Mac Jones, Joe Burrow among those with most to gain from Super Bowl
With the NFL playoffs full steam ahead and Super Wild Card Weekend coming up, it's never too early to start thinking about who could be lifting the Lombardi Trophy in less than a month.
On Friday's "First Things First," Nick Wright did just that, breaking down who has the most to gain from winning Super Bowl LVI and explaining why.
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Who has the most to gain from a big win at Super Bowl LVI?
"One rule — and this should add to some suspense for the end of the list — I did not include anyone from teams that have no chance of winning the Super Bowl," Wright began. "So just as a spoiler, as a for-instance, you're not gonna see Big Ben. ‘He could have his third Super Bowl!’ Well, no. He couldn't. He could sprout wings and fly far, far away. So no Steelers on the list because their season is already over."
That said, let's see who made the cut.
1. Mac Jones/Bill Belichick
Nick's thoughts: "McCorkle and Belichick, most to gain. You guys know I don't believe in the baby GOAT nonsense, but if they win the Super Bowl … that does feel a little Brady-ish. And for Belichick, I think he's already the greatest coach ever. I think in the Brady-Belichick 'who's winning the divorce,' Belichick doesn't just catch up, takes the lead. I think winning the Super Bowl with this Patriots team this year would be more impressive than Brady winning it with that Bucs team last year. Now, I don't think they're gonna do it. However, it would be disrespectful of the Patriots, and of Belichick, to say they have no chance."
2. Joe Burrow
Nick's thoughts: "If Joe Burrow wins, here's the question: Is this the greatest three-year stretch for a quarterback ever? … In the last three years, he's been healthy twice. He had an undefeated national championship season in college, the greatest statistical college season ever, and he followed it up with his first healthy year as a pro winning the Super Bowl for the Bengals. Winning the Super Bowl for the Bengals actually counts as three. He would also now have more rings than Rodgers and Brees and Mahomes. He would have three of them!"
Nick's thoughts: "Patrick Mahomes would have accomplished more in five years than [Aaron] Rodgers, than Drew Brees in their careers from a winning perspective. He would not only be actually, really credibly in the midst of a dynasty, but also would dead forever the ‘Is something wrong with Mahomes?’ takes if he ever has a slump again, if they win the Super Bowl this year when he was [in] a down year and all that nonsense we had to hear. PFF has him as the 10th best quarterback in football, and it was the greatest start to a career in NFL history."
Nick's thoughts: "If Rodgers wins this Super Bowl — he's gonna win this MVP — I think quarterback Mount Rushmore becomes [Tom] Brady, [Peyton] Manning, [Joe] Montana, Rodgers. I understand Gil Brandt and Peter King are very mad at the lack of inclusion of Johnny Unitas. My apologies to Johhny U, but that's what it would be. Right now, that fourth spot on Mount Rushmore is wide open. Is it Dan Marino. Is it Brett Favre? Is it John Elway? Is it Roger Staubach? Is it Terry Bradshaw? I think Rodgers would stake a clear claim to it with a win."
Nick's thoughts: "It'd be big for Matt Stafford. You know who it'd be bigger for? Retired NFL quarterbacks that feel like they got screwed over by their franchises. Don't you think that if Matt Stafford wins the Super Bowl, Jeff George is gonna be watching saying ‘I told you! I told you I could of done it!’ Philip Rivers watching, ‘God dog it! See? You just needed to put me in the right spot! This guy was in Detroit for a decade, goes to the Rams and wins.' Also, for him, it'd be total vindication. And for a guy who [was] the number-one pick in the draft, has all those 5,000-yard seasons, if they were to win the Super Bowl — I won't agree with it but — people will start saying, ‘Hey, is Matt Stafford a Hall of Famer?’ He isn't, but that conversation will start."
6. Josh Allen
Nick's thoughts: "Talk about my worst nightmare. Josh Allen — if [the Bills] win the Super Bowl it would mean they beat the Chiefs in round two in Arrowhead, and then they go on to win the Super Bowl — folks would argue Josh Allen is the best quarterback in the AFC. And it wouldn't be a ludicrous argument. I wouldn't like it. In fact, I would hate it. In fact, I would consider a change of profession. But I would have to listen to it."
7. Dak Prescott
Nick's thoughts: "Oddly, it doesn't feel like it would move the needle as much as it would for the guys above him on this list. Now, the Cowboys obviously could win the Super Bowl, but because the story of this year has not been ‘Dak got to another level.' It's ‘The defense got to another level.’ It obviously would be vindication for Mike McCarthy. It would be very embarrassing for me if Mike McCarthy all of a sudden has two Super Bowl rings. Any quarterback that wins a Super Bowl has something to gain — Dak I don't think has as much to gain as the next guy."
8. Tom Brady
Nick's thoughts: "Tom Brady has entered the category of ‘People Who Could Least Use $10 Billion Dollars.’ You know who's on the top of that list? [Jeff] Bezos and [Elon] Musk. It's like, ‘Well, what’re you gonna put it with the other billions of dollars?' At this point, you want down the street, and you say to a random sports fan, ‘How many Super Bowls does Tom Brady have?’ I think most of them get it wrong. I think they're like, ‘Six, is it seven, does he have eight?' You just put it with the rest. He doesn’t have that much to gain, if we're being honest. That's a compliment to Brady. He was in this exact spot on the list last year and won the damn thing."