JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – By the end of the third quarter, they had already set a record for the most yards gained in a Super Bowl. In fact, with 1,152 yards, it was the most yards gained in any postseason game in NFL history.
The offensive records set were staggering. The most notable, perhaps, is that it’s the most points ever scored by a team that lost a Super Bowl.
It was a very entertaining Super Bowl. Still, I couldn’t help but think how different the game could have been had the Jaguars been representing the AFC.
New England’s defense was porous. They rarely got pressure on Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles. Philadelphia receivers were running open most of the day. Take nothing away from Foles or from the game plan and play-calling of Eagles head coach Doug Peterson, but the Eagles didn’t pile up 538 yards against Sacksonville.
If the Jaguars had won two weeks again in Foxborough; if they made one more play; if they had gotten one call from the officials--maybe Duuuvalllll chants would have been ringing out in the cold Minnesota air. Instead, it was a shootout for the ages.
Casual fans of football appreciate points. When it’s a track meet, Aunt Sally who only watches one or two games all year, but loves a Super Bowl party gets into it. Your weird neighbor who somehow invited himself to the party who really just wanted to see Justin Timberlake.
Hats off to the Eagles. They stood toe-to-toe with the Patriots and made a play in the fourth quarter when they needed to. Made two plays, in fact. If the Jaguars had been there, I have to think that the game is more of a 24-21 kind of game. And who knows, maybe the Jaguars are the ones holding their first-ever Lombardi Trophy, instead of the Eagles.
Maybe the Jaguars run the ball, something the Patriots had success with against the Eagles. Maybe Blake Bortles play the way that he did against the Steelers and Patriots. Maybe Calais Campbell harasses Foles and Jalen Ramsey picks off a pair of passes. Maybe they cancel school, work, everything all week in Jacksonville. Maybe Bradley Cooper and Will Smith and Julie Ertz aren’t partying. Maybe. We’ll never know.
Until next year. Maybe.