Super Bowl XLVIII Afterword: Broncos vs Seahawks

Jermaine Kearse spun out of four tackles on his way to a touchdown
in the third quarter of Seattle's dominating Super Bowl XLVIII victory.

Cory Puffett

We are two days removed from Super Bowl Sunday and I am still struggling to understand how Seattle dominated this game so thoroughly. The Broncos took away the Beast, Marshawn Lynch. Denver was penalized five fewer times for 60 fewer yards.

The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl championships, though. They dominated in all facets of the game.

Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin combined for just 64 yards on 24 carries. But Seattle still outgained Denver by more than 100 yards on the ground because Russell Wilson and Percy Harvin combined for 71 yards on just five carries.

Russell Wilson only attempted 25 passes. Peyton Manning completed 34. But Wilson connected on 72-percent of his attempts for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Percy Harvin was electric on special teams, but Seattle stuck with what got them here in the passing game. Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse combined for 131 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions. Almost as impressive, those nine catches came on just ten targets.

The Seahawks’ defense only sacked Peyton Manning once, and it only went for a one-yard loss. But the veteran quarterback was hurried often and even scrambled from the pocket at times, which is very atypical.

That pressure from Seattle’s defensive line forced two interceptions. One was returned for a touchdown by Malcolm Smith, who won Super Bowl MVP honors for that, his fumble recovery, a pass deflection and 10 tackles.

Demaryius Thomas had 13 grabs on 18 targets for 118 yards and a touchdown. But most of his yards were after the catch because Seattle gave no room for Denver’s receivers to run downfield. Quite a few of those yards also came on a catch and run that ended in a fumble forced by Byron Maxwell.

Percy Harvin had just one kick return for 52 yards all season entering Sunday. He took his only kick return of Super Bowl XLVIII 87 yards to the house. Jon Ryan punted only once, and it was a booming 45-yarder. Britton Colquitt punted twice for Denver and his longest was just 31 yards.

We can talk about whether or not this loss affects Peyton Manning’s legacy. We can talk about what this loss means for Denver, who may lose key offensive pieces like Knowshon Moreno and Eric Decker to free agency this offseason.

But this is the Super Bowl, and when a team wins this game they deserve to have the focus placed on them. The Seattle Seahawks are world champions for the first time in franchise history and they beat a former AFC West rival to capture it. This is the city’s first championship since the SuperSonics beat the Washington Bullets in the 1979 NBA Finals.

Let’s talk about how, for the fourth time in five tries, the league’s leading offense failed to beat the league’s leading defense when the two teams met on this stage. This was the first time such a matchup occurred since 1991. NFL rules were supposed to favor offense much more than it did then. But Seattle’s defense still dominated Denver’s record-setting offense.

And how about Seattle’s own offense? They did pretty damn well for themselves. How does 6.2 yards per play sound? They picked up 2.2 more yards per pass attempt than Denver and 2.8 more yards per rush. They ran nine fewer plays than Denver but still outgained them by 35 total yards on offense.

Don’t forget the new storyline that most analysts didn’t even think about before the game. Is this a Dynasty? Will the Seahawks be to the 2010s what the New England Patriots were to the 2000s? They certainly could be in the short term, though it will be difficult to keep a lot of their pieces once their rookie contracts are up.

Remember that this was the youngest team in the NFL this season at 26 years and some change on average. Seattle is the fourth youngest victor in Super Bowl history.

This was one of the most dominating performances in Super Bowl history and the first true blowout since Jon Gruden’s Buccaneers dismantled the Oakland Raiders more than ten years ago. The fan in me aches for Peyton Manning. I know he wanted this championship and I wanted it for him.

But I pride myself on being able to set aside my fanaticism about Peyton Manning and the Washington Redskins when the time is right. And right now I am just glad I got to witness such a great moment in NFL history.

In 1987, the Washington Redskins crushed the Denver Broncos. It was the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history until two years later when the San Francisco 49ers obliterated almost the same Broncos team. 26 years removed, nobody remembers that the Redskins and Broncos offenses were almost identical in every way. They don’t remember that Denver’s defense was supposed to be vastly superior to Washington’s. We just remember that Denver blew a 10-point lead and lost 42-10.

