The Super Bowl was held on February 2nd, 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs coming out victorious against the San Francisco 49ers with the final score of 31-20. This is a recap of this year’s season.
Pre-Season
Before the season started, there were numerous things that happened, most importantly free-agency and trades which allow teams to get new players to improve certain positions. The most notable signings are:
Philadelphia Eagles
Nick Foles, the former backup quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles (who led them to a Super Bowl Win against the most dominant team in the NFL, The New England Patriots). Foles went from Philadelphia to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens were able to get Mark Ingram Jr who was a former star for the New Orleans Saints, leading the team in rushing yards up to 2018. Ingram signed with the Baltimore Ravens from Free Agency after contract disputes with New Orleans.
The Ravens were also able to get Earl Thomas II who was one of the founding members of the Legion of Boom in Seattle (the most dominant defense in the NFL at the time). He left Seattle after a season-ending injury in Arizona during a time where tensions were high between Pete Carroll (the Head Coach) and himself. This allowed Thomas to enter the free agency market which led Thomas to sign with the Baltimore Ravens who have a history of great defenses and safeties, most notably, Ed Reed.
New York Giants
Odell Beckham Jr, who was once considered one of the best wide-receivers and brought the one-handed catch into the spotlight. Beckham was traded from the New York Giants to the Cleveland Browns, reuniting him with his college teammate, Jarvis Landry.
Houston Texans
Tyrann Mathieu who was with the Texans for a one year contract (to see if he was healthy) signed with Kansas City Chiefs instead of resigning with the Texans due to better job-security compared to the offer that the Texans were giving.
The Texans also lost Jadeveon Clowney, a star defensive-lineman who was traded to the Seattle Seahawks due to the Texans not wanting to franchise tag him two years in a row.
Seattle Seahawks
Frank Clark, who was a great defensive-lineman for the Seattle Seahawks. He was traded due to Seattle needing to pay contracts to their got traded for a first-round pick in the 2019 draft to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Miami Dolphins
Ryan Tannehill which was the starting quarterback for the struggling Dolphins. He was traded due to the Dolphins needing smaller contracts whilst they were rebuilding. Tannehill was eventually traded to the Tennessee Titans and became their starting quarterback, leading the Titans to the AFC Conference Championship.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown who was considered to be one of the best wide-receivers who played the game. Brown is no longer in the league due to a history of confrontations and disobedience. Brown was then traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders after having a dispute with the quarterback of the Steelers, Ben Rothlesberger
National Football Conference (NFC)
NFC East
The NFC East started the season with both the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins not having that big of a chance of entering the playoffs. The main competition in the NFC East was between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys took an early lead with a 3-0 start whilst the Eagles started with a 1-2 start. At Week 14, both teams were tied at 6-7 with the Eagles losing the previous week to the Miami Dolphins who were the second worst team in the NFL this season. The deciding game between the two teams was during Week 16 as both teams were tied 7-7 going into the game. However, the Eagles pulled out a win and won their next game against the New York Giants to take the #4 seed in the NFC playoffs.
NFC North
The Packers entered the 2019 season with the expectation to perform extremely well, and they did; the Packers started the season with a 3-0 record, then lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, and the San Francisco 49ers to end their season with a 12-3 record, clinching themselves a first-round bye. The Minnesota Vikings weren’t expected to even make the playoffs due to Kirk Cousins’ record in big, primetime games (he has never won a MNF game in his career). Entering Week 11 the Vikings were 8-3 and were the clear favourites to be one of the wildcards for the NFC with the Rams eventually dropping out of the race in Week 15 when they lost to the Dallas Cowboys, and then lost to the San Francisco 49ers the following week.
NFC South
The New Orleans Saints were one of the Super Bowl contenders entering the 2019 season, who would have made it the previous year if it weren’t for a missed penalty on a play. They started the season with a 2-1 start losing to the Los Angeles Rams (the team in the previous Super Bowl), Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers. During that season, Drew Brees was injured with a thumb injury after facing Aaron Donald from the Rams. Despite this, the Saints were able to make the playoffs with the #3 seed.
NFC West
The Niners entered the season with the football world wondering whether or not Jimmy Garrapollo, the quarterback coming back from an ACL injury would lead the Niners into the playoffs. That question would be answered with an 8-0 undefeated record going into Week 10, losing to the Seattle Seahawks that week in an overtime loss (to a field goal). In Week 17, they faced the Seattle Seahawks yet again winning the game by inches (literally) as the refs ruled Seattle down inches out of the endzone. They would end the season with a 13-3 record earning a first round bye. The Los Angeles Rams weren’t performing as well as they were the year prior, losing to the Buccaneers, Niners (twice), Steelers, Ravens, and Cowboys to end the season with a winning record of just 9-7. The Seattle Seahawks entered the season with the hopes to make the playoffs and to make it past where they were the previous year (lost in the Wild Card round). The Hawks lost to the Saints, Ravens, Rams, Cardinals, and Niners, ending the season with an 11-5 record in the #5 seed for the NFC playoffs despite having a better record than the 9-7 Eagles.
