Super Bowl LX – As one dynasty falls, another returns
Quaterback Drake Maye and Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel have led the New England Patriots back to the Super Bowl — Getty Images
With Super Bowl 60 taking place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara this Sunday, the New England Patriots are hoping to win their first Super Bowl since 2019. A win would signal the return of one of the league’s most dominant teams, just as the Chiefs dynasty falls away.
Following their Super Bowl 59 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs had a season to forget. Stumbling early in the season and never fully recovering, they were virtually out of the postseason picture even before Patrick Mahomes got injured. Their defence looked almost unrecognisable from previous seasons. Meanwhile Travis Kelce continued to falter and show that he is not the player that he once was as he comes to the end of his career.
A season that was supposed to be a bounce back after missing out on a historic three-peat quickly turned into one to forget. It marked the end of an era for the Chiefs who have dominated the NFL for the past 6 years.
While fans across the league celebrate what appears to be the end of that Chiefs dynasty, they might want to check their excitement just a little as a familiar foe looks to mark their comeback.
With Super Bowl 60 this weekend, The New England Patriots could cement their return to the top following a difficult post-Brady era.
After dominating the league for two decades, the 2018 season was the last in the Patriots’ Brady-Belichick era. During that time they won six Super Bowls – appearing in nine. The greatest dynasty that the NFL has ever seen. Unrivalled. Untouchable.
Just as the Patriots’ era of dominance ended, a new dynasty appeared. Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs took over the league with a new star quarterback in Patrick Mahomes.
Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travic Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs have dominated the NFL since the Patriots last won a Super Bowl — Getty Images
First emerging in 2018, they would go on to dominate the early 2020s. While in his first season as a starter, Mahomes and the Chiefs came up short – getting beaten by the last Super Bowl winning Patriots team 31–37 in overtime, in the AFC Championship game – it was the start of their rise.
The Chiefs would win their first Super Bowl the following season, followed up by another two Lombardi trophies in 2023 and 2024. They played in five Super Bowls in total and reached the AFC Championship game every season until this year.
While at first, Mahomes and the Chiefs were a refreshing break from the utter dominance of the Patriots, sentiment quickly turned as football fans started to see them as the new Patriots.
With that in mind, it is ironic that as the Chiefs dynasty looks to have come to an end, the Patriots will play in their first Super Bowl in seven years.
With a new star QB in Drake Maye and Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel it could be a case of ‘careful what you wish’ for as the downfall of one dynasty has just seen the return of another.
Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel have transformed the Patriots this season — Getty Images
New England heads into Super Bowl LX as underdogs. The Seattle Seahawks are widely seen as favourites but it is expected to be a competitive game. Both sides finished the regular season with a 14–3 record but the Seahawks have looked more dominant in their postseason victories.
Not many would have expected the Patriots to get to the Super Bowl this season, never mind finish the regular season 14–3. The previous two seasons saw them end up with a 4–13 record. So an AFC Championship win after beating the Chargers, Texans and Broncos was not expected.
Drake Maye played a major role in their turnaround. The second season QB reached MVP levels – missing out on the award to Matthew Stafford by a single vote – leading the league in key passing metrics. He was among the highest completion and yardage rates in the NFL, finishing with over 4,800 passing yards and 35 TDs – the first time a Patriots QB has hit 4,000 yards since Brady in 2019.
He will now become the second-youngest quarterback in history to start a Super Bowl – behind only Dan Marino. At 23 years and 162 days, he would be the youngest to win the Super Bowl should the Patriots come out on top on Sunday.
The other key player in the Patriots turnaround has been head coach Mike Vrabel. A former Patriots linebacker who won three Super Bowls himself as a player, he is now looking to become the fifth coach to lift the Lombardi trophy as a player and a head coach. The exclusive group is currently made up of Tom Flores, Mike Ditka, Tony Dungy, and Doug Pederson.
Vrabel transformed the Patriots this season shifting expectations of a rebuild to winning now. He turned them into a really well balanced team, improving the creativity of the offense, bringing disciplined game management and most importantly, he transformed the defence.
What was once one of the leakiest defences in the league became one of the toughest to penetrate. Over three playoff games, the Patriots defence gave up just 26 points – one of the lowest tallies in decades.
So as the tension builds and excitement levels climb, this year’s Super Bowl could mark the return of one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties. A young MVP level QB, newly crowned Coach of the Year who has been there and done it, and a very solid defence. This Patriots side has all the makings of a team capable of dominating for years to come. Football fans might have celebrated the fall of the Chiefs but just as one dynasty falls, another could be crowned this weekend.