Eagles’ cornerback, James Bradberry, is SU’s new favorite player. After the game, in front of his locker, he answered questions for 20 minutes about the holding call on him in the game’s last 2 minutes that basically determined the final outcome. Did not make excuses, did not rant about the refs, admitted it was a penalty. How refreshing. In this era of it’s always someone else’s fault and “not true” (not to worry – not going there here), here is a professional athlete who stood tall and said what he did was in fact a penalty. Good for him. Be a man, be accountable.

Now, for the fan, you hate to have the game come down to that call but consider the following:

1. The Eagles burned a timeout earlier in the 2nd half as Hurts was letting the play clock run down to zero on almost every play. It finally cost him and having that timeout in the end might have given the Eagles another 40 seconds or changed how the Chiefs went about trying to score at the end of the game.
2. SU says games are won and lost much earlier in the game – in every sport. Yes, the focus is always on the end and that is when heroes are made – and goats. But Hurts had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and the Chiefs had a huge punt return that was almost like a turnover. Those were actually bigger plays in this game and really cost the Eagles.
3. The grass field was a disaster. SU was not surprised. We had Kyler Murray on our fantasy team this year and I watched many a game in that stadium on the Red Zone channel. Players were slipping and sliding on that field all year. Now, I am sure that the NFL put a new field in for this game but no doubt grass fields that are not actually growing into the field are not as good. It was not a good look for the NFL for the cameras to show the piles of cleats on the sidelines as players tried to figure out the best approach. There were so many plays with running backs falling down in the hole or defenders slipping just as the ball was reaching the receiver. It must be something with the humidity (or lack thereof) in Phoenix and having a stadium that is often enclosed.
4. Andy Reid always has some great new plays with 2 weeks to prepare. His goal line plays with the man in motion who changes direction right at the snap resulted in 2 easy touchdowns. He probably did not know the grass would be so bad but the defenders had no chance to regain their footing on that field on those plays.
5. Good news for the NFL: in a few years with global climate change, stadiums up north will become viable destinations for Super Bowls. No doubt Chicago and Green Bay will be in the mix in another few years.
6. Jalen Hurts is not a complainer but his last Hail Mary pass at the end of the game showed just how much his shoulder must be hurting and hampering his throwing. It didn’t go anywhere. His touch was good all game but he was not throwing with any velocity. Credit to him for gutting it out and continuing to run the ball where his shoulder was exposed for more hits.

And now, the winner for guessing the score for this year’s Super Bowl is… no one! No one had the Chiefs winning so the backpack and water bottle go back into inventory for another year.

You can say the Eagles were oh so close, and that they will be back but we all know how hard it is to get to, and win a Super Bowl. The Bengals fell just short this year and Buffalo continues to come up short. On the other hand, Hurts is an elite QB and that certainly helps. They have to be the favorite to win the NFC this coming season.

Huge win for Northwestern over Purdue yesterday in Evanston in a great game. The Wildcats are having an excellent season (despite 2 losses to a disappointing Michigan team) and are positioned for a reasonably high seeding in the NCAAs. SU says Purdue is overrated and will not be in the Final Four this year. Edey is a freak but he does not have enough of a supporting cast to go far in the Tournament. The Big Ten is so mediocre, and having a great record in this Conference is just not what it was in other years. Northwestern plays with a lot of energy and is fundamentally sound. A great win for that program.

Super Bowl thoughts and comments? Were the Eagles robbed? The floor is open for your comments.