(photo by Brian Murphy)
With all due respect to the Baltimore Ravens, there is only one possible candidate for the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLVII and it ain’t Joe Flacco.*
*And before you attempt to place a vote for yourself, Ray Lewis, no, it’s not you either.
Nope, the only logical candidate for Super Bowl XLVII MVP is Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins.
That might sound absurd, considering Cousins wasn’t technically a member of either of the teams actually playing in New Orleans Sunday night, but he had as much to do with determining the outcome as anyone from the San Francisco 49ers or the Ravens.
How you ask? It’s simple — had Cousins and the Redskins not mounted their thrilling come-from-behind 31-28 victory in overtime over Baltimore, Dec. 9, the Ravens wouldn’t have captured their second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Still not tracking? Allow me to elaborate.
While the Redskins are generally known for a meddlesome owner, helping to decide presidential elections and/or throwing large sums of money to ill-advised free agents, they’re most recent gimmick is determining the outcome of the Super Bowl.
Not by playing in it. No, that would be too easy.
Instead they prefer to determine the NFL’s biggest winner by defeating them during the regular season.
Case in point: the Ravens are now the third-straight team who lose to the Redskins during the regular season and then went on to win the Super Bowl.
Two seasons ago, the Green Bay Packers fell to Washington 16-13 in overtime during a Week 5 match-up. Four months later, they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.
Last season, the New York Giants dropped both regular season games to “Sexy” Rex Grossman and friends before dispatching the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Basically, if you’re the head coach of a team scheduled to play the Redskins during the 2013 season, your best bet to immortalize yourself in history and bringing home a Lombardi Trophy is to ensure your squad loses to Washington during the regular season.
So let the tanking begin!
(photo by Brian Murphy)