Football games are not won by individuals. They are won through coordinated effort and disciplined execution by players who embrace their roles, even when those roles do not generate headlines.
Online football commentators frequently credit one player for their team’s wins and losses, strengths and weaknesses, and entire season outcomes. The position that is most often credited/discredited for teams successes/failures is the quarterback, which does make sense, seeing as the quarterback touches the ball almost every play.
While I do acknowledge that the quarterback is one of the most important players on the field, I think that people should also consider that he is not the only player on the field. For example, a quarterback makes a clutch throw to an open receiver, resulting in a game-winning touchdown. While it is easy to make this play all about the man who threw the ball, it wouldn’t have been possible without protection from his offensive line. He also wouldn’t have made the throw if his receiver didn’t create separation (space between him and the defender) to get open, and maybe the receiver wouldn’t have been open if another receiver on the backside didn’t draw the safety out of the play on a threatening “go” route. The team also wouldn’t have been in the position to run this play if their defense didn’t make a big-time stop, and maybe the team’s punt unit pinned their opponents deep in their own territory, facilitating the defense’s theoretical stellar play.
My point is, to be successful at football, it requires a team. No single player can carry his team to the top, or drag his team down to the bottom. I believe that the Seattle Seahawks’ recent Super Bowl victory proves this.
As an avid football fan, while watching the Super Bowl, one question remained unanswered for me. Who deserves the prestigious Super Bowl MVP? Yes, Kenneth Walker played a great game, but who is to say he deserved the award more than Jason Myers, who scored the most points for the Hawks and single handedly outscored the Patriots, or Sam Darnold, who threw for over 200 yards while only taking one sack, or the Seahawks’ entire defense, who combined for six sacks, two interceptions, and a fumble? At this moment, I realized that a football game isn’t decided by one MVP, but rather by an entire team. This is especially true in the biggest games of the season, where both teams have a roster full of outstanding players who are the best of the best at their craft. This is why the Super Bowl, year in and year out, reveals which NFL team was the most complete, robust, all-around TEAM among all the others.
In football, wide receivers are a key component of the offense and are often considered some of the most important “superstars” on the field. Funnily enough, the last time the Super Bowl-winning team had a 100+-yard receiver was in 2020, during Super Bowl LIV. This is not to say that the winning teams of these games did not have phenomenal pass catchers, but rather is a testament to the immense skill of the defense, and an intensification of the importance of teamwork in the big game. As an offense, if your number one receiving threat is unavailable, there MUST be an alternative; otherwise, your offense will not be successful.
Similarly, Super Bowl-winning teams usually have very strong defenses. Two of the past three Super Bowl champions have held their opponent to fewer points than they averaged per game during the regular season. The defense is an especially good example of the importance of a solid team, as fans generally only “heroify” offensive players and entire defensive units (see Orange Crush, Legion of Boom, Sacksonville, Steel Curtain, No Fly Zone, ETC) showing that even fans understand that football isn’t an individual sport, but only choose to acknowledge this on one side of the ball.
In the age of social media, where narratives are constructed around heroes and scapegoats, it is easy to forget how interconnected football truly is. The Super Bowl does not crown the league’s best individual player, but rather crowns the most complete team, and that distinction matters. Football has always been, and will always be, the ultimate team sport.
