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by joe


PAFL Superbowl IX – Chicago Bears (16-2) vs Denver Broncos (15-4)

First of all – congratulations to both teams is in order, as neither team was the favorite to be the representative of their respective conferences.  That said, a fan of any one of the twelve teams that made the playoffs could have made a convincing argument as to how they had a path here, but that just makes what both of these teams accomplished all the more impressive.

HOW BOTH TEAMS GOT HERE

Chicago ended up as the #2 seed in the NFC, but they were never alone in 1st place until the last game of the regular season.  Chicago got here by having the 4th rated scoring offense to go with the 2nd rated scoring defense, giving them the 2nd best scoring differential in the league behind the LA Rams, who they beat to make this final game.  Offensively, they have one of the premier offensive lines that protects maybe the best young QB in the league in Joe Burrow, who combined with the late Dwayne Haskins Jr. to pass for a combined 37 TD’s to only 5 int’s.  Fun fact: Haskins had a QBR rating over 40 points higher behind a line that averaged a blocking rating of 8.2…made a lot easier by having WR’s such as DeAndre Hopkins, CeeDee Lamb, Tee Higgins and DJ Chark, Jr.  That said, in the the NFC championship game, the hero was RB Ronald Jones II, who was named NFC Championship MVP with his 136 yard/2 TD rushing performance out of the spread that kept the Rams back on their heels.  Defensively, the Bears used their strong DL play and excellent line backing corp to support great safeties with somewhat average CB’s, utilizing matchups and good coaching to control teams enough to out-sprint them and control games fairly decisively.  After their week 5 loss to Minnesota, the Bears haven’t looked back, currently riding a 14 game winning streak and only their division playoff win over the Eagles being by less than double digits.

Denver was the preseason favorite to win the division, and fell to the wild card round by the slimmest of losses to Carolina in Week 14.  Denver has been a scoring machine since the first game of the season, finishing 2nd in the PAFL in scoring offense behind the QB Josh Allen, who threw 42 TD’s throughout the season, to the likes of WR’s Diontae Johnson, Cole Beasley, Russell Gage, Tim Patrick and TE Darren Waller.  RB Nick Chubb pitched in nearly 1,000 yards on the ground, behind an offensive line that is very good, though not on par with that of the Bears.  Defensively, the front 7 of the Broncos is good, and their secondary is actually as good if not a bit better than that boasted by the Bears (something their GOTW write-ups weren’t able to boast).  The path the Broncos took to get here had a bit more intrigue, as their wild card win over the Browns is one of the more improbable endings you will ever see, with the kickoff going out of bounds and then Josh Allen connecting with Tim Patrick for 48 and 12 yards for the touchdown, all in the span of 34 seconds, and then needing a 4th quarter comeback over the Colts to secure the AFC Championship and get the chance to be only the 2nd franchise in win a 2nd Superbowl (and first for Denver since Superbowl II under different ownership). 

WHO’S GOING TO WIN

Both teams are similar on paper, with both enjoying good top-end QB play, the ability to both run and spread the field as needed, and possessing a defense that can get the occasional stop to stretch the lead.  If one was to read the stats, it would say to give the trophy to the Bears, as they have been on a roll for a while now, and just knocked off the top seed in the NFC and the league by a fairly healthy margin.  That said, both teams had to score upsets to get where they are, and with offenses as prolific as these teams possess, the ability to score points in a hurry allows both teams to keep the game in sight well into the 4th quarter.  Also, let’s not forget the DKS gods and the tiny gnomes they employ; the best laid plans of Mice and Men can be pushed asunder if they get the hankering to do so.  My gut says to ride the winning streak and pick the Bears (it’s my philosophy at the craps table, after all), but the improbable season the Broncos have had so far makes this a game with all the potential of being a classic.  Again, good luck to both teams!

 
 
 

 
 
 

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