THIS SEASON, NO DEFENSE, NO CHAMPIONSHIP: Most know the cliche of “Defense wins championships.” Is that really true every season? Not necessarily. However, for 2025-26, if you didn’t have a top-tier defense, or one that could consistently play that way, you weren’t getting very far. The culmination of that sentiment came in Super Bowl LX. Seattle boasted the top scoring defense in the league, and the Patriots claimed the best scoring defense in the playoffs. Seattle clearly played to form, pitching a shutout for 3 quarters and effectively nullifying whatever momentum New England brought into this game. The Patriots, for while they struggled on offense, their defense kept them afloat, holding the Seahawks to four FGs before turnovers doomed the Patriots in the 4th.
SUPER BOWL CHAMPION QB SAM DARNOLD: When the Jets made Darnold the #3 overall pick in 2018, they did so with visions of him leading a team to a Lombardi Trophy. In a way, they got that part right. How that came to pass…uh, this might have been the most circuitous route to a title since Jim Plunkett. Another in a series of failed QBs from the Jets, to a damning exile in Carolina, a back-up gig in San Francisco, a solid season in Minnesota before a horrid finale, and then his arrival in Seattle. He didn’t have a great game per se (19 of 38 for 202 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs), but on this night, it wasn’t needed. A great night from the “Dark Side” and Kenneth Walker will do that. Still, from now until the end of time, whenever you say the name Sam Darnold, you must preface it with “Super Bowl Champion.”
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THE DAWNING OF THE DEFENSIVE ERA, OR A BLIP? As aforementioned, defense dominated this season. Yet, it will be curious to see if that is the case next season. In a bit of a narrative flip, a lot of top-level QBs didn’t make the playoffs (Burrow, Mahomes, Jackson), or didn’t get all that far in the playoffs (Herbert, Rodgers, Love,). Perhaps the highest rated QB to advance (MVP Matthew Stafford) fell in the NFC Title Game to the “Dark Side,” with Darnold in tow. They say that the NFL is a QB league, and more often than not, it is. However, this season, the teams that advanced seemed to do it in spite of their QB, or took a back-seat to a defense that played the lead role. At present, there is not a push to call for major chances to aid the offense, but it will be interesting to see how the dynamic evolves next season. Will a team like Seattle be able to lean on a dominant defense for more than this season, whereby the Dark Side can overshadow the Legion of Boom, or will this be like 2015, where a dominant Broncos defense led the charge, only to fall into obscurity and obsolescence?
WHAT COULD A TEXANS’ FAN TAKE AWAY FROM THIS GAME?: While Houston’s season ended well before his kickoff, that is not to say that Houston couldn’t take a few things away from this game. A few points:
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Defense can take you far: Right now, defense is king in the NFL. Seattle holds scoreboard on being the best defense this season. However, right behind them for consistency would be this Texans’ unit. Most of their key players should return, even if the DT and LB rooms might be a bit different next year. However, just because a defense dominated one year does not mean that it will be that dominant the next. They should be the strength of the team, but Houston can’t expect Houston to again be a top-tier dominant defense again, at least not like this season.
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Better shore up your offensive line and running game: Two areas that Houston fell short this season were in the areas of the running game and effectiveness of the interior offensive line. Marks and Chubb combined for over 1200 yards rushing, but the running game never really got going against the better defensive squads. In a not coincidental matter, the Texans offensive interior rated among the worst in the league for run blocking. Ingram was a solid guard, but collectively, this aspect of the team did much to hinder the advancement of the Texans, especially against the Patriots. What moves Caserio et al will make in the offseason to shore up the running game, be it getting a potential game breaking back or a stronger offensive interior, Houston must address this aspect now, especially while the window for this defense is open.
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Missed Opportunity: A lot of fanbases had to ask themselves the question why they couldn’t have make this game. Houston is no different. Their defense was a good as either unit in this or game. However, 8 turnovers in two playoffs games will sink just about any team. Why did Stroud have to play arguably his two worst games ever in these playoffs? Can Caley’s offensive ability evolve and can Stroud put this nightmare of a finish behind him? The last playoff QB to have two [DURGA]-awful games to close a season like that: Sam Darnold.
GAME BALLS:
QB Sam Darnold: What do they call the student that graduates last in their med school class? Doctor. What do they call arguably the worst quarterback to win a Super Bowl?. Champion. If you want to have the debate as to whether Dilfer or Darnold is better/worse, go ahead. Just remember, Darnold has the ring, and Burrow/Jackson et al don’t.
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RB Kenneth Walker: 161 yards rushing in a Super Bowl. MVP well-earned.
The Dark Side: The latest named defense. To paraphrase the line, “They don’t name nobodys” [Miami’s No Name Defense excluded]
Patriots Acting Defensive Coordinator Zah Kuhr. Terrance Williams is back from his cancer treatments, but the Patriots playoff run was driven by the defense and acting DC Kuhr had much to do with that. Maybe it is too late for this hiring cycle, but a full-time DC job should be in this guy’s future if he continues his stellar defensive work.
SHOULD BE FORCED TO MOVE FULL-TIME TO THE 49ERS’ PRACTICE FIELD AND THE SUBSEQUENT POWER STATION WHILE LISTENING TO CHRIS COLLINGSWORTH ON FULL REPEAT FOR THE REST OF THE OFF-SEASON.
Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels: The Dark Side had a lot to do with this, but how yuck has the Patriots’ offense been since leaving New England? McDaniels is one of the more legitimate heels of the NFL, but he is built for being a NE Offensive Coordinator. However, he did Drake Maye and the rest of his team no favors.
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Patriots Offensive Tackle Will Campbell: He really did not have a very good playoffs. Abused by the Chargers, Texans and Bronocs, he completed the Quad of Failure by being a key contributor in allowing the Dark Side to collect six sacks. Maybe he evolves from this, but hard to think of a worse four games for an OL than this playoff run for Campbell.
The Pearl-Clutching over the Halftime Show: Everybody got so up in arms about the projected halftime show and respective country programming of the halftime show. It seemed like more attention was paid to a 20-25 minute portion of what is usually a 4+ hour event. To quote Ilsa “Let it go.” [Your welcome for the day-long earworm you just received].
With that, the 2025-26 season comes to an end. As well all head to Cancun, or drink a couple of Mexican-based alcoholic beverages to make us think we are in Cancun, we thank all of you for reading our columns. The ride is not stopping, as we have all the off-season fun to get to, but we appreciate all of you that joined us for this season and look forward to more football in the future.
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