Grease up the light poles on Broad Street, it’s time to party in Philadelphia.
In one of the most shocking Super Bowl outcomes in history, the Philadelphia Eagles walloped the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX and stopped the first three-peat in NFL history in its tracks.
It’s the second Super Bowl championship in Eagles franchise history and their second against one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen.
Philadelphia and Nick Foles shocked Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in 2018, but what they did Sunday night was even more impressive.
The Eagles came into the Super Bowl with the more talented roster top-to-bottom, there was no questioning that. But as we’ve seen so many times before, the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, and that usually was enough to overcome any sort of talent gap.
Not this time it wasn’t.
Mahomes had one of the worst games in his career, and the Eagles completely dominated all three phases in a game that was never even close.
“Credit to the Eagles, man. They played better than us from start to finish,” Mahomes said after the game.
It’s some sweet payback for the Eagles, as the Chiefs’ quest for a three-peat began by beating Philadelphia two years ago in Super Bowl LVII.
But after an absolute beatdown on the bayou, it’s now the Eagles’ turn to spend a summer with the Lombardi Trophy in tow.
Here are some takeaways from the Eagles’ dismantling of the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Eagles’ front four dominates
It’s not hyperbole to say what the Philadelphia defence did on Sunday was one of the greatest Super Bowl performances by a single unit in NFL history.
The Eagles’ defence forced Mahomes into three turnovers (one for a TD), sacked him six times and made the three-time Super Bowl champ look downright uncomfortable right from the opening snap.
It was all eerily similar to the last time the Chiefs lost in the Super Bowl to Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
In the first half of the game that saw the Eagles sprint out to a 24-0 lead and never look back, Mahomes was pressured on 47.9 per cent of his pass attempts while only completing 42.9 per cent of his passes, per Next Gen Stats. Mahomes also finished with the second-worst expected points added per dropback in his entire career, which probably would’ve been his worst if not for a few garbage-time TDs late in the second half.
What makes the performance by the Eagles D even more impressive, is that they did it all without sending a single blitz all night.
The Eagles’ talented group of pass rushers was consistently in the backfield despite only rushing four. It’s only the fourth time a team has not blitzed once in the Next Gen Stats era.
“When you’re winning with the four-man rush and you can just cycle guys through and they’re still winning, you don’t have to blitz,” Eagles LB Zack Baun said after the win. “Great game plan, great communication. We were all on the same page all game.”
Even the great Andy Reid, who is widely revered for his ability to make savvy in-game adjustments, had no answer for Vic Fangio’s defence on Sunday.
“Defence wins championships,” Eagles QB Jalen Hurts told Fox‘s Erin Andrews on the field immediately after the win.
The Eagles were better in every single way that mattered Sunday, but it was their defensive line that paved the way.
Hurts shows up when it matters most
It’s time to put respect on Jalen Hurts’ name.
After all, we aren’t that far removed from this Eagles team being the centre of drama surrounding their passing attack.
In large part due to the greatness of Saquon Barkley, who set the single-season rushing record for yards in a single season (regular-season and post-season combined) on Sunday, Hurts’ stats this year never wowed anyone.
There were even reports of drama in the Eagles’ locker room because of a lack of aerial threat.
My how silly that all looks now.
Winning fixes everything, and Hurts led his team to the biggest win of them all.
Oh, did we mention he was also named Super Bowl LIX MVP for his performance on Sunday? Hurts finished the game 17-of-22 for 221 yards and two touchdowns while also leading the team in rushing with 72 yards and a score — the most rushing yards by a QB in the Super Bowl in NFL history.
Maybe the only thing the Chiefs can hang their hat on is that they were somehow able to contain Barkley on Sunday. The Eagles MVP candidate finished with just 57 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
But with Kansas City keying on Barkley, there were holes for Hurts to take advantage of, and he did just that.
No one will remember the fact that the Eagles had the 29th-ranked passing offence this season.
The only thing that will be remembered is the banner that’s going to be raised at Lincoln Financial Field in September, and that thing will hang forever.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman vindicated
The Eagles’ loss to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl two years ago hit them all hard.
Hurts made a picture of the red and yellow confetti on his phone background for the past two years to use as motivation.
But the loss might not have hit anyone harder than Eagles general manager Howie Roseman.
Roseman went on record and said that the Chiefs have “been in his head” ever since the loss.
He was motivated to build a team that could “beat the best,” and now it’s his squad that is the new league standard
After a disappointing end to last season, Roseman went to work in the off-season.
The signing of Barkley was arguably the best move of the entire summer. He brought in the veteran linebacker Baun, who turned himself into a Defensive Player of the Year candidate under Fangio. He put an exclamation point in the Super Bowl, leading the team in tackles, and had an interception Sunday.
Roseman also nailed the draft, bringing in talented rookie corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, the latter who saved the first interception of his career for a pick-six of Mahomes on the biggest stage.
You can’t win Super Bowl MVP if you don’t step on the field, but if you could, Roseman would’ve certainly deserved some consideration.
Chiefs get a dose of their own medicine
Through their three Super Bowl victories in five years, what made this Chiefs team so special was their ability to always save their best for the biggest moments.
They didn’t make big mistakes, and always took advantage of errors from the opposing squads.
But on Sunday, it was the complete opposite story.
It was Mahomes who made the back-breaking mistakes. It was the Chiefs who took the drive-killing penalties.
And yes, the Eagles deserve a ton of credit for how they played on both sides of the ball to make that happen.
But it was probably the most uncharacteristically sloppy game from the Chiefs that we’ve seen in years, maybe ever.
Does it make it sting a little less that they can still say they won two of the last three? Mahomes doesn’t seem to think so.
“It’s the worst feeling in the world,” Mahomes said after the loss. “…(The Super Bowl losses) hurt more than the wins feel good.”
Where do Chiefs go from here?
It was a humbling night for the Chiefs.
But regardless of how you feel about Mahomes, we’ve learned time and time again it’s wrong to ever assume he’s ever down and out.
He’s earned that right.
However, unlike the last two years, the Chiefs now head into the off-season with a ton of question marks.
Legendary tight end Travis Kelce was largely kept in check on Sunday and finished with just four catches for 39 yards. Kelce said before the Super Bowl that he had no plans to retire, but could a beatdown like Sunday change his mind?
“He’ll get to spend some time with his family and make that decision on his own,” Mahomes said when asked about the future of his future Hall of Fame TE.
In some good news for the Chiefs, they get their No. 1 WR back next season when Rashee Rice returns from a season-ending knee injury he suffered in Week 4.
But getting to one Super Bowl is hard enough, and the Chiefs will now look to become just the second team in history to make it to four straight.
Will being on the precipice of history and falling short be the last time we see the Chiefs in the big game?
Not if Mahomes has anything to say about it.
“I let y’all down today. I’ll always continue to work and try and learn and be better for it,” Mahomes posted on his personal X account. “…We will be back.”
