Schlereth: Letting Phillips walk the biggest of recent Broncos mistakes

Lost amid the talk about talk of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s masterstroke in Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams, Mark Schlereth said on Tuesday, is the remarkable job Wade Phillips did stifling Tom Brady and company.

The Rams held the Patriots to just 13 points, the lowest point total in any of New England’s nine Super Bowl appearances in the Brady-Belichick era. And Brady had statistically the worst Super Bowl of his career, throwing for just 262 yards on 21-of-35 passing with no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 71.4.

“In this game, the Super Bowl, what was lost? To me, it’s what the Rams did on the defensive side of the football,” the “Schlereth and Evans” co-host said.

But perhaps what stings more is that Phillips, just a few years ago, had been calling similar types of games along the Denver Broncos sidelines, Schlereth said.

“Wade Phillips is one of the most quality coaches and quality individuals and quality human beings in football. And the fact that he is now coaching for the Los Angeles Rams is probably the biggest mistake the Broncos have made in all the mistakes that they have made in recent years,” Schlereth said.

“I tell you what, I miss seeing him coach for the Broncos.”

In his second stint in Denver, Phillips only spent two seasons (2015 and 2016) as the team’s defensive coordinator.

But in those two seasons, the Broncos ranked first (2015) and fourth (2016) in team defense, and both seasons they were the best passing defense in the NFL.

In that time as well, the Broncos won its third world championship, much in part thanks to a stellar defensive outing in Super Bowl 50.

“I think the one thing we look at, of all the mistakes that have been made here as a franchise for the Denver Broncos … maybe the biggest mistake was letting Wade Phillips leave,” Schlereth said.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.