Super Bowl First's and Records: Events that Sparked My Interest, Super Bowl Week

I’ve been super busy with school work recently, and haven’t had the chance to blog in 6 weeks. But, now that is all done and I’m back to blogging, just in time for Super Bowl LII's edition of Events that Sparked My Interest. For this season's final edition, I decided that I wanted to focus on the various records set. With that, let’s get into it!

Tom Brady

Probably the most interesting stat or record for me is that Brady is now the first quarterback in NFL history to lose a game when throwing for over 500 yards and at least 3 touchdowns. The 500 yard mark has only been eclipsed 22 times (including the Super Bowl). 17 of those times the QB threw for 3 or more touchdowns. 6 of those 17 threw no interceptions. 500 yards in a game just does not happen, and to rack up that many yards without an interception is crazy. Of those 17 players, 14 required 40 more passes, 7 needing at least 50. I found this to be one of the more interesting records set in Super Bowl LII.

Patriots lose Record 5^th Super Bowl

It hadn’t occurred to me, maybe because I thought the Patriots were going to win, but heading into the 52^nd Super Bowl, they had appeared in 9, winning 5 and losing 4. With their most recent loss, they are now 0.500 in Super Bowls and are tied with the Denver Broncos for the most Super Bowl losses out of any team with 5, in addition to hold the record for most appearances (10), and having the quarterback with the most wins (5) and appearances (8).

Nick Foles Becomes only QB to Throw and Catch a TD

In perhaps the game’s most icon play, QB Nick Foles caught a touchdown from Tight End Trey Burton. This made Foles the first player in Super Bowl history to both throw and catch a touchdown. While there isn’t some crazy elaborate tangent I can go on for this, I just have to say that I found the call gutsy, but it paid off. I think it is the game’s most iconic play and will be remembered forever by Eagles, Patriots, and NFL fans alike.

I hope you've enjoyed Events that Sparked My Interest this season. This was the first time I really sat down and tried to produce a product regularly, and while I didn't get something out every week, I think it turned out well, but I want your feedback. Please let me know as it is much appreciated.

Tom Brady Leaves To Much Time, Newton Runs for TD 50: Events that Sparked my Interest, Week 4

Week 4 of the NFL season had some surprising finishes. Both the Falcons and Patriots got upset and that alone caught my eye and will have big implications on the playoffs later on. Another thing that will impact that playoffs is how Le’veon Bell performs for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and after missing Week 1 due to a holdout and having poor weeks 2 and 3, he performed how the best back in football is supposed to in Week 4.

While I’m not going to write much about it, something that really sparked my interest due to a YouTube video I recently watched was that Week 4 of the NFL Season had 2 scores that the league previously hadn’t seen before: 14 to 57 (Texans beat the Titans) and 18 to 46 (Seahawks beat the Colts).

With that out of the way, its time for Events that Sparked My Interest in Week 4.

Tom Brady Leaves Too Much Time for the Panthers, Cam Newton rushes to TD number 50

After brining the Patriots back from two scores down, Tom Brady left Cam Newton and the Panthers slightly over three minutes to engineer a game winning drive with the game tied at 30. Usually the Patriots opponent leaves too much time, but on Sunday it was Brady who left Newton too much time.

Besides his game winning drive, Newton also rushed for his 50^th career touchdown, becoming the first QB in history to achieve that. In September 2016, he passed Vince Young (44 TD’s) to have the most rushing TD’s by a QB in the Super Bowl era and not long after that passed Otto Graham’s all time QB rushing TD record, with 45.

In terms of active quarterbacks, it doesn’t seem likely that Newton’s record will be passed any time soon, baring a devastating injury to him. This is since the next QB’s on the active list are: Aaron Rodgers (25), Andy Dalton (18), Tom Brady (17), Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger (16 each), and Joe Flacco (15). Following them, Andrew Luck, Alex Smith, Matthew Stafford, and Russell Wilson all have 14, while Ryan Fitzpatrick (yes, that’s not a typo) and Mark Sanchez (I’m not kidding, this isn’t a typo) have 13 each.

To put Newton’s 50 TD’s in 6 and ¼ years in perspective, he is tied with LeGarrette Blount (a running back who has been in the league a year longer) for 7^th on the active list. 5^th and 6^th place belong to Chris Johnson and Matt Forte with 55 and 52 TD’s and they have both been in the league since 2008.

To put our other QB’s totals in perspective, David Johnson, who has been in the league since 2015 has only one fewer TD than Rodgers. Had Johnson not gotten hurt earlier in the year, he surely would have passed Rodgers, moving from 18^th to 17^th on the active list. Ezekiel Elliott, whose played in 19 career games, has as many rushing TD’s as Brady. Mind you, not including the 2008 season when Brady played in only one game due to injury, he’s played in 17 seasons and rushed for 17 touchdowns.

Deshaun Watson’s Texans Stomp on the Titans in Huge Game for the Rookie

Not only did the Titans vs. Texans game result in a never before seen score, it gave way to a highlight reel game for former National Champion Deshaun Watson. His 5 total TD’s (4 in the air, 1 on the ground) tied a rookie record for QB’s. While his yardage wasn’t absurd, he only needed 3 of those touchdowns to secure the win for the Texans.

While the game was already over with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Texan defense came up with turnovers on three straight possessions, and the team scored 20 points in those final minutes.

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Why Tom Brady Shouldn't be Eligible to Win the NFL MVP

Despite the fact that Tom Brady has put up excellent numbers this year, he not only isn't deserving of winning the NFL MVP (or any other award for that matter), he shouldn't even be allowed too.

Why? He was suspended for the first four games of the season for "violating the NFL policy on the integrity of the game."

Simply put, Brady was caught cheating. If your caught cheating, I don't think you should be allowed to win any awards for that season.

If the NFL was smart, they would have made him ineligible to win it. And if they were really smart, they would strip the Patriots of their Super Bowl XLIX title and strip him of his Super Bowl MVP.

This isn't just about Brady, or the NFL, or Deflategate. It's about upholding honesty and not cheating.

If a 10-year-old-kid who looks up to him and see's that he wins the MVP even after cheating, then that kid has learned that, "if you cheat, you will be rewarded."

No, no, no! No! That is not okay! Not okay at all!

If a team has a really good play who is deserving of it (Matt Ryan of Atlanta), I don’t want to see him get beaten out by a cheater. No one in their right mind should.

So, really, if any athlete is suspended for cheating, shouldn't they also be ineligible to their sport's MVP, or any award.

It's not hard to understand: cheating is bad, and you shouldn't be rewarded for it. Common sense people.