Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 844 Sweeping the List
The 2018 NFL season is coming to an end, with only one final showdown left.

Super Bowl.

The NFC's second-seeded Los Angeles Rams and the AFC's first-seeded Kansas City Chiefs both advanced after a bloody battle and withstood the test. The "Half-Time Super Bowl" in the eleventh week of the regular season successfully evolved into the "Decisive Battle at the Forbidden City" in the last game of the season, which easily ignited passion and became the focus.

Discussions surrounding the ultimate Super Bowl showdown have already begun; however, before officially entering the Super Bowl analysis and predictions, league professionals will temporarily shift their focus away from the two focus teams and give some attention to the other thirty teams in the league and present awards.

Maybe the wild-card games and divisional games were disappointing, and maybe the final focus of the season was still on the four teams in the conference finals, but looking back at the regular season, the highlights of the season are still far more than that. The perseverance of veterans and the shining of new stars, the persistence of traditional powerhouses and the rise of up-and-coming teams, make up the excitement of the season.

Without a doubt, this was a legendary season with an all-around brilliant offense.

The Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, four teams occupy the top four seats in the league's offensive group. They not only swept the top two seeds in their respective conferences in the regular season, but also advanced to the final conference finals together in the playoffs. Their strong performance continued from the regular season to the playoffs.

In sharp contrast is the defensive team.

The Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans are the top four defensive teams in the league. The Tennessee Titans didn't even qualify for the playoffs, and the other three teams' performances in the playoffs were disappointing and they were eliminated early.

The famous saying that offense wins games and defense wins championships does not seem to work this season; instead, the passing-first and offense-first mentality that the league has been working hard to promote for ratings is sweeping the league, fundamentally changing the league's trend of holding high the banner of offense.

Moreover, after experiencing a quarterback slump last season, the quarterbacks this season have been remarkable across the board. Although there is a lack of dominant performances like those of Manning and Rogers, the three generations of quarterbacks have all achieved achievements worth mentioning.

Veteran quarterbacks led by Brady and Brees once again proved that they are still as good as ever.

Mesozoic quarterbacks such as Roethlisberger, Rivers, Matt Ryan, Rodgers, Luck, Cousins, etc. are becoming the mainstay, among which Rivers and Luck's new vitality deserve special mention.

With Goff, Mahomes, Watson, Prescott, and Jackson who emerged out of nowhere, the future of the league's quarterbacks is bright.

Let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend.

Perhaps there is a lack of an absolute leader among quarterbacks who can unify the team, but the lively scene of their overall rise presents a prosperous scene.

The more important part is that the competition among wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs has made the league deeply aware that stars are not just quarterbacks.

Among them, star running backs play a crucial role this season. Especially after the Pittsburgh Steelers' top running back Bell's strike, the entire league's focus on running backs has been pushed to an unprecedented level, and the running backs have also realized this and ushered in an all-out outbreak.

Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys, Barkley of the New York Giants, Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams, Peterson of the Washington Redskins, Henry of the Tennessee Titans, and McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers all performed well and played different roles in their respective positions.

Not to mention Levi, who subverted the entire league's perception. He put on an epic top performance for the second consecutive season, and it lasted from the regular season to the playoffs. His outstanding performance in turning the tide on the stage of the AFC Finals attracted the attention of the entire league to running backs.

All these factors were reflected in the regular season rankings.

The 2018 All-American First Team/Second Team selections are out.

The Kansas City Chiefs' offensive team, which has written countless legendary battles this season, is the biggest highlight. Mahomes, Levy, Kelce and Hill, plus offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz, together occupy five seats on the All-American First Team, which is a beautiful sight.

Among them, Mahomes emerged out of nowhere. Not only was he selected to the All-American First Team along with Brees, but he also occupied a main seat in the All-American Second Team, so that all other quarterbacks were eclipsed and failed to be selected.

Including Goff of the Los Angeles Rams and Brady of the New England Patriots.

It can also be seen from the side that Mahomes' performance this season has been highly recognized.

The same goes for Levi, who firmly occupied the main position of the All-American First Team and was on par with Los Angeles Rams' Gurley, so that other outstanding running backs were not even selected.

Barkley and Elliott were both selected to the All-American Second Team, while McCaffrey was selected to the All-American Second Team for his dual threat of running and catching. At the libero position, not every team has a position that can play both as a running back and a wide receiver.

In addition, Chris Jones of the defensive team was selected to the All-American Second Team for the first time in his career due to his outstanding performance, becoming the only player in the defensive team to be selected to the All-American Second Team.

Although only one player from the defensive team was selected, it can still be seen from the side that the Kansas City Chiefs' weak defensive team has many highlights this season.

Finally, the Kansas City Chiefs had a total of six players nominated for the All-American First Team/Second Team, surpassing the New Orleans Saints who had a total of five players nominated, leading the team's list of nominated players and becoming the biggest winner of this season.

Looking back to the start of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs, as the defending champions, were surrounded by crises and difficulties. The doubts and confusion left after they topped the league as a dark horse last season have erupted in the new season. However, the team has now fought back with an unparalleled perfect performance, and even without mentioning their playoff performance, it is still convincing.

If the All-American First Team/Second Team is recognition from professionals, then the Pro Bowl is recognition from the fans.

Throughout the entire season, the Kansas City Chiefs seemed to... attract a lot of haters, with doubts and contempt, provocations and attacks throughout. Any slight disturbance could cause a wave of enthusiasm on social networks, so that people always regarded the Kansas City Chiefs as "newcomers" and "dark horses" and did not give them real respect.

Even if we continue to win, there will still be constant doubts.

For fans, traditional powerhouses such as the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints are still extremely popular and have a large number of fans outside of their home cities.

However, public opinion and traffic on social networks are one-sided and deceptive. We still need to wait for the announcement of the Pro Bowl roster to prove how popular the Kansas City Chiefs are in other cities in North America.

So, outside of Kansas City, can this brand new team that has disrupted the league's structure become a North American franchise like the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos? Or will it be like the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles, unable to break through the city barriers and become a strong franchise?

(End of this chapter)