Surprises. No Surprises.

  Surprises. No surprises. That’s the lede to this week’s blog. 

In the NFC, it came as no big surprise (to me) that the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants. I had actually thought that the Giants had a chance to upset the top seed, especially with Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts not fully recovered from his shoulder injury. It is tough to beat a division three times in a season and the Eagles might have had a little rust forming from their bye week. Wrong on all counts.

From the outset, the Eagles were dominant. On both sides of the ball. The Giants had no answers to whatever the Eagles were doing. Highly-touted New York QB Daniel Jones looked harried throughout the game. Running back Saquon Barkley looked human. The vaunted Giants pass rush was virtually non-existent. 

For Giants fans, they should savor how far the team went. Evidently the win in Minnesota took everything out of the Giants. Or simply Philadelphia is really that good.

Eagles fans should be buoyant after this romp. But I know the fans of the Green and White are never secure in their thoughts regarding their beloved team. At least the Eagles don’t have to face another division rival in Dallas. There might have been too much emotion. 

Instead, the San Francisco 49’ers are coming to Lincoln Financial Field to determine which team represents the NFC in the Super Bowl. The Niners had their hands full with Dallas. Dallas further had to contend with the ongoing misfortunes of their kicker, Brett Maher, who had this extra point try blocked—it would have been wide anyway. 

In the end, again not surprisingly, the home team did enough to win, with rookie QB Brock Purdy meeting his stiffest challenge so far. The Niners defense had its moments—just enough to blunt some Cowboys’ forays into their territory. 

If Philadelphia continues to rush the QB with the ferocity it displayed on Saturday night, the Eagles will punch their ticket to Arizona. Should the Niners defense continue to shut down offenses like it did with the Cowboys, then San Francisco will prevail. 

Kansas City fans are praying to whatever deity will work that QB Patrick Mahomes injured ankle won’t be a problem when the Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals for the AFC crown. Without Mahomes working his magic, it’s gonna be tough for KC to win. This isn’t like playing upstart Jacksonville, which the Chiefs were supposed to beat.

Did anybody forget that the Cincinnati Bengals are the defending AFC title holders? Did anyone also forget that the Bengals were ahead of Buffalo before Damar Hamlin’s injury ended the contest?

Because the Bengals showed the Bills why they are a force to be reckoned with. If there were any doubts about how good and confident he is, Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow has dissolved those concerns. Burrow, like Mahomes, when healthy, is an elite QB. If he keeps playing like this, reserve room for his bust in Canton. 

Thus it was no surprise that the Bengals were motivated by a slight that if Buffalo made it to the AFC title game versus Kansas City it would be in Atlanta, but that the Bengals, with the same number of games played as Buffalo, were denied that opportunity. It showed how determined an angry team can be.

Moreover, the Bills seemed to be emotionally exhausted. Facing an elite team like the Bengals, who are much better than the Miami Dolphins, which gave Buffalo a mighty test the week before, along with all the baggage which weighed heavily on the team, was simply too much to handle. 

It would not surprise me at all if Cincinnati made it to the Super Bowl again. Will it be a rematch of Super Bowl XVI, where the 13-3 Niners downed the 12-4 Bengals? SF leads that series 13-4. Or will the Eagles face Cincy—the Bengals are ahead in that matchup by a 9-3-2 count.

What if it is SF-KC? The Chiefs downed SF this season by a score of 44-23 on October 23. The teams met in Super Bowl LIV three years ago with KC prevailing by a 32-20 count. History there. 

And if it is the Eagles and Chiefs? Kansas City leads here—5-4-0. The teams last met in 2021, with the Chiefs victorious. 

Before the season began, the Eagles and Cowboys were among the top picks to win it all. What surprised me is how much better the Eagles proved to be. Also, the NFC East, laughingly referred to as the NFC Least because the teams were so bad, had three in the playoffs in the second round. Not too shabby. Who would have thought that?

Last season, the Niners made the NFC title game versus the eventual winner, the Los Angeles Rams.  Losing two quarterbacks and making it to the NFC championship again—a little surprising. 

KC and Cincinnati meeting again? Despite those who believed that Buffalo was the favorite in the AFC, it is not a surprise to see these teams meet again. 

I look at the NBA and NHL standings daily. In the NBA, the Eastern Conference offers little surprise other than the Milwaukee Bucks having the third best record and Miami is only a game ahead of the Knicks for the sixth spot. 

The Western Conference is much different. I didn’t foresee Denver to be as dominant as they are to lead Memphis by 1.5 for the lead. Then again, Nikola Jokic is cementing his chances for a three-peat as the NBA M.V.P. Plus he has a very, very good supporting cast. 

The team in third place surprised me. Sacramento, with former Cleveland and Lakers Head Coach and top assistant to Steve Kerr, Mike Brown in charge, has a 26-19 mark. Casual fans have no idea who is on this team. National TV audiences haven’t been shown the Kings. I had to look up the name of their arena as I didn’t know it (Golden 1 Center). I am rooting for this team and their fan base, which rarely sees winning teams. 

The Pelicans stand in fourth place for now. I see them to be a playoff team—I know that the injury-riddled Phoenix Suns, thought to be a top tier NBA squad—have struggled, as has Minnesota, without Karl Anthony-Towns for a while. 

Then there is the Golden State Warriors. Defending champions who look anything but it. Losses at Boston in OT and the Nets at home, with a win over Cleveland showed the inconsistency of this team. The bench players simply aren’t as good as last year’s and it shows. Surprisingly how much to me. 

Lebron and his Lakers sit at 22-25. They have made up ground after a near-disaster start. Center Anthony Davis is nearing a return from injury. Could they make the play-in tournament? Perhaps It is a surprise to see how much the Lakers have fallen—with Lebron still playing at a high level. 

The success of the Boston Bruins is astonishing. A 37-5-4 record is incredible. They hold a 14 point lead over Toronto, a really good team. Carolina atop their division was expected. 

But the New Jersey Devils trailing the Hurricanes by only two points  and having as many as Maple Leafs and 7 more than the Rangers? Jack Hughes has become the player New Jersey expected him to be and the defense is good with Vitek Vanecek offering solid net minding. Let’s see how they hold up for the remainder of the season. 

Everyone is a surprise in the Western Conference. Dallas and Winnipeg are tied with the most points. Then the two newer teams, Vegas and Seattle are fighting for the Pacific Division lead. Who outside of dreamers in Seattle saw that coming?

Finally, in college hoops, it was not a surprise to see Temple knock off Houston, the number 1 team in the country. The Owls have great defensive metrics, and it showed. 

Kansas lost to #13, Kansas State in OT, then was demolished at home by #14 TCU. The second loss was a big surprise.

As was Gonzaga losing to Loyola Marymount, breaking the Zags long winning streak. LMU was a huge underdog. 

What I am seeing in college basketball is that on any given night, the top teams are vulnerable. Hold onto your hats, for the finish to the 2022-23 campaign is going to be a wild one. Don’t be surprised about that. 

Just remember, pitchers and catchers report in mid-February.