Player of the Game: Patrick Mahomes, QB-KC
Look, I get the arguments that Mahomes was bad for three quarters, though I think that overstates things. He was mainly bad for only a 20 minute span from the start fo the second half through to his second interception. In that period he was missing throws, throwing bad interceptions and behind receivers. It was bad. THe rest of the game? Magical. In the first half he routinely escaped from constant pressure. In those last few drives he was pure magic. Maybe one or two other players in the league have the presence to backtrack away from a near sack and still fling the ball 60 yards to Hill. Mshomes 'bad' game ends up being a net positive game against a top defense. That is special. He is special. This is close to being his league/
Runner-Up: Chris Jones, DT-KC
To me, if you were to give MVP to someone not named Mahomes, it was Chris Jones, the biggest question-mark heading into the game. He should not have been healthy. Instead, he was a monster, probably helping him secure quite a big bag in the offseason. He was dominant against the run. He pressure Garoppolo into his first interception, deflected two passes (including that critical deflection on 2nd and 5 when Kittle was wide open for a first down), and pushed Garoppolo back into a sack that clinched the game. Just a monster game.
Goat of the Game: Kyle Shanahan
Honestly, my issues with Shanahan aren't the late game playcalling. He called plays that got guys open, but was felled by Chris Jones tipping a pass that was a sure completion, a bad Garoppolo mis-throw, and a throw pushed by pressure. No, what Shanahan did that was so incredibly short-sighted and stupid was throw away a posession at the end of the 1st half. I have never seen such afraid coaching before. Actually, let me be clear - I have, and usually we pillory those coahces (unless it is Belichick doing it in Week 17 against Miami in a game that would cost them a bye). That was cowardly, showed no faith in his offense, and given the guy they were playing made absolutely no sense.
Runner-Up: San Francisco 49ers O-Line
They opened up some holes early, but generally got pushed around way too much. Garoppolo was pressured often, and then in teh second half they acted as if they had never seen a blitz before. Spagnuolo's defensive play-calling was on point, but it was shockign to see a line that just abused a good Packers' and VIkings' lines in the last two games look so suspect.
Team Performance of the Game: Kansas City Skill Position Guys
Once again, all the players came to play. Williams got low-key MVP buzz for his great game, breaking or juking past a lot of tackles, and scoring the TD to win and then ice the game. Tyreek Hill had a truly quiet 100 yards. Sammy Watkins had a great 98 and abused Richard Sherman at various points. Kelce was great over hte middle. All of them were excellent. Mahomes didn't even need Hardman or Drops McGee (Robinson) because the top guys all balled out.
Runner-Up: San Francisco 49ers defensive line
In defeat the 49ers still showed just how good a rush unit they have. Nick Bosa was unblockable, with a game that was reminiscent of Demarcus Ware in Super Bowl 50, with seven hits. Buckner and Armstead both had strong games. Even in the last few drives they kept up the pressure, pushing Mahomes 10 yards back on the key 3rd and 15, forcing a quick throw on what would be the Kelce DPI, and even in that last drive getting a few rushes on Mahomes. They were truly great all year and nearly pulled it off.
Team Laydown of the Game: San Francisco Special Teams
It's hard to remember a time when a return unit was worse than the 49ers kick return game in this one. They weren't bad for most of the season, but Richie James and the blocking unit were so consistently awful getting returns between the 15 and 20 yard line. Their punter also had an average game, with a terrible short punt that had the Chiefs start their game-winning drive at the 35. It was a game where nearly every unit played well, so we have to dig a bit to see one that played poorly.
Runner-Up: San Francisco 49ers DBs
The 49ers pass defense was incredible all year, but as this game slowly revealed, it was more about their dominant front than their defensive backs. Sherman allowed completions on each pass thrown his way - granted msot he tackled well for short games. Mosely was burned a few times by Watkins and Hill. Tartt had one of his lesser games. Overall the front end kept up their end of the bargain, but the back end was awful.
Surprise of the Game: Kansas City Chiefs Blitz package
It took a while for Spags to let loose, but man did he to take back the game. He had generally left his blitz-happy tendencies away, leaning on Clark and the rest to really deal blows, but to throw Garoppolo off he brought the house, complex 5-man and 6-man pressures that the 49ers OL had no idea how to handle. Garoppolo didn't either. At his peak in New York, he was one of the more creative blitzers in the league, and he brought that out in full force.
