There has been so much focus on the Marquez Valdes-Scantling drop that would have given the Chiefs the lead late in the fourth quarter. The assumption is the Chiefs would have won if he makes that catch. Putting aside there was 1:45 left, the Eagles had 3 timeouts left, and Hurts has five 4th quarter comeback wins already on a team that rarely trailed in the fourth quarter, let’s focus more on why this happed.
Does Tyreek Hill catch this pass? You are damn right he does. Does he make that 4th and 25 catch on that incredible Mahomes throw. Yep. Most likely. But the Chiefs made a choice. They traded Hill before the 2022 season. They spend their 2022 draft loading up on defense and drafting Skyy Moore. They then let JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman go before the 2023 season.
So the team KC chose to field had a much better defense and much weaker WR core. That led to the Eagles to put up only 21 points against them. Go back in time and keep those WRs, you get a more potent offense but continue to have significant problems with a weak defense.
So, does Hill catch that ball? Yep, 99%. But, in that same what if, the Eagles could easily have put up 35 points on a weaker KC defense making that late game catch not matter.
In the end, the 2023 version of two great teams played. One kept their incredible WRs to compliment their electric QB. One did not. One made half time adjustments, executed the big plays at the right time, created the red zone turnovers, and won the game. The other had major issues with dropped passes and poorly run routes that cost them the game.
It’s a dumb narrative. When the Patriots went undefeated and lost in the Superbowl, the Pats were the “better” team. Still lost. The 2010 Chargers were ranked 1st in Defense and Offense and missed the playoffs and were arguably the best best in the league. An L is an L.
I think the biggest problem with the narrative is that the Chiefs lost
Embarrassing post bro
I didn’t read your post, but I want to say stuff that may or may not be relevant here.
Look, I hate the dumb eagles more than anyone. But even I was getting annoyed with SVP and the gang with their nonstop implications that the Chiefs lost the game more than the Eagles won.
Why the hell are you trying to get Devontae Smith to say they got lucky with MVS’ drop? What’s the guy supposed to say? He did his job and made the big play when his team needed it. Ask him about that.
I downvote any post that uses the n-word.
The Chiefs have scored 0 points in 6 second half quarters in a row. How many passes have these WRs dropped? 100+? Cause thats abysmal no matter how bad the WRs are.
The better team almost always wins. The Chiefs lost partially because of that dropped ball but that dropped ball is a reflection of who the Chiefs are right now and isn’t the first dropped ball that resulted in an L. They were better overall when they won the SuperBowl but it was because their offence couldn’t be stopped. To sacrifice that Offence was not worth it just to gain a solid defence. Why? Because the Chiefs aren’t a powerhouse offence (still a good offence) and they have WR who crumble in the big moments at the end of the games.
The only spot I see the Chiefs arguably having an advantage over the Eagles is at QB but that is negated when you have bunk WRs.
The only issue I have had with “the better team” is that so many things that happened weren’t by chance. It was officiating. The weather was horrid, but equally bad for each team.
The drops matter some. The team chose to roll with that receiver corp. It’s not bad luck or something, it was built this way.
But……the drops aren’t the biggest reason they lost….the red zone turnovers were. Were they bad luck? No. They were solid plays made by the Eagles defense.
To me though….all the talk of who is the better team after the game is as pointless as power rankings.
Nothing definitive comes from it. It’s just nonsense that gets everyone talking.
Including me. Here and now. Sigh.
Soft post
Years into my fandom I try hard to remember that the narratives are so, so much larger than the game itself. They exist because there’s a whole industry out there.
The thing that happened happened on the football field in 60 minutes of playtime. What does it mean? That football team A beat football team B on day X.
There is so much statistical noise in football. And the ball is shaped funny, ya know?
You’re not the better team in that game if you stack up more mistakes than points. All the debate over who is the better team outside of gameday is just a circlejerk.
Bro y’all won. Who gives a shit what the “narrative” is. You’re 9-1 we are 7-3, we both are almost guaranteed going to the post season… this game’s narrative doesn’t mean shit.
2023 Eagles = 2022 Vikings
bad post
You think the 2023 Chiefs are a better football team than the the 2023 Eagles?