Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Twitter reacts to #49ers red zone takeaway:
The Chiefs were rolling when Patrick Mahomes connected with Mecole Hardman for 51 yards to put Kansas City deep in the red zone. Isiah Pacheco fumbled on first down when Deommodore Lenoir ripped it out, and Javon Hargrave dove on it for the turnover.
Here’s the reaction from Twitter:
New Jersey is among the best states in terms of producing NFL talent.
There is no better timing than on Super Bowl Sunday to remember that New Jersey produces elite football players. In fact, New Jersey is among the nation’s best at sending players to the NFL, a point certainly backed up by this year’s Super Bowl.
There are three players from the Rutgers football program in this Super Bowl (Kansas City Chiefs: [autotag]Isiah Pacheco[/autotag]; San Francisco 49ers Logan Ryan and Sebastian Joseph-Day). And while only Pacheco and Ryan are from New Jersey, the point is still underscored that New Jersey football is among the best in the nation at producing athletes who can play on Sunday.
And if Rutgers could keep the top in-state talent home, it would be a perennial top-25 program with College Football Playoff ambitions. That’s a big if, to say the least, but still noteworthy.
In the fourth season of their rebuild under head coach Greg Schiano, Rutgers showed significant progress. They finished the season 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten) while playing the nation’s second-toughest schedule.
They won the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl 31-24 over Miami.
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But Rutgers could take another step forward if they start retaining more of New Jersey’s best talent.
Homegrown in Utah: NFL player origins per capital, 2023 #UtahInformed2024 #utpol #NFL pic.twitter.com/HiN9Qn00sF
— Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute (@KemGardnerInst) January 29, 2024
Per capita, New Jersey produces 1.07 football players that are sent to the NFL. That is No. 12 in the nation and the fourth-best production of any state with a Big Ten program (Maryland, Ohio and Iowa led the way, respectively).
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It is the best number in the Northeast, a not insignificant stat.
Keeping New Jersey’s best in-state while supplementing with strong regional recruiting from New York and Pennsylvania (Joseph-Day is from Pennsylvania) would certainly be a big step for a developmental program like Rutgers.
Last week, Rutgers received a commitment from Talibi Kaba, the No. 12 recruit in New Jersey and a three-star linebacker prospect. It was an important recruit for Rutgers to land in trying to keep future NFL talent in their pipeline.
If the San Francisco 49ers are to win Super Bowl LVIII, they might want to pay attention to these five advanced scouting points.
Every Super Bowl comes down to a few big plays, and a few key matchups. You never know what it’s going to be, but when the game is over, and it’s time for coaches and players to review what happened and why, everyone will go back to their advanced scouting reports — how they aligned their guys and how those guys played from a schematic perspective — and try to discern what went right and what went wrong.
Not that we’re professional advanced scouts at Touchdown Wire, but here are five things the San Francisco 49ers should probably pay close attention to when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs today in Super Bowl LVIII.
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Isiah Pacheco was the man in high school.
Isiah Pacheco may be known for his angry runs, but ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs running back is much more than that.
He was, in fact, Mr. Vineland 2018.
Rewind six years ago to when Pacheco was a senior at Vineland High School (Vineland, New Jersey). Before he was an NFL draft pick and even before he was an All-Big Ten running back at Rutgers, Pacheco was a high school legend.
His famous dreads weren’t grown out yet but his smile, so unique and affable, was present even back then. During a time when most are enduring the throws of awkward adolescence, Pacheco was seemingly calm and confident.
Despite being already enrolled at Rutgers, Pacheco was voted Mr. Vineland 2018. The award (back then) was decided simply:
“The 12 contestants were selected by female members of the senior class from more than two dozen applicants.”
Pacheco, apparently also known as ‘Mr. March’…was selected as the winner. He received “a crown, trophy and the right to wear the Mr. Vineland sash.”
Now, he has Taylor Swift (yes, the Taylor Swift) celebrating his touchdowns for the Chiefs by flashing his jersey number. Was Taylor Swift celebrating a Pacheco touchdown run on anyone’s bingo card for this year?
Mr #Vineland 2018 Isiah Pacheco is crowned. @VHSCO18 @2020vhs @VHS2021 @vhsclass0f2019 @DJPlaymakers pic.twitter.com/0cf3zjvNbO
— Deborah Marko (@dmarko_dj) January 12, 2018
Perhaps that crown is sitting next to his Super Bowl ring from last season?
Pacheco is coming off a very strong second season with the Chiefs, rushing for 935 yards and seven touchdowns. He has a rushing touchdown in all three of the Chiefs’ playoff games this season.
Last year in the Super Bowl, he scored a second-quarter touchdown to help kickstart the Chiefs’ comeback over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Isiah Pacheco talks about competing against Christian McCaffrey.
During the Super Bowl Opening Night event, Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco was asked about Sunday’s duel with Christian McCaffrey. But Pacheco, a former star running back at Rutgers, was not going to start a war with McCaffrey, the San Francisco 49ers running back.
Pacheco, a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Rutgers, is having a solid second season in the league. He continues to show the hard running style from his time at Rutgers with 935 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
He has rushing touchdowns in all three NFL playoff games to help the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl.
Now, as to Pacheco looking to prove himself against McCaffrey. It wasn’t a loaded question or even a leading one that came from the media during the Super Bowl Opening Night event. But it was clear that Pacheco wasn’t going to take any kind of bait and say something that could land on the 49ers bulletin board.
Do bulletin boards still exist?
Pacheco was asked about facing McCaffrey and if he wants to “outdo” the 49ers star. McCaffrey led the NFL in rushing this season.
“Like I said, leave it all out there on the field,” Pacheco told reporters (h/t to Vegas Sports Today).
“We’re going to let the pads do the talking.”
In terms of facing the league’s best and most accomplished running back, Pacheco didn’t make it about himself. He said that the chance to go
“It’s competition, like i said before, we love competing
“Looking at one another, always competing. It’s game time.”
Pacheco was asked an interesting question about what NFL running backs he looked up to and modeled his game after. Earlier in the week, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid compared Pacheco to 49ers running back Roger Craig.
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Winner of three Super Bowls and named to the Pro Bowl four times, Craig was one of the best running backs in the NFL during the 1980s.
Pacheco, when asked who he styled his game after, was blunt in his response.
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“None of them,” Pacheco said matter of factly.
It’s time for Super Bowl LVIII, which means that it’s time for Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar to dive into the Chiefs-49ers matchups with tape and advanced metrics.
It’s nearly time for the biggest game of the NFL season, which means it’s time for our guys Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, to do a very deep dive on Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, using all kinds of tape study and advanced metrics.
Here, the guys cover these topics, as well as many others:
You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:
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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
Here is every team’s leading rusher from the 2023 campaign
A Carolina Panther led the entire NFL in rushing this past season!
Oh, wait . . . our apologies . . .
A former Carolina Panther led the entire NFL in rushing this past season! So, congratulations to Christian McCaffrey, who is also just days away from playing on the game’s biggest stage.
Now, as we continue to put a bow on the year, let’s look back at each team’s leading rusher from the 2023 regular season.
Check out these photos and videos of the #Chiefs deplaning in Las Vegas ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.
The Kansas City Chiefs are officially less than a week away from competing against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As anticipation mounts ahead of the final game season, Kansas City got an early start to their travels West, flying to Sin City on Sunday to begin their preparations for a title defense in The Sagebrush State.
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Stars like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Isiah Pacheco were seen disembarking the Chiefs’ plane at a Las Vegas airport ahead of their February 11 matchup against the 49ers.
Kansas City’s players showed off their signature styles as they deplaned, sporting fashionable threads to give fans a look at their swagger as they begin preparations for the Super Bowl, which is to be played at Allegiant Stadium.
Check out this selection of photos and videos of the Chiefs’ landing in Las Vegas that were posted to social media channels on Sunday:
Run defense will be a crucial aspect in Super Bowl LVIII between the Chiefs and 49ers — in fact, it may ultimately decide the game.
Well, the Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last five years, which is pretty insane. And in Super Bowl LVIII, they’ll face the San Francisco 49ers franchise they beat 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV, overcoming a 20-10 third-quarter deficit to do it.
These two teams are decidedly different than they were four seasons ago. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in a 1973 Bon Griese hair shirt for most of that postseason, because Shanahan knew full well that when you put the game in Jimmy G’s hands… well, you didn’t generally want to do that. Raheem Mostert and Deebo Samuel were San Francisco’s primary rushers in that game, because the 49ers hadn’t yet made their team-defining trade with the Carolina Panthers for Christian McCaffrey. Add in a second-year quarterback in Brock Purdy who can actually hit his weight in the NFL, and this offense is far more to Shanahan’s preferences than that one was.
As for the Chiefs, there’s no more point-per-minute stuff. Tyreek Hill is out of the picture, and most of Andy Reid’s most explosive passing plays with him. The Chiefs got back to the big dance with a highly uneven receiver group, Travis Kelce finding the fountain of youth at the right time, and a Steve Spagnuolo defense that now sets the tone. There’s also the efforts of second-year running back Isiah Pacheco, who generally runs at your defense as if your defense owes him money.
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So, a point of discussion now, as it really wasn’t in that last Super Bowl between these two teams, is how the two run defenses will fare. Based on the tape and the tendencies, I would argue that the team winning that battle may well come away with the Lombardi Trophy.
Let’s dive into it.
After having exit meetings on Monday, the Baltimore Ravens met the media and offered their reactions to the AFC title game loss to the Chiefs
The Ravens are again staring disappointment in the face after a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Jackson and the Ravens offense imploded with three turnovers, and the team is 0-8 in team history when committing three or more turnovers in the postseason.
Jackson finished 20 of 37 for 272 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as Baltimore tied a season-low with 10 points.
The consensus favorite for NFL MVP, Jackson will have to wait another year to escape the notion that he’s unable to win games in the most crucial moments.
With a critical offseason and major decisions ahead, the Ravens cleaned out their lockers and had exit interviews with the coaching staff. Afterward, they met with the media, and here are the instant reactions.