We may not think so now, but by the time Super Bowl LX (60) rolls around many of us will have forgotten that Denver’s offense wasn’t just great, it was historically great. We won’t even remember how the NFL dodged a bullet with the weather. But we will always remember the way Seattle dominated every aspect of the game and walked away with the city’s first championship.

Final Score:

Seattle Seahawks – 43

Denver Broncos – 8

MVP: LB Malcolm Smith (10 Tack, FR, INT, TD)

Super Bowl XLVII Afterword: 49ers vs Ravens

Jim Harbaugh may have had a legitimate gripe over a missed
holding call late in the 4th quarter, but it fell on deaf ears.
Photo credit to Times-Standard.

Saturday, I gave the offensive edge in this game to San Francisco, I labeled the coaching edge as ‘even,’ and I gave Baltimore the edge in both defense and special teams. A lot of people who commented on that write-up must have lost some serious coin yesterday.

They said the 49ers had the best three linebackers in the NFL, but I didn’t see them pressuring Flacco or containing Dennis Pitta or keeping Ray Rice from breaking out on screens. One even said Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson is the best safety tandem in the league. Funny how they looked like Denver on Jacoby Jones’s long touchdown reception late in the second quarter.

Via Madden, I predicted the 49ers to win. I had been leaning to San Francisco for most of the week and then toward Baltimore as I finished preparing to write my preview, so I have no idea who I would have picked without using Madden.

The first half of the game was pretty lame. By that, I just mean that we haven’t had a blowout Super Bowl in quite a while and I’m hoping we’ll never have one again. The past several years have been great, so when the Ravens went up 21-3, and then led 28-6 after a second-half kickoff return touchdown, I would have been ready to turn the TV off if I were an average fan.

As it was, the power outage in the Superdome a couple minutes later was the most exciting thing that had happened up to that point.

The power outage seemed to allow San Francisco to regroup, because during a 4:10 period shortly after the outage, the 49ers scored 17 points. But the Ravens can’t blame the stadium malfunction for letting San Francisco back in the game. The first play once the game resumed was a failed 3^rd & 13 attempt, which forced the 49ers to punt. The Ravens didn’t have to let the power outage affect the game.

San Francisco came all the way back, but failed on a two-point conversion try that would have tied the game. If they had made it, they never would have had to try for the touchdown on their final possession, a field goal could have tied the game and sent it to overtime.

Instead, a failed 4^th & goal effectively ended the game. Baltimore won it’s second Lombardi Trophy while handing San Francisco their first loss on the league’s biggest stage.

I am still not ready to jump on the Joe Flacco “elite” bandwagon – I’ll explain on The All-Sports Crew on Wednesday – but he had a phenomenal postseason. Despite only leading two field-goal drives in the second half, he added three touchdowns and no turnovers to his tally, bringing his postseason total to 11 touchdowns and no interceptions and earning Super Bowl MVP in the process. Not bad for four games considering his only threw 22 touchdowns in 16 regular season games.

I give a lot of credit to John Harbaugh. I’ve felt for a long time that Jim is the better head coach, but we saw some things on special teams that we never would have seen in a Super Bowl without John trying them. They failed by just two yards on a fake field goal in the first half but they ran a kick back and the way they took the safety late in the game was genius. Defense is the one thing that could keep the Ravens from getting back here soon.

The 49ers, meanwhile, will definitely be back. They have a terrific team and they aren’t likely to lose too many key players. What they may lose, they can get back through the draft, especially since they ought to get a decent pick for Alex Smith.

Thanks for reading my blog all season. I’ve enjoyed maintaining it and I will make some changes to make it even better in 2013. To stay updated on my blog as new posts are published throughout the offseason, ‘like’ my blog’s Facebook page and follow me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

Super Bowl XLVII: Puff’s Pick

It is that time again. Those of you who have read my blog in the past know that I have used Madden to make my Super Bowl prediction every year since Super Bowl XXXV, so this is my 13^th year. I am 9-3 to date and I thought it would be fun, before I get to today’s prediction, to look back on the past twelve years.

