Shock, awe, and bewilderment resonated on the Chiefs sideline. The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions for the second time in franchise history after dominating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX. The Chiefs were 16-1 this season when they played their starters, with the lone loss, a 30-21 loss to the Bills decided late in the fourth quarter. It was startling to see the Chiefs comprehensively beaten in this matchup from start to finish. It was only the fifth Mahomes’ loss in his career by a double-digit margin, and it ended their quest of becoming the first team to three-peat. So, how did the Eagles accomplish this feat? In this article, we discuss three ways the Eagles dismantled the Chiefs to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
1. Dominant Philly Defense- The mantra in sports is that defense wins the championship. The Eagles entered the matchup as the top defense in the regular season, but there was doubt whether they could slow down Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. The defense forced three turnovers including two interceptions, recorded six sacks, and held Mahomes and the Kansas City offense to an inflated 275 yards. The Eagles scored 17 points off those turnovers, including a 38-yard Cooper DeJean pick-six. The Eagles did not blitz on a single one of Mahomes’ dropbacks. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, this is only the fourth time that a defense did not blitz in a game. It was a brilliant performance from a unit that will be underrated as a top defense in NFL history.
2. Hurts made the Chiefs pay in stopping Barkley- the game plan for the Chiefs and every football fan entering this matchup was to stop Saquon Barkley if they were to win the Super Bowl. The Chiefs’ defense did not allow the Penn State alum to win this game by allowing Barley 25 rushes for 57 yards. The defense forced the Jalen Hurts to make them pay for stacking the bus. Hurts gashed the blitz by rushing 72 yards in 11 touches and completing 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and three total touchdowns. Jalen made big plays with his arm to his outside targets, A.J. Brown and Devontae Smith, for his touchdown passes. Hurts made one big mistake in the first half in throwing an interception, but the defense prevented the error from being costly. After the game, we were told Hurts became the first quarterback in playoff history to throw and run for 10 touchdowns each. Hurts deservedly won the MVP of the game and silenced his critics as a top 5 MVP along with Mahomes, Jackson, Allen, and Burrow from the AFC.
3. Chiefs cracks become craters- the Kansas City Chiefs entered this game on a 17-game winning streak in one-score games. Unfortunately, that record will be intact due to this blowout loss. The Chiefs had their flaws from the regular season because a few of their victories were fluky based on bad penalties, blocked, and missed field goals. The offensive line for the Chiefs had recently turned the corner, and it felt like the Eagles exposed their struggles in this matchup. The Running Backs struggled with seven rushes for 24 yards, which made the offense one-dimensional. The lack of protection and a run game forced Mahomes into frantic running and errant throws. The Chiefs did not fulfill the three-peat, but they are still a modern-day dynasty.