Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 729 The season ends
In the 2018 season, the regular season has come to an end and the strong teams are ready.

Let’s talk about something off topic first, the “dispute over the deputy monitor.”

Last season, the team's legendary quarterback Carson Palmer announced his retirement and the Arizona Cardinals entered a comprehensive rebuilding phase.

At that time, many people said that Palmer was not a very good quarterback. He only led the team into the playoffs a few times in Arizona over the years, but his performance in the playoffs was always weak. He was often criticized for "retiring", "forget about the Hall of Fame" and "it's just a good start for the Cardinals".

But soon, people realized how difficult reconstruction was; at the same time, they also realized how outstanding and important the mediocre quarterback they called "just so-so" was.

The Arizona Cardinals only had three wins and 13 losses this season, and they were far ahead in the competition for the second-place finisher, winning the spot without any suspense.

Meanwhile, it's not just the Arizona Cardinals that are struggling.

The San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, and New York Jets have fallen into a slump for different reasons, and their record of four wins and twelve losses is also shameful.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not far behind, but in some ways even more shocking.

Before the season opened, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were both considered strong contenders for the playoffs, but ended up falling to such a state; the New York Giants had more to blame after experiencing the quarterback turmoil last season, as they failed to wake up last season and continued to sink this season.

For a moment, I didn't know whether I should lament that the Jacksonville Jaguars' fall from the AFC finals was more surprising, or I should be shocked that the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants fell apart much faster than expected.

However, every family has its own problems, and every team has its own troubles.

The regular season is over and the offseason for these teams has begun early. Team managers and even top management should be busy now.

However, even these teams have their sights set on the playoffs.

Which players are performing well, which teams may have a clearance sale, which coaches can be their own saviors, should they patch up or overthrow and rebuild, and how should the free market and the draft be balanced?

Part of the answer lies in the final battle of the playoffs.

Bustling with people, attracting everyone's attention——

First, the League of Nations.

The League of Nations has always been a place where many players compete with each other, with new faces and a new structure every year, making it difficult to predict.

This year was no exception. The fierce competition lasted until the last week, and the teams that successfully broke through all fought hard.

No. 1 seed, NFC South champion, New Orleans Saints, 13 wins and 3 losses.

The second seed, NFC West champion, Los Angeles Rams, 13 wins and 3 losses.

No. 3 seed, NFC North champion, Chicago Bears, 12 wins and 4 losses.

The fourth seed, NFC East champion, Dallas Cowboys, 10 wins and 6 losses.

Wild card.

The fifth seed, second in the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks, have ten wins and six losses.

The sixth seed, second in the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles, have nine wins and seven losses.

It can be seen from the record that the situation is terrible. Except for the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams who have the same record and are on par with each other, the other teams are only one win apart.

The fundamental reason is that other teams that unfortunately failed to cross the finish line also performed well. The boundary between strong teams and weak teams is not clear. Every team that advanced to the playoffs stumbled across the line after losing two layers of skin in the tearing and pulling of competitors.

The National League is worthy of being called the National League. In the midst of chaos, there is a story behind each qualifying team.

The Los Angeles Rams, who were leading the league at the beginning of the season, also encountered strong opposition. The New Orleans Saints, led by Sean Payton and Drew Brees, showed their maturity and snatched the No. 1 seed.

The Los Angeles Rams, who swept the field in the first half of the season, revealed some flaws in the second half. It is a pity to miss the home-field advantage of the No. 1 seed, but more importantly, it has laid hidden dangers for their playoff prospects.

Of course, this is just nitpicking and a relative shortcoming. There is no doubt that after entering the playoffs, the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints are still the strongest contenders for the NFC championship.

However, other teams should not be underestimated.

The Seattle Seahawks, who fought their way out of the tough competition of their division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, who also crawled out of the dead pile in the NFC East, are all killers.

Among them, the most noteworthy is undoubtedly the Philadelphia Eagles, the runner-up of last season's Super Bowl. They put in a top-notch performance in the final battle stage and presented fans with a powerful clash that will go down in history and is still unforgettable.

This offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles uniform group is facing a happy trouble——

How should they handle the two quarterbacks, Wentz and Foles?

In the end, the Philadelphia Eagles handed in a perfect answer. They gave Foles a brand new contract and successfully kept Foles in the team as Wentz's backup.

It's a win-win situation.

Because Foles could have gone to other teams as the starting quarterback, he received many olive branches during the offseason; but Foles stayed.

When the media asked why, Fowles gave a series of answers, including a very important point, "The game between me and Levi is not over yet. We both have our own battles and look forward to competing at the top again."

Later facts proved that the Philadelphia Eagles' move saved their season.

In the first and second weeks of the season, Wentz was not ready to return, and Foles continued to serve as the starting quarterback, winning one and losing one in two games; Wentz returned in the third week, and the cornerstone quarterback position of the Philadelphia Eagles still belongs to the third-year quarterback.

However, after returning from injury, Wentz seemed to have lost his magic and was not as magical as last season's MVP. His performance was always struggling, and he led the team to a record of only five wins and six losses, which was really disappointing.

As the entire league was in a stalemate over whether the Philadelphia Eagles should continue to start Wentz, in the fourteenth week, Wentz suffered a back injury and was once again ruled out for the season, ending the debate in a dramatic way.

Subsequently, Foles took over the starting duties.

And, they performed magic once again, winning all three weeks, pulling the Philadelphia Eagles back from the brink and catching the last train to the playoffs at the last moment.

The record of nine wins and seven losses is very ugly; but as long as they enter the playoffs, it is enough, because everything will be overturned and rewritten in the playoffs.

Start from scratch.

The point is that Foles once again saved the Philadelphia Eagles, which earned him the honor of "Saint Nick" and is undoubtedly the most talked-about story of the season.

However, compared to "Saint Nick", the most exciting story in the National League this season is about someone else.

Chicago Bears.

Cinderella of the year, dark horse of the year, surprise of the year.

In other words, the Chicago Bears are this year's Kansas City Chiefs.

(End of this chapter)