Fly, Eagles, Fly
Nobody saw a total beatdown occurring in the Super Bowl, but the best team in Eagles franchise history arguably played its best game ever.
It amounted to a total dominance—40-22 over the former two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
It was the second Super Bowl win for the Eagles, with the first came after during the 2017 season when they beat the Patriots 41-33.
One other question needs to be asked – where does this Eagles team rank among top teams in NFL history? One would think there is an argument for top five team of all-time.
That one can be debated at another date. What can’t be debated is the Eagles’ season-long dominance.
The Super Bowl MVP was Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
He completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Hurts also rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown, on 11 carries and finished with a 119.7 passer rating.
How about an honorable mention MVP for Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio?
The biggest improvement in the Eagles this season was with their defense. Fangio brought a bend-but-don’t-break mentality.
The Chiefs, with three Pro Bowl players on their offensive line, couldn’t handle the Eagles defensive line. The Eagles were getting enough pressure without needing to blitz.
This game was over at halftime with the Eagles leading 24-0.
In the first 30 minutes of football, the Eagles sucked the spirit out of the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes, who can lay claim as one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all-time, looked like a Pop Warmer scrub in the first half.
Mahomes completed 6 of 14 passes for 33 yards and two interceptions in the first half. His passer rating was a meager 10.7. (His game stats were respectable, but much of the damage came after the Chiefs trailed 34-0).
Both interceptions resulted in Eagles touchdowns, one that Cooper DeJean returned 38 yards for a touchdown. The second interception by Zack Baun led to A.J. Brown’s 11-yard scoring pass from Jalen Hurts.
The Chiefs gave up running the ball early and had three yards on three carries.
The announcers talked so much about how the Chiefs were doing a great job stopping the run, which they were, but what they failed to mention is that Kansas City had no answer for the Eagles passing game.
In the first half, Hurts completed 11 of 15 for 123 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 25 yards and a TD on eight carries. Despite the one interception, Hurts had a 91.1 passer rating.
Kansas City couldn’t get to Hurts with a traditional pass rush and had to blitz, leaving the Eagles facing a lot of one-on-one coverage.
The Eagles offensive line was as dominating the same way it has been all season.
In the first half, the Eagles defensive line sacked Mahomes three times, led by Josh Sweat who had 1.5 sacks. (He would finish with 2.5 for the game).
Want some more first half stats?
The Chiefs were held to one first down and that came on their first play from scrimmage.
Game over.
The Eagles had enacted revenge for losing two years ago to the Chiefs, 38-35 in the Super Bowl.
In the first half, they were 0 for 6 on third down, compared to 13 for the Eagles. Time of possession was Eagles 19:59 and the Chief 10:01.
Game over.
The stats don’t tell the entire story, although they certainly illustrate a good part of it. Even when the Eagles didn’t sack Mahomes, they put plenty of pressure on him and the veteran of three Super Bowl rings looked nervous in the pocket.
Fangio’s defense had gotten into his head, not to mention into the backfield repeatedly.
The second half was more of the same. The Chiefs still weren’t able to do anything on offense (until the game was out of hand). The Eagles kept moving the ball at will.
What made the defensive effort so impressive is that the Eagles didn’t blitz a single time the entire game and still sacked Mahomes six times.
Again, this came against a two-time champ that won 17 games (including two playoff games).
This game was a microcosm of the season, and the Eagles happened to enjoy their best performance at the most opportune time.
Photo Courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles' X/Twitter
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Author: Marc Narducci
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