MIKE BURKE

Allegany Communications Sports

So … quite a game, eh? Yikes!

Nobody outside of Philadelphia saw that coming. Not necessarily the winning team, but the severity of the beating the Eagles put on the Kansas City Chiefs. The final score of 40-22 just didn’t cut it for someone who hadn’t watched the game and had no idea of the degree to which the Eagles crushed the Chiefs.

Aside from the Eagles being dominant on the very first series of the game, what caught my attention first was Fox Sports analyst Tom Brady pooh-poohing the first three penalties called by the officials. Not that I disagreed with him, but Tom Brady, who, at the end of the night, ended up being the happiest man in the world, playing high and mighty on officials in a game that Patrick Mahomes was playing in? Such rich irony in that dynamic.

Not that Brady whined for much longer about the officials, because it soon didn’t matter what the officials called, or did not call, because Sunday night’s royal arse-kicking was the most thorough arse-kicking I can remember seeing in this game since the Los Angeles Raiders tarred the favored Washington Redskins in No. 18; or since the Baltimore Ravens humiliated the New York Giants in No. 35 … or even since the Ravens were doing the same thing to the San Francisco 49ers in No. 47 before the lights mysteriously went out in the Superdome, but nowhere else in New Orleans.

That came to mind Sunday night after it had become quite clear by halftime that the Eagles were going to beat the Chiefs like they owed them money; but then common sense prevailed upon the realization that not even the NFL would try to pull the same stunt just 12 years later in the very same building just to salvage TV ratings (or whatever else, now). Taylor Swift, after all, was already in the building.

Truthfully, this Super Bowl reminded me more of the Ravens’ win over the Giants in 35, because the Giants had no quarterback to speak of in Kerry Collins. Of course, neither did the Ravens in Trent Dilfer, but the Eagles defense on Sunday night made the latest GOAT (ack!) Patrick Mahomes look like Kerry Collins, and though Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was the MVP of No. 35, Dilfer was the guy who was sent to Disney, just as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was on Monday, because Disney didn’t want anything to do with Ray Lewis.

Actually, that’s not fair to Jalen Hurts, because he was and is spectacular and is a very worthy game MVP and a great quarterback overall. Yet the truth is, the Eagles’ four-man rush provided by Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Jordan Davis and Jalyx Hunt, and defensive coordinator Vince Fangio were the story of the game.

The Eagles defense produced 6 sacks and 16 quarterback pressures without blitzing once the entire game. Repeat: The Eagles did not blitz once during the entire game, yet they completely dominated Mahomes and the Chiefs offensive line, who did not have a chance for the entire game.

The Chiefs lived on the edge for the entire season, and in the biggest game of the year, there was no unnecessary help or any edge for them to hang on to.

Needless to say, Kansas City, one of the nicest cities in America, while having the best barbecue in America, is a very quiet city right now. Not that any of us have anything against the city of Kansas City or, for that matter, the Chiefs, but it’s tough losing the big game when everybody in the world has been told that this is the greatest team of all time.

I know. I lived in the Washington area when the Redskins, then the so-called greatest team of all time, were humbled by the Raiders in No. 18, and the expressions on the faces, the nothing behind the eyes of most people who lived in the most powerful city in the world remains powerful to this day.

There is no such thing as the greatest team of all time in any sport, but most particularly the NFL, because the rules of that game and the greedy wishes and whims of those on 345 Park Avenue change every five minutes.

In retrospect, the Chiefs didn’t have a chance on Sunday – on the field or in the big picture; and that, in itself, is rich in irony.

Or maybe not.

Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow.

Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT