Looking back on Steve Young's Super Bowl XXIX performance against the Chargers

 

                                             (Credit: RVR Photos/Imagn Images) 

Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles marks the 30th anniversary of Super Bowl XXIX, played between the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers, which was played on January 29th, 1995. The 49ers defeated the Chargers 49-26 as quarterback Steve Young had a performance for the ages: 24-36 for 325 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Young's six touchdown passes is still a Super Bowl record. 

Young's first touchdown pass of the game came in the 1st quarter as he connected with Jerry Rice for a 44 yard score to make it 7-0. Later on in the quarter, Young followed that up with a 51 yard touchdown pass to Ricky Watters to make it 14-0. In the 2nd quarter, Young connected with William Floyd for a five yard touchdown to make it 21-7 before finding Watters again for an eight yard touchdown to make it 28-7. In the 3rd quarter, Young found Rice again for a 15 yard touchdown for his fifth of the game, making it 42-10. Lastly, Young found Rice for a seven yard touchdown pass in the 4th quarter to make it 49-18, his sixth touchdown pass of the game. The Chargers would find the end zone one more time, making it a 49-26 final score. 

In case you are wondering about the lone rushing touchdown of the game for the 49ers, that came from Watters in the 3rd quarter off a nine yard run to make it 35-10. Watters had a fantastic game as well with two receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. In many Super Bowls, that would have been good enough to take home the Super Bowl MVP, but Young was the no-brainer choice given the record he had set. 

While the six touchdowns by Young are obviously phenomenal, the fact that he didn't throw an interception is something that often gets overlooked.  That speaks to just how dialed in he was. He completed 66.7% of his passes and also rushed for 49 yards on five rushing attempts. The only bad part of the game for Young was getting sacked three times, but not once did he fumble. I know it's cliché to say this but as I said in the beginning, this really was a performance for the ages. Here we are 30 years out and Young's six touchdown passes in a Super Bowl is still a Super Bowl record. It's pretty crazy. 

When this game was played, I was five years old turning six later that year. I remember I was really sick that day as I couldn't really enjoy the game. I also remember later hearing about how Steve Young was feeling sick after the game as well due to dehydration. I guess that's one thing I can say I have in common with Steve Young: We both vomited on January 29, 1995. 

But that's not all that we have in common. We are both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that is why I looked up to him so much when I was a kid. I just thought it was really cool to have a member of my faith quarterbacking the San Francisco 49ers. I'm sure I'm not the only Latter-Day Saint kid who felt that way. 

Anyways, going back to Steve Young's performance in Super Bowl XXIX, it truly was special. It was his first and only start in a Super Bowl and boy did he make the most of his opportunity. After years of being in the shadow of Joe Montana, Young proved that he could hold his own with the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and in the process set a Super Bowl record that has stood the test of time. 

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10 things to look for at Super Bowl LVII

 

                                             (Credit: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports) 

Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) and Kansas City Chiefs (16-3) kicks off today at 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET on FOX. Below are my 10 things to look for in the game. Enjoy! 

#1. How will Patrick Mahomes' ankle hold up? Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sprained his right ankle against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs and seemed to be favoring it a bit in the AFC title game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chiefs did not list anyone on their injury report as everyone practiced in full on Friday, but that doesn't mean Mahomes' ankle won't flare up at some point in the game. How that goes will be really critical to any success the Chiefs are hoping to have. 

#2. How will Jalen Hurts perform in his first Super Bowl? Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is dealing with chest and shoulder pain and will look to play though his discomfort as well. On top of playing through that pain, this is also his first Super Bowl. So on top of seeing how his body holds up, it'll also be interesting to see how Hurts himself handles the pressure of playing in his first Super Bowl.

#3. How big will Travis Kelce be for KC? Travis Kelce is arguably the top tight end in the NFL and has by far and away been Mahomes' favorite target, having a team-high 110 receptions for 1338 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season. If Kansas City is going to win this game, they're likely going to need a big outing from Kelce. How he performs is going to be crucial to how this game turns out. If I'm the Eagles, slowing down Kelce is going to be my top priority. 

#4. How effective will A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith be for Philly? The top two receiving targets for Jalen Hurts are receivers A.J. Brown (88 receptions, 1496 yards, & 11 touchdowns) and DeVonta Smith (95 receptions, 1196 yards, & 7 touchdowns). Those two guys will need to come up big for the Eagles' offense and just like how Kelce is the guy who the Eagles defense needs to contain, Brown and Smith are the ones who the Chiefs defense needs to worry about. 

One interesting thing is that Smith has more receptions and has been targeted less. This means Smith has a better catch percentage (69.9%) than Brown (60.7%). A big thing to look for will be how good Brown is at securing his receptions and whether or not he has any costly drops. Because when he gets the ball, there's no question he does more with it than Smith. 

#5. Will Kansas City's experience pay off? This will be the third Super Bowl that the Chiefs have had in the Patrick Mahomes/Andy Reid era whereas the Eagles are in their first Super Bowl of the Jalen Hurts/Nick Sirianni era. Experience matters in the Super Bowl and if things get tight, the fact that the Chiefs have been here before could make the difference. 

