NFL Takeaways: “The Patriots Ruined Football” Edition
So, this is the day where I talk about what we learned from the weekend of football we got to enjoy.
However, this weekend of NFL football was awful. It was just bad.
So, instead of going over lots of bad games, I decided to dive into a topic I’ve seen a lot recently.
The Chiefs and Seahawks right now are both struggling quite a lot.
People are wondering what’s wrong with the Chiefs. People are saying the Seahawks have completely wasted Russell Wilson.
Both teams were poised to be the next dynasty and both failed.
Or did they?
Let’s go back about 25 years to the 1997 Super Bowl.
The ‘97 Packers
The Packers are taking on the Patriots with a young gunslinger at QB by the name of Brett Favre.
The Packers win, and the next great dynasty is born. The Packers go back to the Super Bowl the next season to face the Denver Broncos.
They lose. And they never get back to a Super Bowl under Favre.
The ‘98 Broncos
The team that beat the Packers? They went to the Super Bowl the next season as well and beat the Falcons.
They would then only win 3 playoff games between 1999 and 2012.
That’s a little unfair though, because Broncos Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway retired after the 1999 Super Bowl.
The Greatest Show On Turf
With Elway gone, there was an opening for a new team to step in.
The Rams took full advantage, creating the greatest show on turf en route to the 2000 Super Bowl over the Titans.
A new dynasty was taking shape.
But then they lost to the Patriots in the next season’s Super Bowl and never went back until 2019.
The ‘03 Bucs
Led by a stellar defense, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated the Raiders in the 2003 Super Bowl, and with a young Jon Gruden at head coach it was clearly the beginning of a new dynasty.
They went to an NFC title game a few years later, but that was it. No more playoff success until Brady came along last season.
The ‘07 Colts
The 07 Colts finally did it. They won Peyton Manning a Super Bowl!
Finally, one of the best QBs ever got over the hump. Now that he finally pulled it off, more are likely to come.
More never came. They went to one more a couple years later but lost.
We’ll get to that later, though.
The ‘09 Steelers
After the Steelers beat the Cardinals in the 2009 Super Bowl, it was the beginning of the next dynasty.
Ben was smack in his prime. Great head coach with a solid defense and great weapons as well.
They went to one more Super Bowl two years later and lost. They haven’t been back since.
The Brees Saints
Drew Brees turned the entire Saints franchise around.
Their Super Bowl over the Colts (see above) was a clear sign of the next great dynasty in the NFL.
They never made it back to a Super Bowl.
The ‘11 Packers
Ok. Now it’s REALLY time for the next dynasty.
Aaron Rodgers may be the most talented quarterback we’ve seen, and he’s still very young while taking down the great Steelers team mentioned above.
This is the beginning of a dominating run of form for the Packers.
They haven’t made it back to a Super Bowl since.
The Early 2010 Niners
An NFC title game in 2012, a Super Bowl in 2013 and another NFC title game in 2014.
They lost all 3, sure, but the talent was there. They would stick around and be title contenders for a long time.
They continued to have losing seasons until 2020, and that season looks to be a flash in the pan…
The Legion of Boom
Man, this Seahawks team is the making of the next Patriots.
A great young quarterback, a fearless running back, and unbelievable defense and a fun, energetic head coach.
There’s no way they don’t compete for Super Bowls every single season after beating up on the Broncos in 2014.
They made it back the next season, something happened that we don’t have to talk about, and they haven’t been back since.
The dynasty they could have had, as mentioned earlier, is ruined.
The Mahomes Chiefs
Which brings us to the Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City Chiefs.
A young quarterback. The most talented one we’ve possibly ever seen, and a Super Bowl in only his second year as a starter.
Except now the Chiefs are struggling, and everyone is wondering what’s going wrong.
Let me tell you what’s going wrong.
Nothing. Nothing is wrong.
Well, that’s not particularly true. Their defense is atrocious.
But this isn’t out of the ordinary.
Ever since the Brady and Belichick led Patriots became a super power, NFL fans and pundits have been desperately trying to find the next great dynasty that will just roll over everyone and win multiple Super Bowls.
Nobody has stopped to consider that maybe the Brady/Belichick Patriots are the anomaly.
Sure, there have been great dynasties in the past like the Steel Curtain, the Montana Niners and the Cowboys a few times, but for the past 25 years, the formula of NFL teams are exactly the same.
Two or three years of being a truly legitimate Super Bowl contender, and then a lot of years of being a good team but not really a true contender.
I’m a Seahawks fan, but I’m unbiased.
If Russell Wilson was healthy, the Hawks would likely be 4-3 right now instead of 2-5.
They still wouldn’t be Super Bowl contenders.
Statistically, it is much more likely that they will not get back to another Super Bowl under Russell Wilson instead of righting the ship and becoming another dynasty.
Hell, even the Brady/Belichick led Patriots went an entire decade without a Super Bowl.
The Seahawks did not waste their chance at a dynasty, and the Chiefs aren’t throwing theirs away.
They are doing exactly what every team except the Patriots has done for a quarter of a century, and what the Patriots did was not a normal thing.
