Philly Shines Chiefs Stumble and Rodgers Leaves
The Key for the week of February 10, 2025
The Dynasty That Wasn’t
With Ben still celebrating his adoptive home town’s big win in the Super Bowl, the focus inevitably turns to the Kansas City Chiefs—did we hype them up too much? Is their Super Bowl streak over? The game wasn’t even as close as the 40-22 final, as the Eagles gave the league a blueprint on how to stop the Chiefs-pressure the quarterback. The Eagles front office invested in personnel after the close Super Bowl loss of two years ago, and the flameout of a season last year, and the investment paid off. While Saquon Barkley was mostly held in check Sunday night, his 2,000+ yard season helped get them there and the Eagles defense did the rest, with six sacks and 16 pressures and two interceptions in the first half that set the tone for the game. Now, Philly is planning a Super Bowl parade that, appropriate for the City of Brotherly Love, will be held on Valentine’s Day.
How About an Eagles Repeat?
That might not be as easy as Philly fans might think, thanks to their offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, staying in New Orleans after the game to become the new head coach of the Saints. Switching coordinators isn’t new to the Eagles—since Nick Sirianni was hired as head coach in 2021, there have been three different offensive coordinators. As for the way-too-early oddsmakers, the Eagles still stand as favorites to win it all again next year with the Ravens, Bills, Chiefs and Lions the next favorites, according to BetMGM. The Bengals, by the way, are the seventh favorite, behind the 49ers.
Somehow, Aaron Rodgers Finds a Way…
Not too many stories can take some of the spotlight off the Big Game on Super Bowl Sunday, but Aaron Rodgers found a way to do so. Fox Sports first broke the story during their game coverage that the future Hall of Fame quarterback and the New York Jets apparently will be parting ways in 2025. Rodgers met with the new Jets brass, including new head coach Aaron Glenn, last week, where Rodgers was told, sources say, that the Jets are moving on without him. Rodgers has a total of six wins in his two years in New York, including his Achilles tear in his first game at MetLife. He has one year left on his deal, a nonguaranteed $37.5 million with $23,5 million to count against the cap. His departure means Tyrod Taylor, the 35-year-old journeyman, is the only quarterback on the Jets roster. Sam Darnold, anyone???
Ben’s Best Bet..
With the NFL closing shop (at least on the field), let’s turn our attention to Ben’s next favorite pastime, college basketball. Auburn’s loss this weekend tosses the futures betting a bit up in the air, but the Tigers are still narrow favorites to win the tournament according to BetMGM with Duke right behind. Houston, Alabama and Florida, which beat Auburn, are the next favorites, with St. John’s and Rick Pitino sneaking up. Don’t overlook the Johnnies in the tournament, but Duke (despite THEIR loss this weekend) will go into the post season tested and ready. The Blue Devils won’t surprise a lot of people if they’re back in the Final Four.