Why the Super Bowl Was a Game Changer for the NFL
Sunday’s showing offered a blueprint for a potentially dynamic chapter in professional football.
As the NFL heads into its second century carrying the weight of about whether it can another 100 years, Super Bowl LIV seems to herald a livelier era for a sport hungry for new faces and new ideas about how the game should be played. And that isn’t just because of Patrick Mahomes, the 24-year-old Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who led his team to a 31–20 comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Before Mahomes took over in the final minutes, this Super Bowl had already been framed in the NFL in terms of pure speed, a pair of teams that rely on misdirection and finesse to complement the ugly physicality of the sport. This game offered a blueprint for professional football’s potentially dynamic future.