#6. Will this game be a high scoring shoot out as expected? The Chiefs lead the NFL with 29.2 points per game while the Eagles are third with 28.1 points per game. This is expected to be a close and high scoring game with the Eagles favored by just 1.5 points. It'll be interesting to see if it's as close as advertised and whether or not it will be the high scoring shoot out that everyone expects it to be. 

#7. Will C.J. Gardner-Johnson pick off Patrick Mahomes? Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson does not have an interception yet this postseason, but in the 12 regular season games he played in, he had six. This means he's due for one. Whether or not he gets one on Mahomes will be something to watch and if he does, that could be a game-changer. 

#8. Which team will get more sacks? The Eagles led the NFL with 77.0 sacks in the regular season while the Chiefs were second with 55.0. The Eagles on paper should get more sacks, especially if Mahomes' mobility is at all an issue, but the Chiefs know how to get to the quarterback as well. Which team wins the sack battle could have an inside advantage to winning this game. 

#9. How will the Eagles handle a close game if it is one? The Chiefs defeated the Jaguars 27-20 in the divisional round and the Bengals 23-20 in the AFC title game. The Eagles on the other hand had dominating wins in both of their playoff games, crushing the Giants 38-7 in the divisional round and blowing the doors off the 49ers 31-7 in the NFC title game. It's been a little while since they've played a close game whereas close games is all the Chiefs have known these playoffs. How the Eagles handle a close game if it becomes one will be interesting to see. They might be best served by jumping out to an early lead and going for a blowout, which often happens in the Super Bowl. 

#10. How will Nick Sirianni handle his first Super Bowl as a head coach? Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been in the Super Bowl before as a head coach and he has guys who've been there before. That really helps from a game management standpoint. For Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, this is new territory for him and his team. How he handles the big time decisions, whether to go for it, etc. will be really interesting to see. Coaching matters a ton in the Super Bowl and it's never easy for guys who are there for the first time. 

Prediction: This game could go either way, but I think Vegas has the right prediction here with the Eagles being favored. I think they'll find a way to come through, though it'll be a closer game than their last two playoff games. Eagles 30 Chiefs 27 is how I see this one shaking out. Should be fun! 

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NFLCzar.com to start with Super Bowl coverage

 

                     Bengals vs. 49ers in Super Bowl XVI (Credit: Malcolm Emmons/USA TODAY Sports) 

It's been about three years since I started NFLCzar.com and I have been yet to use it as a full blog. Well, the moment when I use it as an NFL blog has come! I don't know how many NFL blog posts I'll do throughout the year, but at an absolute minimum, I'll be using this blog to preview and recap each and every Super Bowl and possibly sprinkle in some other NFL coverage throughout the year. I also intend to share my thoughts on Super Bowl history like greatest performances, best games, that sort of thing. 

So, I hope that you as a reader will have fun reading my thoughts on the Super Bowl each year and whatever other NFL thoughts come to my mind. 

On that note, I will quickly provide an update for those that don't know where we are in the NFL season. The NFL just finished their Wild Card round with the Divisional round coming up next. Below are the scores from this past wild card weekend: 

49ers 41 Seahawks 23. Jaguars 31 Chargers 30. Bills 34 Dolphins 31. Giants 31 Vikings 34. Bengals 24 Ravens 17. Cowboys 31 Buccaneers 14. 

Looking ahead to the Divisional round, below are the matchups: Jaguars@Chiefs (Saturday-4:30 PM ET on NBC). Giants@Eagles (Saturday-8:15 PM PT on FOX). Bengals@Bills (Sunday-3:00 PM ET on CBS). Cowboys@49ers (Sunday-6:30 PM ET on FOX). 

My favorite team is the Minnesota Vikings and they are out. Not a huge surprise since they always find a way to disappoint. But, the Vikings of the AFC, Buffalo Bills, are still in it. History tells us they'll find a way to disappoint as well, but so far they are still alive. 

Like the Vikings, the Bills are 0-4 in the Super Bowl, but they did so in four straight years back in the early 1990s, which is pretty remarkable. Remarkable that they made four straight Super Bowls (no other team has ever done that) and perhaps even more remarkable that they lost all four. 

So I guess if there is a Super Bowl I am rooting for, it would be 49ers/Bills. 49ers because I'm from the Bay Area and Bills because I think it would be cool to see them get back to the Super Bowl again. As for who I would root for, I would honestly be happy with either outcome, but given that they've never won it before, I would probably lean towards the Bills. They're a franchise that has been through a lot and it would be nice for them to finally no longer look back on that Scott Norwood kick as the closest they've been to Super Bowl glory. 

Hopefully we'll see that Super Bowl happen next month and regardless of who is playing, you can bet on my previewing and recapping the game. I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes! 

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Introduction to NFLCzar.com

Dante Culpepper with the Vikings (Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images) 

Welcome to NFLCzar.com! At the moment, NFLCzar.com is not being used as a full NFL blog, but it may in the future! That's why I set this up! In the meantime, connect with NFL Czar on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with key news across the NFL! Links will be provided below!

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