Runner-Up: Damien Williams, rushing monster
Damien Williams is a nice player, but I never knew how shfity he was. He slithered through little holes, juked past people with ease on the edge. It was great to watch. I don't think he deserved MVP, mainly because ~30% of his offense and his second TD came on a fairly meaningless TD late - one wehre in theory he would have been better off going down when he broke free.
Disappointment of the Game: Lack of Hill vs. Sherman
I wanted to see how Sherman would handle the fastest, most dynamic threat on KC, but the Chiefs mostly played Hill away from Sherman. THe few times they were together, Hill caught a couple catches (advantage Hill) but Sherman wrapped him up quickly (advantage Sherman). It was a fine matchup, but in the end didn't reach the high-profile matchup we all wanted. Sherman got roasted once - and nicely took his lumps online for it - but we never got the great matchup we could have.
Runner-Up: Slow pace
The game went too fast man. I get the 49ers like the run (at least early), and both teams were generally successful at moving the chains and not throwing incompletions (the things that stop the clock and/or cause stoppages), but for what is the last game of the year, when the sense of dread of 'the season is over' sets in about halfway, we didn;'t need it to end so quickly man...
Storyline that will be Beat into the Ground: The rise of Mahomes
Mahomes is special. That much si obvious. The line that got repeated roughly 800 times is that he is the youngest player to win an MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. Nice stat. He has had the best start to a career of any QB ever. He is the alpha and beta reasons the Chiefs are where they are, and why they'll be among the favorites year in and year out. Why am I saying all this? Well, asides from being 2-3 years older, all of that was basically true of Aaron Rodgers after 2011 - just reverse the Super Bowl coming before the insane MVP season. Rodgers has still not made it back. Rodgers is an eternally great player, but he still hasn't made it back. Mahomes should, Mahomes is the most talented player right now, but we aren't so far away from bim being another Rodgers - and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Storyline that should (ALSO) be Beat into the Ground: The rest of KC
That all said, the reason why they may actually win another Super Bowl or two? Well, because the rest of that team is pretty damn good too. The offensive skill position players and great, and young. Kelce is the oldest at 30, but Hill adn Watkins are both 26 and under. Hardman is 24. Williams in 25. The defense gelled under Spagnuolo and also has some good young pieces. The Chiefs are set to be a great team for the next few years because they have Mahomes, but also because they have a bunhc of other great players.
Look, I get the arguments that Mahomes was bad for three quarters, though I think that overstates things. He was mainly bad for only a 20 minute span from the start fo the second half through to his second interception. In that period he was missing throws, throwing bad interceptions and behind receivers. It was bad. THe rest of the game? Magical. In the first half he routinely escaped from constant pressure. In those last few drives he was pure magic. Maybe one or two other players in the league have the presence to backtrack away from a near sack and still fling the ball 60 yards to Hill. Mshomes 'bad' game ends up being a net positive game against a top defense. That is special. He is special. This is close to being his league/
Runner-Up: Chris Jones, DT-KC
To me, if you were to give MVP to someone not named Mahomes, it was Chris Jones, the biggest question-mark heading into the game. He should not have been healthy. Instead, he was a monster, probably helping him secure quite a big bag in the offseason. He was dominant against the run. He pressure Garoppolo into his first interception, deflected two passes (including that critical deflection on 2nd and 5 when Kittle was wide open for a first down), and pushed Garoppolo back into a sack that clinched the game. Just a monster game.
Goat of the Game: Kyle Shanahan
Honestly, my issues with Shanahan aren't the late game playcalling. He called plays that got guys open, but was felled by Chris Jones tipping a pass that was a sure completion, a bad Garoppolo mis-throw, and a throw pushed by pressure. No, what Shanahan did that was so incredibly short-sighted and stupid was throw away a posession at the end of the 1st half. I have never seen such afraid coaching before. Actually, let me be clear - I have, and usually we pillory those coahces (unless it is Belichick doing it in Week 17 against Miami in a game that would cost them a bye). That was cowardly, showed no faith in his offense, and given the guy they were playing made absolutely no sense.
Runner-Up: San Francisco 49ers O-Line
They opened up some holes early, but generally got pushed around way too much. Garoppolo was pressured often, and then in teh second half they acted as if they had never seen a blitz before. Spagnuolo's defensive play-calling was on point, but it was shockign to see a line that just abused a good Packers' and VIkings' lines in the last two games look so suspect.
