Hogs Haven
Survey results!!
The final game of the 2024 season will be played on Sunday in Super Bowl LIX, with the AFC represented for the third straight season by the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC represented, for the 4th time this century and the 2nd time in three seasons, by the Philadelphia Eagles.
SB Nation’s national email survey of NFL fans asked for a pair of game predictions: the over/under vs. 48.5 points, and the winner with the Chiefs -1.5.
The results indicate that fans generally expect a close game, with just under half of all survey respondents expecting Kansas City to cover, while just a shade over half pick the Eagles +1.5 points.
Fans are a bit more confident about the score, with 56% taking the over.
During the regular season, the Eagles had the 7th highest scoring offense at 27.2 points per game, while the Chiefs were ranked 15th at 22.6 ppg. Defensively, Philly ranked 2nd and Kansas City 4th at 17.8 and 19.2 ppg, respectively.
A fairly close score of, say, 27-24 would achieve the over, while 24-21 would not, which should give some sense of what to expect based on fan predictions of a close game with close to 48 points scored, indicating that the expectation is for both offenses to achieve close to their season averages while the defenses give up considerably more points than they did, on average, during the regular season.
More parochially, here on Hogs Haven this week, we asked readers to say which of five finalists should have won the AP Coach of the Year award, and which of several choices should have won Sporting News Executive of the Year.
Unsurprisingly, Hogs Haven readers went with the home team.
Just under 90% of respondents chose Dan Quinn as the finalist who should have won COTY, while an incredible 98% went with Commanders GM Adam Peters as Exec of the Year. The argument for both revolved around the complete turnaround in franchise fortunes, from a 4-13 finish in 2013 to a 12-5 finish (and eventual appearance in the NFC title game). In addition, Peters seemed to get credit for his hiring of Quinn, while both were credited with developing a roster that, through good construction and coaching, was greater than the sum of its parts.
In reality, Dan Quinn was 5th in voting, and the AP Coach of the Year award went to Vikings head coach (and former Washington OC) Kevin O’Connell, with Lions head coach Den Campbell earning the 2nd-most votes. The Vikings entered the ‘24 season with the same over/under for season wins as the Commanders (6.5) but went on to win 14 games, second-place in the NFC North, and a wildcard seeding before losing to the Rams, 27-9, in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Sporting News and the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) both gave the Executive of the Year award to Brad Holmes,...
