With the fun parts of NFL free agency in the rear view mirror and the owners meetings ahead, let’s take some mailbag questions, shall we? This will be Part I of a two-part mailbag.
Question from @DrewSportsNews: What noteworthy trends are there among teams that win the Super Bowl and how they perform the following season? (What percentage of the time do they win fewer games, miss the playoffs, make the Super Bowl, etc.)
Well, as we all know, there has never been a “three-peat” during the Super Bowl era, so it’s hard to keep winning chips every year. Let’s go back to the start of the century:
| Year | Super Bowl winner | Next season |
| 2000 | Ravens | 10-6 (1-1 playoffs) |
| 2001 | Patri*ts | 9-7 (no playoffs) |
| 2002 | Buccaneers | 7-9 (no playoffs) |
| 2003 | Patri*ts | 14-2 (3-0 playoffs)  |
| 2004 | Patri*ts | 10-6 (1-1 playoffs) |
| 2005 | Steelers | 8-8 (no playoffs) |
| 2006 | Colts | 13-3 (0-1 playoffs) |
| 2007 | Giants | 12-4 (0-1 playoffs) |
| 2008 | Steelers | 9-7 (no playoffs) |
| 2009 | Saints | 11-5 (0-1 playoffs) |
| 2010 | Packers | 15-1 (0-1 playoffs) |
| 2011 | Giants | 9-7 (no playoffs) |
| 2012 | Ravens | 8-8 (no playoffs) |
| 2013 | Seahawks | 12-4 (2-1 playoffs) |
| 2014 | Patri*ts | 12-4 (1-1 playoffs) |
| 2015 | Broncos | 9-7 (no playoffs) |
| 2016 | Patri*ts | 13-3 (2-1 playoffs) |
| 2017 | Eagles | 9-7 (1-1 playoffs) |
| 2018 | Patri*ts | 12-4 (0-1 playoffs) |
| 2019 | Chiefs | 14-2 (2-1 playoffs) |
| 2020 | Buccaneers | 13-4 (1-1 playoffs) |
| 2021 | Rams | 5-12 (no playoffs) |
| 2022 | Chiefs | 11-6 (4-0 playoffs) |
| 2023 | Chiefs | 15-2 (2-1 playoffs) |
| 2024 | Eagles | ??? |
Since the turn of the century, we have seen the outcome of 24 teams trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions:
• Two repeated: 2004 Patri*ts and 2023 Chiefs.
• Three got back to the Super Bowl and lost: 2014 Seahawks, 2017 Patri*ts, 2024 Chiefs.
• 16 (0.667) qualified for the playoffs.
• 11 (0.458) won at least one playoff game. (8 of the last 11 teams trying to repeat have won at least one playoff game, so that’s an upward trend.)
• Only two had losing records: 2003 Buccaneers and 2022 Rams.
The 60,000-foot view is that reigning Super Bowl champs are almost always still very good the next season, but it’s really hard to get back to the Super Bowl, and win it.
Question from @skyline7284 (via Bluesky): Who do you think will be the starting defensive backs Week 1?
CB1: Quinyon Mitchell
CB2: Kelee Ringo
Slot: Cooper DeJean
S: Reed Blankenship
S: Sydney Brown
Mitchell, DeJean, and Blankenship are locks to start, of course, while Ringo will have to fend off Adoree’ Jackson (and maybe others) and I imagine the Eagles will also bring in some sort of competition for Brown.
(Also, I think DeJean will stay on the field and play outside CB on the rare occasions the Eagles are in their base defense.)
Question from @ledatru (via Threads): Does Vic Fangio like Sydney Brown? It feels like Fangio kept him off the field at all costs. Fans have speculated that it was because he was recovering from an ACL tear, but is there any truth to that?
Well, as a matter of fact, Brown was still recovering from his ACL tear to start the season. He started the season on the PUP list and missed the first five games. Having said that, it’s also concerning that as the season progressed Tristin McCollum was the first safety off the bench whenever anyone went down, and it’s not as if McCollum was crushing it when he got his opportunities.
Brown is entering his third season. He showed some legitimate promise as a rookie in 2023. He’ll be healthy for camp this year, which could help in terms of Fangio’s trust in him.
Question from @InlandCAGuy: Rank Sydney Brown, Tyler Steen, Kelee Ringo, Moro Ojomo and Jalyx Hunt in order of most likely to earn/keep a starting job.
- Jalyx Hunt
- Moro Ojomo
- Kelee Ringo
- Sydney Brown
- Tyler Steen
Question from @Jack_Despeaux: How do you feel like the Eagles stack up against the:
- Lions
- Commanders
- Chiefs
- Bills
…so far this upcoming season? Am I missing any contenders?
They’re better than all of them. I mean, they were +68 in the playoffs, and that was only because the Chiefs got a few garbage TDs after being down 40-6. The only team that was even competitive with them was the Rams, and even they were never the more likely team to win the game at any point, at least according to ESPN Analytics’ “Win Probability” charts.
There’s an argument to be made that the 2024 Eagles were one of the best teams in NFL history. They were so good that other loser teams are trying make new rules to make them easier to beat.
Looking ahead to 2025, yes they lost some good starters, but they have an insane collection of young star players. They’re still the best team in the NFL.
Personally, I wouldn’t even have the Commanders on the list. Teams like the Ravens and Rams are better, in my opinion, and other teams like the Bucs, Bengals, and Packers are right there with them.
Question from @old_chester: What will be your surprise team in the NFL next season? (i.e., Washington surprised many this previous season)
Do the Bengals count? They didn’t make the playoffs in 2024, but I think they’re Super Bowl contenders. If you want me to go out on a limb a little more, I’ll say the Patri*ts. Drake Maye is legit, and their roster is substantially improved, even if they wildly overpaid a bunch of guys in free agency.
Question from @bigseb31213: What team has had the most embarrassing offseason?
Having any interest in a washed, walking distraction in Aaron Rodgers — and waiting around for him to get serious about signing somewhere while he soaks up attention — is just pathetic to me. So I’ll go with the Giants and Steelers.
Question @christomlinson: I’m curious who would have been awarded the TD in the NFCCG for the whole penalty situation at the goal line. Jalen Hurts? The entire offense? Wonder how that would have been adjudicated on any bets for the gambling degenerates.
In the 1954 Cotton Bowl, Rice’s Dicky Moegel (lol) was running down the sideline, when Alabama RB Tommy Lewis ran off the bench and tackled him. They awarded a 95-yard TD to Moegel, even though he got tackled near the 40 yard line.
I love that he ran back to the bench, as if nobody saw what he did.
The NFCCG situation would’ve been a little different, in that we all would have assumed that Hurts was running a Brotherly Shove, but because it was a series of encroachment penalties in which a play was never run, the statisticians probably wouldn’t be able to award the TD to Hurts.
In rule 11, section 2, article 1 of the NFL Playbook, it says, “the Referee [can award] a touchdown to a team that has been denied one by a palpably unfair act.”
I don’t know if anyone has definitively answered this question, but my guess is that it would have appeared as something like this in the box score:
“Touchdown, Palpably Unfair Act (J.Elliott kick) (4-50, 2:56)”
It’s too bad we didn’t get that. That would’ve been fun.
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