Watching Sunday's Super Bowl beatdown by the Eagles brought back some not-so-great memories of my high school and college years. Through much of the 1980s and 90s, the NFC routinely took the AFC to the woodshed in the big game, just as Philadelphia did to the two-time defending champions Sunday night.

The game was over well before halftime, much as was the case with the likes San Francisco, Washington and Dallas back in the day. It was a throwback of sorts, but not one many will look back on fondly as it was basically a two-decade stretch of almost entirely uncompetitive Super Bowls. When your team isn't playing, competitiveness is the only requirement for enjoyment – and we didn't get it. (Truth be told I'm sure boatloads of Patriots fans enjoyed watching the Chiefs demise just as well).

The Eagles trouncing had a similar feel to those countless blowouts. Jalen Hurts was brilliant, as he was in the conference title with over Washington two weeks earlier. Many folks felt the Eagles boasted the league's most talented roster, and if Hurts could replicate the passing performance he showed against the Commanders the Chiefs would be in trouble.

That was the case, and basically from the first series through garbage time Philadelphia manhandled its overwhelmed opponent. The 40-22 victory was as thorough as we've seen in a Super Bowl since Seattle dismantled Peyton Manning's Broncos back in 2013. Even Tampa's 31-9 win over these same Chiefs five years ago had a more competitive look than this one.

It all started up front, particularly on the defensive line for Philly. The Eagles pressured Patrick Mahomes with fourrushers and clearly bothered the three-time Super Bowl MVP throughout. That said, the bigger issue from my view was the Chiefs lack of playmakers. No one consistently got open and was available to make a play, and Mahomes pressed to find a spark that simply didn't exist. He made awful decisions with the ball and his pick-six to Eagles rookie Cooper DeJean all but put and end to the festivities at 17-0 in the second quarter.

But while the focus has fallen on the Eagles stout lines of both sides, I was more impressed by Hurts' ability to move when he needed to while also delivering with his arm. His pinpoint passing was magnified because Kansas City actually did a great job of eliminating Saquon Barkley from the game. The NFL Offensive Player of the Year was a non-factor, but Hurts excelled anyway.

It was another example of how the passing game puts points on the board more effectively than running. Barkley ran over the Packers and Rams in the first two postseason games and yet the Eagles offense struggled to score in both. When Hurts perked up against Washington and Kansas City, it resulted in 95 total points.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who spent much of the season having his job status debated in the media, walked off the field as a champion and looks to be firmly in control of a deep and talented team. Now it's time to see if he can do what Andy Reid has done in Kansas City and duplicate the feat.

Trade Partners

There has been plenty of talk about what the Patriots need to do this offseason in order to start down the road back to respectability. There are many areas in need of upgrades but one position that has consistently been mentioned is wide receiver, and that's one spot the trade market seems destined to feature.

Cooper Kupp says the Rams intend to trade him while the Niners gave Deebo Samuel permission to seek a deal as well. In addition, wideouts such as D.K. Metcalf, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams all could be available as well. Both Kupp (31) and Samuel (29) are a bit long in the tooth but might make some sense for the Patriots as veterans who could add some talent to depth chart. Kupp in particular appears to have the right temperament to help the Patriots young and struggling corps of wideouts. Andrew Whitworth, Kupp's former teammate with the Rams, spoke to "Zo and Beetle" on 98.5 The Sports Hub during Super Bowl week and offered an interesting take.

"Look at the situation that's happened in L.A. with Cooper Kupp, his impact, how amazing he's been," Whitworth said. "That entire room of wide receivers will be different for the rest of their careers, because they got a chance to spend five minutes with Cooper Kupp, much less all the years he's been there. So. Puka [Nacua] has been trained and prepared from all that time that he spent with Cooper to be exactly who they need Puka to be. That's how you have to be to be able to sustain success.

"Cooper Kupp is the equivalent to having Sean McVay on the field. Cooper Kupp could walk in a room right now and run an offense. He's that intelligent. He understands the game that much. He wants to sit in a room and dissect film and break it down and all those things. He's teaching the receivers, he's helping the tight ends and the linemen. ... His mindset and that kind of stuff and just being valuable for that quarterback.

