Winning a Super Bowl is no easy feat. If a team is lucky, good or a little bit of both, they may advance from their four-game preseason and 16-game regular season to the postseason. The NFL playoffs consist of the wild-card round, the divisional round, the conference championships—and then, hopefully, the Super Bowl.
A lot can happen between August and February. Injuries to key players, drama in the locker room and shake-ups in coaching staff can throw stumbling blocks into an already grueling season. By the time the Super Bowl rolls around, it is easy to imagine how every player is tired, sore and mentally drained.