American Football Conference (AFC)
AFC East
The New England Patriots entered the season as Super Bowl favourites as they had just won against the Los Angeles Rams the year prior and were going to claim the Lombardi trophy once again to continue the Brady-Belichick Era. The Patriots were one of two teams to have an 8-0 record in the season, eventually losing to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9. The New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins both were not contenders whatsoever to claim the Wild Card or the AFC East Playoff spot. The Buffalo Bills were interesting this season with a final record of 10-6 clinching themselves a Wild Card spot in the process and heading into the playoffs. The New England Patriots would have claimed a first round bye however they lost to the Miami Dolphins in Week 17, giving their first round bye to the Kansas City Chiefs.
AFC North
Entering the season, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers were expected to make it into the playoffs. In reality, the Cleveland Browns ended the season with a 6-10 record with many critics citing Baker Mayfield as the reason even though the previous year they all praised Baker for possibly ending the drought for the Browns. The Steelers on the other hand lost Ben Roethlisberger, their starting QB due to an elbow injury in Week 2 causing them to replace Roethlisberger with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. At the end of Week 17 they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, leaving the victor in this division: the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens weren’t expected to do well this season for one reason: Lamar Jackson and his Runningback-esque style of playing Quarterback. Jackson surprised the sports world with the first Ravens game ending with a score of 59-10. While they did lose to the Chiefs and Browns in Weeks 3 and 4, they ended the season with a 14-2 season, not losing a single game from October to December.
AFC South
The very first game for the Houston Texans did not go very well for them as they lost to the New Orleans Saints. The same couldn’t be said for the Tennessee Titans as they won 43-13 against the Cleveland Browns with Quarterback Marcus Mariota. Entering Week 6, the Texans were 3-2, having lost to the Panthers in Week 4, and the Titans were 2-3, having lost to the Bills, Jaguars, and Colts. However in Week 6 the Titans did something that no fan would have thought: replace Mariota with the newly acquired Ryan Tannehill at the start of the 3rd Quarter. From that point on, Tannehill was the Titans’ starting Quarterback while Deshaun Watson was making plays spinning out of sacks and throwing touchdown passes while (essentially) being half-blind. The Titans would go on, 9-7 being their final record (7-3 since Tannehill being starting QB) and would clinch the wildcard spot while the Texans ended the season with a 10-6 record, getting the #4 seed in the playoffs.
AFC West
The Kansas City Chiefs were the only team in the AFC West to even consider to get into the playoffs (though the Raiders could have gotten a Wild Card spot if a very specific set of circumstances were to happen). They started the season with a perfect 4-0 record losing to the Colts and Texans in back-to-back weeks. They then went on to win against the Broncos, Vikings, and Chargers in Weeks 7, 9, and 11. However in Week 7 Patrick Mahomes, the reigning MVP and star Quarterback dislocated his patella and would miss at least 3 weeks. Even with Mahomes returning in Week 10 they still lost to the Tennessee Titans 32-35 and in the weeks he was missing the Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers. From Week 11 onwards the Chiefs were undefeated, going from a 7-4 record (Week 11) to a 12-4 record at the end of the season allowing them to earn the #2 seed in the AFC.
Wild Card Round
Houston Texans vs. Buffalo Bills
The first game of the 2019 NFL Postseason was in NRG Stadium in Houston Texans in which the Bills scored 16 unanswered points in the first half. The Texans then came back scoring 19 points to tie with the Bills leading the first Wild-Card game into Overtime. During overtime, both teams punted their ball which allowed Houston to sustain a drive that lasted 9 plays for 73 yards allowing them to get 3 points off of a game-winning Field Goal.
New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans
At the end of the first half, the teams scores were extremely close: 14 Titans to 13 Patriots. This would be the last offensive score of the game as both teams punted 9 times (combined) in the second half. In the final minute of the game, Titans punter, Brett Kern, pinned the Patriots at their 1-yard line. This allowed Tom Brady to throw to Mohammed Sanu which would get batted into the air, allowing Logan Ryan, a former New England player to intercept the ball and run 9 yards for the touchdown making the final score 20-13 (after a failed 2 point conversion).
New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings
At the beginning of the game, the clear favourite for most analysts around the league was for New Orleans to win seeing as how the Vikings quarterback, Kirk Cousins, hasn’t won a ‘big-time’ game. This Wild-Card game would mark the third time he was in the playoffs (the last two times ending in losses to Seattle and Green Bay). At the end of the first half, the Vikings were leading with the score at 13-10. In the second half the Vikings would score a touchdown (and an extra point) and the Saints would score a touchdown, extra point, and a field goal to tie the game up, sending this game into overtime. In overtime Cousins led the Vikings to a 9 play, 75-yard drive ending with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks
This game was a battle between the two-most injured teams in the league. The Eagles had 5 players from their practice squad on the team while Seattle was missing a large amount of their offense and some defensive members. And after Jadeveon Clowney knocked Eagles quarterback, Carson Wentz out of the game with a concussion in the first quarter, the Eagles had to go with veteran backup quarterback, Josh McCown. Seattle led the score at half, 10-3. The Eagles weren’t able to get a single touchdown in the game due to Josh McCown getting stopped on fourth down in two occasions and the Eagles inability to reach the endzone. Seattle would score a touchdown while the Eagles would kick two field goals in the second half with the final score being 17-9.