Many have compared Kupp as a possible addition to Adam Theilen, who has been instrumental in helping Bryce Young develop in Carolina. If Whitworth's description of Kupp is even close to accurate, he might make some sense to acquire given the impact he could have on the receiver room as well as Drake Maye. Kupp's recent injury history (he's missed at least five games in each of the last three seasons and 19 overall during that time) could scare teams away, but the cost shouldn't be much more than a Day 3 pick swap and that would be worth exploring for the Patriots.

Dynasty Comps

As for the Chiefs ongoing chase of the Patriots and their dynasty, not much changed Sunday night. Kansas City remains very much on par with New England during the first seven years of the Mahomes era with three titles and a pair of Super Bowl losses as compared to three titles and one loss during Brady's first seven years as the Patriots quarterback. That said, it's hard to ignore the fact that Mahomes and the Chiefs were blown out in both Super Bowl losses while Brady's Patriots lost gut-wrenching nailbiters in all three defeats.

Overall, the Patriots remain light years in front with six titles and nine appearances during Brady's 19 years as the starter. So, even though the Chiefs have been as successful under Mahomes, they still have quite a way to go before they can truly be worthy of comparison to the Brady era.

Mail Call

Clearly Patriots fans have been busy worrying about other things as the Super Bowl came and went without their favorite team. How else to explain the lack of activity this week? Anyway, Mike Dussault handled the couple of questions that came his way.

Would you be willing to trade down two or more times in the first round? How far down would be acceptable to you? – David Brown

That would be a really hard pill to swallow. I think the Patriots need an influx of elite talent and though it's great to have a bunch of lottery cards in the draft, it's the top end of the first round where the best players are available. I think the toughest question will be if Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter are no longer available at 4th overall. Then a trade down a few spots could be ideal, where you could still fill an offensive line need with Will Campbell or Kelvin Banks while also picking up additional Day 2 pick(s). In that regard, I'd say the Patriots must stay within the top 12 to get the kind of player at a position of need. One additional piece to consider is the strong depth at edge, both as traditional hand-down defensive ends as well as outside linebacker-types who can play standing up. I see both as major spots of need for the Patriots and if they could grab another top-50 pick they might be able to fill both spots with two really promising players. Of course, we can wait to see what they do in free agency first. That will probably inform how much a trade down makes sense. If they fill the tackle need with at least one player, it could allow them a little more flexibility to stick and pick. I am not fully on the Mason Graham train as I see him as a little too redundant to Christian Barmore, but maybe they even target the cornerback position if they don't have a trade offer that satisfies them. It's just hard to see a team giving up a boatload for the fourth overall pick at this point.

It feels like Pats are rebuilding down-up: first excellence at quarterback, then at head coach, then maybe at general manager, while in 2000 it started with Bill Belichick. Does it matter to you? – Stan C.

Nope, they just have to start stacking talent no matter who the coach or general manager might be. There are no extra points for rebuilding in a certain order. So, at this point they have two pieces of the major five positions that most good teams have elite players at. Quarterback and cornerback have a lot of promise, but the cupboards are essentially bare at edge, left tackle and wide receiver. There are some complementary players in those position groups and who knows, maybe this year playing in new schemes some of those players will ascend farther than looks possible at this point. But personally, I'd love to see those positions addressed aggressively this offseason both in free agency and in the draft, perhaps going so far as to say they need a veteran and a top-100 pick spent at each spot, doubling up to ensure they have an immediate answer as well as a potential long-term solution. In comparison to 2000, I'd say there are still some similarities. Even Belichick had some holdover players at some key spots like edge and cornerback and then needed to find the other pieces. He attacked free agency in 2001 finding some excellent players, some of whom, like Mike Vrabel, developed into stars. Add in that they drafted a Hall of Fame defensive end and a 10-year left tackle in 2001 and you can see how it all came together. They have all the resources to pull off those types of changes in 2025.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer