Much of the football world was disappointed with Sunday night’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.
The game, which ended 13-3 in favor of the Patriots, was a game where the only player who developed a consistent positive rhythm was the MVP, Julian Edelman, as well as Brandin Cooks, who finished with eight receptions for 120 yards but only had two receptions for 25 yards until 6:05 left in the third quarter. Both quarterbacks seemed to struggle mightily.
The two teams facing off in the most popular sporting event of the year were ranked 19th (LA) and 21st (NE) on defense in terms of yards allowed on the season. However, the low scoring game was pegged a “defensive battle” at the end, because the two offenses ranked first (NE) and second (LA) in total yards per game this year only mustered 407 and 260 yards, respectively.
Admittedly, each team’s defense did play better than their ranking shows. With Aaron Donald at the helm, the Rams defensive line got in Tom Brady’s face for most of the game, causing plenty of uncharacteristic passes, while the Patriots defensive line tortured Jared Goff all night long, getting 12 quarterback hits.
One exciting offensive factor that lacked in the game was quarterback mobility. With the defensive fronts getting so much pressure, plays ended quickly because Goff and Brady were forced to get rid of the ball or take sacks. Neither quarterback displayed the scrambling ability that a more athletic signal caller would have.
That element could have made this game significantly better, as a dual-threat quarterback like Josh Allen could have used his legs to escape the pressure during the game. The two quarterbacks in the Super Bowl Sunday combined for less than zero rushing yards: Brady had two rushes, each for negative one yards.
Many of Allen’s highlights this past season were plays with his legs, and there is no better place to give your team some momentum than the biggest stage in football. In only 12 games this season, Allen averaged 8.4 rushing attempts per game for 52.6 yards, which comes out to an impressive 7.1 yards per attempt. In today’s NFL, athleticism is becoming more and more valuable, and Allen has a great combination of arm and leg ability.
In a Super Bowl where the Patriots secondary was doing a good job of covering the Rams receivers downfield, and Todd Gurley was unable to get much going, a mobile quarterback like Allen could have changed the game. If the first year product out of Wyoming had been at the helm of either team on Sunday, the playing experience (and the fan experience) would have been significantly better.