Super Bowl	My Result	Real Result	My Record	1st Half Team
SB XXXV	NYG-42, BAL-38	BAL-34, NYG-7	0-1	Giants
SB XXXVI	NE-21, StL-17	NE-20, StL-17	1-1	Patriots
SB XXXVII	TB-13, OAK-10	TB-48, OAK-21	2-1	Raiders
SB XXXVIII	NE-24, CAR-23	NE-32, CAR-29	3-1	Panthers
SB XXXIX	NE-42, PHI-31	NE-24, PHI-24	4-1	Patriots
SB XL	PIT-17, SEA-14	PIT-21, SEA-10	5-1	Steelers
SB XLI	IND-35, CHI-27	IND-29, CHI-17	6-1	Colts
SB XLII	NE-27, NYG-21	NYG-17, NE-14	6-2	Giants
SB XLIII	PIT-14, ARI-12	PIT-27, ARI-23	7-2	Cardinals
SB XLIV	NO-37, IND-31	NO-31, IND-17	8-2	Colts
SB XLV	GB-31, PIT-30	GB-31, PIT-25	9-2	Packers
SB XLVI	NE-35, NYG-21	NYG-21, NE-17	9-3	Giants
SB XLVII	See Below	CBS – 6:30pm	?-?	49ers

For those who are not familiar with my method of prediction, the significance of the ‘1^st Half Team’ is that I always play the first half with the team that I want to win and the second half with the opposing team – when it comes to the Super Bowl, I have to have a rooting interest, even if I don’t like one team more than the other, I just pick one to root for.

This year, I chose the San Francisco 49ers. Yes, I backtracked on what I said just after conference championships. Ravens fans may be more annoying after a loss, but I just don’t want to see them happy, so I’ll be rooting for the 49ers even though I really don’t care which team wins.

Yesterday I previewed the game so I won’t waste your game day with anything else. ‘Like’ my blog’s Facebook page and follow me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl. Enjoy the Super Bowl and thanks so much for reading!

Puff’s Pick (via Madden NFL 13):

Baltimore Ravens – 17

San Francisco 49ers – 27

MVP: Patrick Willis

Super Bowl XLVI Recap

Wow. Is it too much to say that the sequel was better than the original?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. That might be a little bit of a stretch, but it was pretty darn close.

I won’t try to hide that I am very happy the Giants won. But I am even happier that the game was so close. I have my ties to specific teams, but I am first and foremost an NFL fan. I will be excited for the Super Bowl if my least favorite teams from each conference are in it (sorry, Eagles in the NFC and Raiders and Patriots in the AFC) as occurred in Super Bowl XXXIX. I was just as excited for that Super Bowl as I was yesterday and as I was during the Colts’ two recent Super Bowl appearances.

I can now say with much certainty that my Super Bowl predictions simply do not apply to the Giants. Of the three Super Bowls involving the Giants since I began making my predictions, those same three are the only ones I have predicted incorrectly. Nothing can be said for the Patriots, however, as they have won in every prediction game I have played since 2000 and are now 3-2 in the real deal over that span.

This is the second consecutive (and I believe second overall) year that I have correctly predicted the winning team’s score. Notice that doesn’t say winning score. I predicted the Patriots would win with 35 points, but I predicted the Giants to score 21, which they did. Last year I predicted a 31-30 Packers win and they went on to beat the Steelers 31-25.

Eli Manning, who won Super Bowl MVP honors for the second time, played exceptionally well. Tom Brady played very well, too, though I cannot bring myself to place blame entirely on the receivers for those late drops. Though Welker “makes that catch 100 times out of 100” (thank you Cris Collinsworth), there is no arguing that the pass was a bit high and made for a difficult attempted catch by Wes. Likewise, the 3rd down pass to Branch on the next play was thrown way late and gave the Giants secondary a chance to close in and force Branch into a position where the ball could only glance off his gloves.

Mario Manningham’s catch was sensational. It was a catch I have seen tens of other receivers make in much less important games, but the throw by Manning was unreal and Manningham played it beyond perfectly.

New York’s defensive line deserves a lot of credit. The Patriots got to Manning a fair amount early, but the Giants put the pressure on Brady when it mattered most, when they absolutely has to prevent him to coming through in the clutch.

The only play from this game that might outshine Manningham’s catch 25 years down the road was Bradshaw’s bizarre score with just under a minute left. I said before the play that Manning should just down the ball between the hash marks, though I was more concerned with a fumble than a touchdown. Either way, my dreaded expectation almost came to life, but Gronkowski just missed a diving effort at a tipped pass in the end zone with no time on the clock.