Team Performance of the Game: Kansas City Skill Position Guys
Once again, all the players came to play. Williams got low-key MVP buzz for his great game, breaking or juking past a lot of tackles, and scoring the TD to win and then ice the game. Tyreek Hill had a truly quiet 100 yards. Sammy Watkins had a great 98 and abused Richard Sherman at various points. Kelce was great over hte middle. All of them were excellent. Mahomes didn't even need Hardman or Drops McGee (Robinson) because the top guys all balled out.
Runner-Up: San Francisco 49ers defensive line
In defeat the 49ers still showed just how good a rush unit they have. Nick Bosa was unblockable, with a game that was reminiscent of Demarcus Ware in Super Bowl 50, with seven hits. Buckner and Armstead both had strong games. Even in the last few drives they kept up the pressure, pushing Mahomes 10 yards back on the key 3rd and 15, forcing a quick throw on what would be the Kelce DPI, and even in that last drive getting a few rushes on Mahomes. They were truly great all year and nearly pulled it off.
Team Laydown of the Game: San Francisco Special Teams
It's hard to remember a time when a return unit was worse than the 49ers kick return game in this one. They weren't bad for most of the season, but Richie James and the blocking unit were so consistently awful getting returns between the 15 and 20 yard line. Their punter also had an average game, with a terrible short punt that had the Chiefs start their game-winning drive at the 35. It was a game where nearly every unit played well, so we have to dig a bit to see one that played poorly.
Runner-Up: San Francisco 49ers DBs
The 49ers pass defense was incredible all year, but as this game slowly revealed, it was more about their dominant front than their defensive backs. Sherman allowed completions on each pass thrown his way - granted msot he tackled well for short games. Mosely was burned a few times by Watkins and Hill. Tartt had one of his lesser games. Overall the front end kept up their end of the bargain, but the back end was awful.
Surprise of the Game: Kansas City Chiefs Blitz package
It took a while for Spags to let loose, but man did he to take back the game. He had generally left his blitz-happy tendencies away, leaning on Clark and the rest to really deal blows, but to throw Garoppolo off he brought the house, complex 5-man and 6-man pressures that the 49ers OL had no idea how to handle. Garoppolo didn't either. At his peak in New York, he was one of the more creative blitzers in the league, and he brought that out in full force.
Runner-Up: Damien Williams, rushing monster
Damien Williams is a nice player, but I never knew how shfity he was. He slithered through little holes, juked past people with ease on the edge. It was great to watch. I don't think he deserved MVP, mainly because ~30% of his offense and his second TD came on a fairly meaningless TD late - one wehre in theory he would have been better off going down when he broke free.
Disappointment of the Game: Lack of Hill vs. Sherman
I wanted to see how Sherman would handle the fastest, most dynamic threat on KC, but the Chiefs mostly played Hill away from Sherman. THe few times they were together, Hill caught a couple catches (advantage Hill) but Sherman wrapped him up quickly (advantage Sherman). It was a fine matchup, but in the end didn't reach the high-profile matchup we all wanted. Sherman got roasted once - and nicely took his lumps online for it - but we never got the great matchup we could have.
Runner-Up: Slow pace
The game went too fast man. I get the 49ers like the run (at least early), and both teams were generally successful at moving the chains and not throwing incompletions (the things that stop the clock and/or cause stoppages), but for what is the last game of the year, when the sense of dread of 'the season is over' sets in about halfway, we didn;'t need it to end so quickly man...
Storyline that will be Beat into the Ground: The rise of Mahomes
Mahomes is special. That much si obvious. The line that got repeated roughly 800 times is that he is the youngest player to win an MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. Nice stat. He has had the best start to a career of any QB ever. He is the alpha and beta reasons the Chiefs are where they are, and why they'll be among the favorites year in and year out. Why am I saying all this? Well, asides from being 2-3 years older, all of that was basically true of Aaron Rodgers after 2011 - just reverse the Super Bowl coming before the insane MVP season. Rodgers has still not made it back. Rodgers is an eternally great player, but he still hasn't made it back. Mahomes should, Mahomes is the most talented player right now, but we aren't so far away from bim being another Rodgers - and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Storyline that should (ALSO) be Beat into the Ground: The rest of KC
That all said, the reason why they may actually win another Super Bowl or two? Well, because the rest of that team is pretty damn good too. The offensive skill position players and great, and young. Kelce is the oldest at 30, but Hill adn Watkins are both 26 and under. Hardman is 24. Williams in 25. The defense gelled under Spagnuolo and also has some good young pieces. The Chiefs are set to be a great team for the next few years because they have Mahomes, but also because they have a bunhc of other great players.
