The Las Vegas Raiders, as they have for over two decades, had to sit on the couch and watch the Super Bowl from home once again. This year, however, the game featured several interesting aspects, not the least of which was the long list of former Raiders players and coaches on both teams.
Most notably, new head coach Klint Kubiak was on the Seattle Seahawks' sideline, and former head coach Josh McDaniels was on the other, back for his third stint as the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator. And again, he had his offense humming all year long. Until it mattered.
McDaniels helped second-year quarterback Drake Maye blossom into an MVP runner-up, and the Patriots' offense averaged 28.8 points per game in the regular season, which was second-most in the NFL. But they laid an egg in Super Bowl LX, and McDaniels looked like the Raiders version of himself.
Patriots offense flops in Super Bowl LX, reminding Raiders fans of Josh McDaniels' tenure in Las Vegas
In Las Vegas, McDaniels' offense ranked 12th in both yards gained and points scored during his first season. While the numbers, by and large, looked good, the Raiders often failed to get first downs or score when they needed to, and they just had games where they couldn't get anything going.
He was eventually fired for losing the locker room, but McDaniels' offense also took a massive step back in Year 2. Suddenly, this team couldn't score, as they pitched in just 15.8 points and 268.3 yards per game, and they eclipsed 20 points just once. McDaniels was promptly relieved of his duties.
That was the story for the Patriots under McDaniels on Sunday. When they needed to get it done, they simply couldn't get anything going. McDaniels couldn't figure out how to protect Maye or dial up quick routes to get the ball out of his hands quicker. They couldn't run the ball at all.
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Now, Will Campbell was a liability at left tackle, Maye was seeing ghosts, and the Seattle defense is one of the best in recent memory of the league. But it took New England until the fourth quarter, when the Seahawks were running a more prevent defense, to put any points on the board or move the ball.
Whereas Kubiak, on the other sideline, was able to find ways to have success against a stout Patriots defense and churn out 22 offensive points, McDaniels and New England were lost for answers. Between that and their leadership differences, the Raiders should be ecscatic about landing Kubiak.
McDaniels is a legendary coordinator in New England, and he's led plenty of Super Bowl-winning offenses. Six, to be exact. But on Sunday, when the rubber met the road, and without Tom Brady under center, McDaniels looked like the Raiders version of himself.