So again I ask, better than the original? I would never claim that, but I will say that they are too close to separate. NFL.com ranks XLII and XLVI #2 and #3 all-time, respectively. I would put them at a tie in the #2 spot, but that is one man’s opinion, and they make good points for theirs as well. You can read their take here: Super Bowl XLVI definitely ranks in top three

Thank you to everyone for reading all season. I will be writing about what some teams need to do over the offseason, but I will not be posting separately for each team this year. Instead I will just make a few points about each team’s offseason needs, in my opinion, and separate posts by division.

Let me know if there is anything I could do next season to make my posts more interesting. I love having people read my blog, but want them to feel like they are getting something out of it, too.

I hope everyone enjoyed the 2011-12 NFL season as much as I did and I look forward to the offseason and what next fall brings.

Super Bowl XLV: Analysis

February 7, 2011

After the game ended last night several thoughts were running through my mind. One was a feeling of…emptiness, perhaps. The Super Bowl is over and there won’t be any more football until August, assuming the new CBA is drawn up in time. Sure, baseball is right around the corner, but football is the more exciting of the two, and it’s much easier to write about.

The other feeling was excitement. I had just watched the most exciting Super Bowl played during my lifetime. Of course, right now, as I write this post, that feeling has slipped away and I can think of a couple Super Bowls that I would rank higher on the excitement scale. But hey, last night’s game was very exciting, everything you expect of a sport’s championship game.

But how exciting was it really? When you compare it other recent Super Bowls like the Steelers/Cardinals game or the Patriots/Rams one early last decade, this one doesn’t seem all that exciting, despite the outcome not being determined until there was less than a minute to play.

Trying to figure out the answer to that question, I looked at the stats from last night. The Packers had a +3 turnover differential. They never turned the ball over and they scored touchdowns after every Pittsburgh turnover. That didn’t help me answer my question, though. On one hand, the fact that the Steelers played such a sloppy game in terms of ball security would imply a very unexciting game. Yet the Steelers only lost by six points and had the ball with a chance to win the game as it drew to a close.

If I were to call this game the most exciting Super Bowl of my lifetime, I would have to say that last year’s game sits right there with XLV. Last year the Colts lost by 14 points to the Saints. But Indianapolis was in a very similar position as Pittsburgh was last night, down by seven late in the game with a chance to tie it and force overtime. I don’t think last year’s game ranks that high on the excitement scale, so I have to say the same for last night’s game.

But that is not to say Super Bowl XLV was not exciting, because it was. The Packers looked like they were going to run away with the game for a while and they had a 21-3 lead late in the first half. Only a late touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Hines Ward gave Steelers fans any sense of hope heading in the second half.

This game turned into one of momentum. Green Bay had the momentum early and built up a big lead, one that barely stayed intact. But going into the second half, momentum was on the Steelers side and they took advantage of it while they had it. But when Pittsburgh drew close, Green Bay responded and their offense finally came back to life.

I was a little worried about how Aaron Rodgers would perform after the Bears game two weeks ago. He played well in that game, but was forced out of his rhythm as the game moved into its latter stages and he was never able to get it back. When the Steelers started making him feel uncomfortable last night, I thought, “Here we go again.” But he stepped up, returned to form, and delivered when it was most critical that he do so. In terms of stats, I think Greg Jennings deserved to be named MVP. But because he responded at the times he had to, I agree with the decision to give Rodgers the MVP award.

I’ll conclude this post here since there isn’t much else I can analyze about the game. The Packers played well throughout. Their only poor play came on a few stalled drives in the third quarter, and when that defines your poor play, you are in an excellent position. Pittsburgh played poorly, turning the ball over about three times more than you can if you are expecting to win a game. They made a run and had about a quarter and a half of really solid play. It wasn’t enough to net them a win, however, and Green Bay won their 4th Lombardi Trophy and Aaron Rodgers became the third Packer to win Super Bowl MVP.

Final Score:
Pittsburgh Steelers – 25
Green Bay Packers – 31

Super Bowl XLV: Recap

Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX

Pittsburgh Steelers
Green Bay Packers

This game was probably the most anticipated Super Bowl since the New England Patriots attempt at perfection in Super Bowl XLII.

The Steelers entered the game with more Lombardi’s than any other NFL franchise with six. This appearance tied the Cowboys’ record for most in the Super Bowl with eight. This was also the third Super Bowl appearance for Ben Roethlisberger and the second for Mike Tomlin.