Divisional Playoffs
San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings
At the end of the first half the score was 14-10 with the Niners leading the score. In the second half the Niners scored an additional 13 points while the Vikings couldn’t score anything with interceptions, penalties, and a muffed punt with the Niners going to the NFC Conference Championship with the score at 27-10.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans
The Ravens were the clear favourite in this game as Lamar Jackson, the MVP of this season, led the Ravens at home against the Titans who were led by Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. In the first half, the Titans were leading, 14-6 after an intercepted pass from Lamar Jackson (bounced off the hands of their Tight-End) and the Titans stopping the Ravens on a 4th-1. In the second half, the Titans got their first touchdown score with a jump pass from Derrick Henry to Corey Davis while the Ravens were unable to get the endzone after Lamar had an intercepted ball, and a forced fumble whilst getting sacked. The final score was 28-12 with the Titans heading to the AFC Conference Championship.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans
In the first quarter the Texans were up 21-0 after a blocked punt and muffed punt return. In the second quarter, the Chiefs decided that enough was enough and so they went to score 25 unanswered points with a failed fake punt attempt, forced fumble, and a three and out. This would make the first half score 28-24 with the Chiefs making a comeback. After the Chiefs got moving, they steamrolled the Texans allowing only 7 points (touchdown + extra point) in the entire second half while they themselves scored 23 points making the final score 51-31 with the Chiefs going to the AFC Conference Championship to face the Tennessee Titans.
Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks
At the end of the first half the Packers were up 21-3 with the Seahawks seeming to get blown-out. With an injured backfield and team in-general, the Seahawks would rally back to make the final score 28-23 but it was too little too late as the Packers won the game, heading to the NFC Conference Championship.
Conference Championships
AFC Conference Championships: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans
This was the first AFC Championship game to not feature Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Ben Roethlisberger as a starting quarterback since 2002. At the beginning of the game the score was 10-0 with the Chiefs then responding with a touchdown with 51 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Chiefs then went to score two touchdowns compared to the Titans one which made the score 21-17 in the Chiefs favour. The second half would have the Chiefs score another two touchdowns to the Titans one touchdown which would lead the Chiefs to their first SuperBowl in 50 years and the second time in a row that they would come back from a 10-0 deficit in a game.
NFC Conference Championship: San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers
In the regular season, when these teams matched up, the Packers lost 8-37 which led many personalities around the league to believe that the Niners would win once again, and those personalities were absolutely right. In the first half the score was 27-0 with the Packers not scoring anything because of two punts, a fumbled snap, and an interception. The Packers were able to score a touchdown in the third quarter which was matched by the Niners by their own touchdown. The Packers would then go on to score 13 more points to the Niners 3, but it was just too little too late with the Niners with the franchise’s seventh trip to the SuperBowl.
Super Bowl LIV
San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs in Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida
This was the first time in history that the Chiefs and 49ers faced each other in the Super Bowl with their last regular season meeting ending with the Chiefs winning 38-27 in Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri. Although over the league’s history the Niner lead the series 7-6. In the first half the game was tied 10-10 with the Niners almost scoring a touchdown (or an extra field goal) however a pass-interference penalty was called against George Kittle after a 42-yard pass. This would mark the fourth time a Super Bowl has been tied at halftime.
The Niners started the second half off with a field goal and as the Chiefs started to get moving again after the half, Patrick Mahomes threw an interception at the Niners’ 42-yard line. Jimmy Garoppolo then led the Niners to score a touchdown making the score 20-10 with 2:35 left in the third quarter. On the Chiefs next drive Mahomes through another interception after a ball bounced off of Tyreek Hill, the intended receiver. The Chiefs defense then forced a punt out of the Niners, allowing Mahomes to work his magic. Mahomes threw a pass which was challenged and ruled incomplete, but them Mahomes called his own play: 2-3 Jet Chip Wasp which would see the longest pass in the Super Bowl: a 44 yard pass which would set up Mahomes for a touchdown with the score at 24-20 with under three minutes remaining in the game. Garoppolo threw three incomplete passes and was then sacked on fourth down by Frank Clark which would create a turnover on downs. The Chiefs would then score a 38-yard touchdown with Damian Williams. And when the Niners started their next drive, Garoppolo was intercepted by Kendall Fuller which would allow the Chiefs to run out the clock and secure their first SuperBowl in 50 years.
Patrick Mahomes won the SuperBowl MVP and joined Tom Brady and Terry Bradshaw as quarterbacks to win the MVP despite throwing multiple interceptions and was the youngest player to ever win the award at 24 years and 138 days. And with this win, the Chiefs became the first NFL team to come back from three 10-point deficits in three playoff games in the same season. This also completed a 10-year cycle of each Missouri-based team winning a title (St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 World Series, Kansas City Royals in 2015, and the St. Louis Blues winning the Stanley Cup in 2019).
Article by Eli Umar of Cabin John Middle School
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons