the Bills are succeeding. No matter the outcome of Sunday’s Chiefs-Bills game, this season probably represents the end of the losing streaks these teams have been suffering. The future looks bright for these teams, even with the Bills losing to the Chiefs.
The Bucs are an old team. Their quarterback, their coach, their nose tackle, their defensive end and more have been in the NFL for a long time. That is not to say they do not have their fair share of new players, but unlike the other teams in the playoffs, they have built their lineup around veterans. This makes their matchup against the Chiefs, who are a young, new team, even more intriguing. It also means that unless the Bucs change their methods soon, they will have a pretty bad team in a couple of years, while on the flip side, the Chiefs, Bills and Browns are just getting started.
The top two teams are close enough to one another that the season is a virtual toss-up. The Chiefs are the best team but have been underperforming, still winning. The Bucs are one of the worst teams but have been over performing a great deal. It is a surprise the Buccaneers have even got this far with their massive upsets against the Saints and the Packers. Despite that, they are still a great team and have more than a small chance to beat the Chiefs.
Regardless of who wins the end of this Super Bowl season is going to be exciting. The final two teams are good at the same thing offensively, passing, which will make the match ups really fun. Additionally, the quarterback that has reigned as the best in the league for twenty years, Tom Brady, is coming up against new blood, Patrick Mahomes, who has a very good chance of dethroning him. Whether the defending champions, the Chiefs, or the perennial champion, Brady, wins, it is sure to be a heart racer. 538 lists the odds as 47-53% in the Chiefs favor, so sit down, grab some popcorn and may the best team win!