The Packers hadn’t been in the Super Bowl since 1998 when they lost to the Denver Broncos, 31-24. At that time, Brett Favre was the Packers starter under center. Today his successor, Aaron Rodgers, started in the first Super Bowl to be played after Favre’s, likely, final retirement.

The Packers won the coin toss and differed to receive in the second half. Pittsburgh wasn’t able to get anything going on their opening possession and had to punt. The game got exciting, and nerve-wracking, very quickly. Green Bay CB Tramon William muffed the punt when his own man interfered with his fair catch. The Pack dodged a bullet by recovering the ball.

On their possession, Green Bay got a free play on an offside call, but completed a pass near midfield anyway. They stalled on that set of downs, however, and it was the Packer’s turn to punt the ball away.

The Steelers had no more success on their second possession as on their first, but when they failed to pin Green Bay inside their 20, the Packers took advantage. It was a well-executed drive with Rodgers stretching the defense and finding his outlets when under pressure. The drive resulted in a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson that gave the Packers an early 7-0 lead. Rodgers was 5/6 on the drive with his one incompletion coming on a deep pass on the first play of the drive.

An illegal block in the back put the ball on the 7-yard line for the Steelers to start their ensuing drive. On the first play, a Packers defender applying pressure caught Ben Roethlisberger’s arm and his pass floated in the general direction of Mike Wallace. With no one else around, Nick Collins had an easy pick before running it back for a touchdown.

A 12-play drive for the Steelers finally put them on the board early in the second quarter when Shaun Suisham capped off the drive with a field goal. The Packers still led 14-3 and they got the ball back with the Steelers not putting up much resistance against Rodgers & Co.

That momentum didn’t carry over, however. The Packers were quickly forced to punt. With the ball back in his hands, Roethlisberger, who had been under constant duress up to that point, needed to find a way to get the ball into the end zone. Earlier in the game he had sustained shoulder and knee injuries but was confident he could still throw and run. An early penalty set the Steelers back to 1st & 20 inside the 20-yard line. The drive looked good for a while as Pittsburgh converted that first down and another, driving to near midfield. They would progress no further on that drive, however. Jarrett Bush picked off a pass Roethlisberger attempted to thread between two Packers defenders.

With another chance to extend their already comfortable lead, the Packers made quick work of the Steelers defense. They converted two first downs on their way to a 21-yard touchdown strike from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings.

With just over two minutes left in the first half, the Steelers needed a break, or at least a quick, long drive. They started at the 23-yard line. On the first play they got a big break. Roethlisberger throw a bullet that had just enough lift to get over the outstretched arms of a Packer defender and into the hands of Antwaan Randle El for a 37-yard completion. Three plays later Roethlisberger found Hines Ward for a first down on 3rd & 10. Another big completion to Ward gave the Steelers 1st & Goal from the 8. With the kind of success he was having, Roethlisberger figured to go in the same direction once more and found Ward for a touchdown deep in the end zone.

When the Packers got the ball they called a run play that ran down the clock to half time with Green Bay leading 21-10.

After Pittsburgh shifted some of the momentum their way at the end of the first half, the Packers had a chance to take it back when they got the ball to start the second half. Green Bay hurt their cause by committing two penalties for a combined 15-yard loss. Pittsburgh then caught a bit of a lucky break when a 3rd & 5 pass from Rodgers was dropped and the Packers were forced to punt.

There was a questionable call on the punt return when a facemask was called on Green Bay. There was, however, no question about the Steelers running ability as they did nothing but run all over the Packers defense on their way to another touchdown.

Scoring another big defensive stop, the Steelers got the ball back with pretty good field position. They did a good job running the ball when they tried the ground game, but Roethlisberger passed a little more on this drive and did a decent job for a while. After the Packers defense finally locked down and forced a 3rd & 13, Roethlisberger was forced to wait for a play to develop downfield. Packers linebacker Frank Zambo had more than enough time to get to him and made the sack. Shaun Suisham was forced to kick a 52-yard field goal, which he missed badly.

With excellent field position and an 18-point lead that had dwindled down to four, the Packers needed a spark to take advantage of the opportunity. They never got one, but they did move the ball down the field a little bit and were able to score a small victory by pinning the Steelers at their own 13-yard line with a punt.

The Packers defense didn’t let Pittsburgh’s offense get past their 20-yard line and the Steelers had to punt.

