It's tough for any fan outside of New England to watch the Patriots make a Super Bowl run year after year. But for Jets fans, it's much more personal than that and, dare we say, even offensive?! But here we are again, only this year it's worse, so much worse, than last year when the Eagles doused any hopes of another Lombardi Trophy in Foxboro. This season the Patriots defeated the Rams 13-3 in a game that was heavy on defense and light on offense. Even the best online sportsbook out there had this year’s Super Bowl total in the mid to upper 50's. Yet, only 16 combined points were scored.
Even those who predicted that the lofty numbers being bandied about were optimistic and that the offenses would be held largely in check, could never have dreamed that there would be no passing touchdowns on either side and only one rushing touchdown in the entire game. If someone even remotely attempts to boast that they saw it coming, tell them to go ahead and try to sell someone else that bridge in Brooklyn.
However, there was one bettor who reportedly plunked down $250 on a prop bet that the Rams would score exactly three points in the entire game. What must have looked like an absurd wager before the game looked quite a bit different when Greg Zuerlein's 48-yard field goal went wide left in the waning moments of the Super Bowl 53. You have to believe that Mr. Longshot was celebrating the prospect of cashing his 400-1 ticket, to the tune of $100,000, with plenty of buddies looking forward to a big night of partying with their suddenly stuffed amigo. But imagine the gnashing of teeth and the nauseous pit in his stomach had the Rams kicker connected and that hundred dime prop suddenly went – pop! Long odds render big paydays but you’ve got to have the guts to play them because as the saying goes, scared money don’t make money.
Now that the Patriots have won their sixth Super Bowl under Tom Brady's reign of terror, the question we must ask ourselves, as Jets' fans, is how much longer? When can we finally start evening the slate? Well, Sam Darnold looks like the real deal but as long as the Evil Genius and Tom Terrific continue to team up and wreak havoc on the rest of the league, the AFC East title will maintain residency in Foxboro and the Jets will have to shoot for a wildcard spot.
However, nothing lasts forever and eventually, Brady will begin to act his age. It's kind of a proven thing, right? Eventually, we all get old and can no longer do what we used to do when we were younger and in shape. Unfortunately, Tom Brady, under the care of his voodoo doctor Alex Guerrero, seems immune to the laws of nature. And even if Brady hangs around another two or three years, do we really believe he will maintain his preternatural abilities and his status as one of the NFL’s elite passers? That would be a neat trick if Brady is still lighting up the scoreboard at age 45 but that seems virtually impossible even for Tom Terrific.
The thinking here is that Brady's skills will wane markedly over the next two seasons and it will get to the point where he will recognize that bowing out is better than getting thrown out. Think Peyton Manning in his last year when his skills had deserted him and every pass he threw looked labored. Despite all of that, the Denver Broncos defense was so dominant that they won the Super Bowl despite his declining skills under center. Brady has no such prodigious defense at his disposal and unless the Patriots get a massive influx of talent on that side of the ball, Brady will have to manufacture wins by virtue of the offense he creates. Whenever the Brady decline does ultimately occur, it will be all sweet and no bitter for Jets fans.