As Mahomes and Josh Allen rise, Rodgers and Brady could retire
Updated Wednesday, January 26, 2022
LLANO, Texas — As one who for months bashed the National Football League for an inferior product (specifically, failing to correct inept officiating and to cope with a rampaging pandemic), I’m struggling with writer’s block as I reflect on the divisional playoffs. Have we ever seen such a sublime weekend of football? Four games tied in the fourth quarter, with three underdogs winning. If there’s anyone I never want to be, it’s Pollyanna, but suddenly I can’t help myself.
In the grandest of finales, the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills scored four touchdowns in two minutes of see-sawing action that went to overtime, following a game-tying 49-yard field goal by KC’s Harrison Butker. The Chiefs had the good fortune of winning the coin toss to get first drive in OT, and they cashed, with Travis Kelce in the end zone for an 8-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes.
The only criticism I can muster is that Josh Allen should have gotten his chance to match. The Chiefs’ coach, Andy Reid, agreed with his adversary, Sean McDermott, that a rule change is needed. So the Bills continue to wait for their first Super Bowl championship in six decades of trying very hard.
I doubt they have to wait many more years. It’s hard to discern essential difference between Mahomes and Allen, and at some point luck will side with the Bills, whose defense is superior. The difference in Sunday night’s 42-36 decision appeared to be coaching.
Clock management seems the overarching theme of this football season, though perhaps I have too much of a Dallas perspective. Sean McDermott was not very interested in burning the final 13 seconds when his Bills had the lead in the fourth quarter. The Bills, like the Green Bay Packers, put too little thought into special teams, which is why their seasons are done.
The performances of Mahomes and Allen were historically extraordinary. And stunningly similar. Mahomes, who’s 26 years old, had 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 378 yards passing, 69 running. Allen, who’s 25, had 4 TDs, 0 picks, 329 yards passing, 68 running. You want QBR? Mahomes 96.0, Allen 90.3. Mahomes gets the edge, but it’s slight, and he has the more dynamic supporting cast and the more thoughtful coaching.
It wasn’t just numbers, it was style. They both can throw 70 yards, and if they weren’t quarterbacks, they could be their team’s best running back. Mahomes is 6-3, 230 pounds. Allen is 6-5, 237.
The concern is that these young masters, who are not even approaching their prime, will make all other NFL quarterbacks seem irrelevant. Dan Orlovsky, former Detroit Lions backup who’s now an ESPN analyst, did not raise many eyebrows when he said: “If you don’t have a quarterback who can look like Mahomes and Allen, I feel like you don’t have a shot.”
Fortunately the league has a couple of other young gunslingers who this season posted stat lines comparable to those of Mahomes/Allen. Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Justin Herbert of the LA Chargers are as physically imposing as Mahomes and Allen. And Burrow got a taste of postseason glory Saturday as his team upset the AFC’s No. 1 seed, Tennessee.
And wouldn’t you know it, a boneheaded coaching decision contributed to Cincy’s 19-16 triumph.
Mike Vrabel, shoo-in for Coach of the Year, made a costly call after the Bengals committed a penalty on a Tennessee PAT that put the home team ahead 7-6. Vrabel could have accepted the penalty on the ensuing kickoff. But he did the analytical thing, went for the 2-point conversion from the 1-yard line, and it failed. A point comes off the board, and momentum is stopped.
The kicking game took on inflated significance in those weekend games. The anything-but-special teams of the Packers ended their season. It was bye week and bye-bye. The lackluster play of Most Valuable Quarterback Aaron Rodgers left fans wondering if he should take his talents elsewhere, be it Denver or Hollywood. Rodgers spent much of the offseason seeking employment as a game-show host, but Hollywood felt he was too self-obsessed for the job, which is basically how the football world views him.
Rodgers’ 11-10 playoff record casts more doubt on his leadership value. You can see teammates rally to Mahomes, Allen and Burrow, if not as much to the soft-spoken Justin Herbert. Some Hall of Fame quarterbacks led effectively without much fire – Joe Montana, Bart Starr, Bob Griese – while the GOAT, Tom Brady, is demonstrative and effectively volatile. Rodgers is reassuringly calm, but he doesn’t generate much energy; he’s too cool for that and perhaps too self-centered.
Brady and Rodgers have dominated their sport for years, but both said they’re considering retirement at ages 44 and 38, respectively. Maybe they see themselves being overshadowed. Maybe they can’t be happy if excluded from MVP discussion.
And by the way, let’s stop slamming quarterbacks who are playing with debilitating injuries. Jimmy Garoppolo will lead the San Francisco 49ers into Sunday’s NFC title game with a strained tendon and fractured right thumb. His throwing hand is held together, literally, by tape and splints. Of course his grip is affected. Of course the lack of grip leads to the occasional interception. But what he lacks in grip he compensates with grit. There’s no analytics on that, but I think it’s significant that Aaron Rodgers spent more time discussing his toe than Jimmy G spent on his thumb and shoulder.