After a 15-yard penalty and a three-and-out by Green Bay, the Steelers got another chance with great field position. Their drive started at Green Bay’s 41-yard line. On 2nd & 2, two Packers defenders hit Rashard Mendenhall hard. One of them was Clay Matthews, who dislodged the ball. Desmond Bishop was there to pick it up.

Green Bay took advantage of this possession as they converted a few third downs and ended the drive with a 2nd & Goal touchdown pass from Rodgers to Jennings, the second touchdown hookup for the two in the game, and the Packers took a 28-17 lead early in the 4th quarter.

With that score, the Packers had notched 21 points off Pittsburgh turnovers. This ended up being the story of the game. The Packers took care of the ball, fumbling just once on the early muffed punt, but they never turned the ball over. Meanwhile, Roethlisberger threw two interceptions and Pittsburgh lost their only fumble on the Mendenhall run and Green Bay took advantage by scoring a touchdown after each of these turnovers.

At this point the Steelers were down by 11 again. Roethlisberger led his team on a fantastic drive down field. They committed a penalty that could have really hurt them, but they got past it and capped the drive off with a 25-yard touchdown to Mike Wallace. They opted to try for two, having gone 2/2 during the regular season. The play looked dead when Roethlisberger was met by a wall of green, but he found Randle El, pitched it to him, and watched his wide receiver convert the two-point try to pull to within a field goal with about 7:30 left in regulation.

Just when it looked like the Packers next drive was about to die and the Steelers would have a chance to tie or take the lead, a huge pass to Jennings over the middle on 3rd & 10 gave the Packers just the spark they were looking for. James Starks took the handoff on the next play and picked up another first down and the Packers found themselves in field goal range. Another big pass to the back shoulder of James Jones gave the Packers 1st & goal at the 8-yard line. A couple short passes later and it was third down at the 5. Good defense by the Steelers forced the Packers to send Mason Crosby out to kick the 23-yard field goal.

Down by six with 2:07 left in the 4th quarter, the Steelers would get the ball back with only one timeout and the 2-minute warning at their disposal. The Steelers weren’t going to make it easy on themselves though. Not only did Redman not go down until after the 2:00 mark had passed, but Pittsburgh was also penalized on the play. The Steelers went into a hurry-up offense and quickly went to work on advancing the ball down field. Roethlisberger’s first two passes on the drive gave the Steelers a first down and a 5-yard gain. After throwing the ball away on 2nd & 5, Roethlisberger threw another incompletion, overthrowing Mike Wallace for the second time in the game. With only 56-seconds left, the Steelers needed to convert on 4th & 5. The pass was nearly picked off, but ruled incomplete. Regardless of the call, it was clear that the drive was over and the Packers were just a few long moments from taking home the Lombardi Trophy.

Green Bay called on Aaron Rodgers to sit on the ball two times while the rest of the players began to enjoy the moment. This is the city’s 4th Super Bowl win and 13th NFL Championship.

Early on, this game looked like it would be a blowout like so many Super Bowls have been in the past. But Pittsburgh battled back as their defense played well throughout the third quarter and Roethlisberger settled into a rhythm. The Packers offense finally got things back together in the 4th quarter and did not let the Steelers ever take the lead in the game. Though close, the Packers had this game from the beginning to the end and earned a very exciting victory. It was, as many of the championships this decade have been, a very close, exciting game.

Final Score: Green Bay – 31, Pittsburgh – 25
MVP: QB Aaron Rodger, Green Bay

Hopefully, after his performance, Aaron Rodgers will no longer be considered as being in Brett Favre’s shadow. Rodgers is a household name now, and it should now because of what he has done and not because of who’s act he followed.

In other Super Bowl related news, it is quite likely that Cowboys Stadium will not be hosting another championship game any time soon. When many fans were displaced from their seating, around 400 were left with no seating to be relocated to. Most of them were forced to use the standing room only platforms where there wasn’t nearly enough room. The NFL will be refunding them triple (each person will receive $1800-$3600 for what were tickets ranging from $600-$1200), but the fans are still unhappy that they traveled all the way to North Texas to watch the game in a bar setting, something they could have done back home.

One more note: my predictions for this game were pretty accurate. I predicted Green Bay to win 31-30 and for Rodgers to be named MVP. You can see those predictions in my “Super Bowl XLV: Predictions” post.

I hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl and, as always, thanks for reading!