Super Bowl LIX Recap

    Written by: William Petersen •

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    Super Bowl LIX was one for the books as the Big Easy welcomed the two best teams from each respective conference to rondout another exciting NFL season. History was going to be made Sunday night no matter who won the football game as the Kansas City Chiefs were looking to be the first team in NFL history to win three-straight Super Bowls while Jalen Hurts looked to be just the fourth quarterback to lose his first Super Bowl appearance and come back and win in his career. The two-time defending champion Chiefs entered this game as a slight favorite in Vegas, but as Super Bowl week moved closer to Sunday the line tightened up and turned into a “pick em” once kick off rolled around. The narrative around the Chiefs all season encompassed the referees and how they give Patrick Mahomes and KC preferential treatment and calls throughout the regular and postseason.

    The refs could not have done anything to save the Chiefs from the onslaught the Eagles brought to New Orleans Sunday after sacking Mahomes for a career high six times without bringing the blitz once. The Eagles 16 pressures on Mahomes primarily stemmed from Philadelphia’s front four, which wreaked havoc on his ability to extend plays and get out of a collapsing pocket. Normally Mahomes can find an alley out of the pocket to allude oncoming traffic, but ultimately the Chiefs weakness at Left Tackle finally reared its ugly head in the biggest game of the year. After Philly’s defensive performance on Sunday night, they became the fourth team in the Next Gen Stats era to not blitz in the Super Bowl and win. Mahomes was under pressure all night, uncomfortable and seemed helpless from the jump, a sight many NFL fans are not used to seeing from a player who has made the AFC Championship in every year he has been a starter (7) as well as having three Super Bowl titles in five appearances.

    The key to the Chiefs failure on Sunday stemmed from their lack of readiness as well as poor offensive line play. 16 pressures from rushing only four players 39 times is a remarkable number that Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will remember forever, but his defense’s ability to get to the quarterback is even more impressive given their player zone coverage nearly the entire game. The Chiefs wanted Mahomes to beat them with his arm, due to knowing how solid their front four pass rush was as well as how complete this entire Eagles defense is. The constant pressure led to Mahomes finishing with a 11.4 total QBR, his second worst performance in his 133 career starts doesn’t look nearly as bad when you look at the box score, 21/32 for 257 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Normally Mahomes can slither his way out of tough situations but the Eagles closed all routes out of collapsing pockets which was a major factor into why the first nine offensive possessions for the Chiefs did not make it past the 50 yard line. Once the game got tough for the Chiefs, which was nearly right away, Kansas City made no point to try to establish the run, with Mahomes being their leading rusher, 4 carries for 25 yards. Rookie Xavier Worthy was the only Chief to record a notable performance, 8 catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns, but could not help the rest of his teammates do little to anything on offense until garbage time. Travis Kelce struggled to find any action, four receptions for 39 yards, in a game that clearly showed his age. While Kelce has been a dominant tight end for the last decade, last night’s performance showed that his time might be close to up in a game where the Chiefs needed a big showing from their most reliable receiver.

    The Philadelphia Eagles have now won two Super Bowls in eight seasons after the dominant defensive performance this squad put up against the best quarterback in the NFL. While people have been dogging quarterback Jalen Hurts all year for not being a “throwing quarterback” and only being a system QB, Hurts answered the bell, 17/22 for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. Hurts was under control all night, making nearly every correct decision, even when star running back Saquon Barkley only ran for 57 yards on 25 carries. Barkley was the best player in this season’s playoffs but the one part of Philly’s offense that the Chiefs did successfully stop was the running game. While Barkley was nearly neutralized, Hurts showed why he is an NFL starting quarterback as well as now a Super Bowl MVP after finding DeVonta Smith for a deep 50-yard touchdown pass that pretty much iced the game for the Eagles. While Hurts played a nearly perfect game, the overarching theme of this year's game surrounded how complete this Eagles team was, especially on defense. Their ability to get to Mahomes almost every play caused the veteran quarterback to force throws, one of which turned out to be a pick-six from rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean who celebrated his 22nd birthday by winning the Lombardi Trophy. The young corner’s ball prowess further exemplified how solid this Eagles defense was, and why they should now be in the conversation of one of the best defenses this league has ever seen.

    Another season of the National Football League has come and gone, and while we now have to wait until September to see football again this season will be remembered as one of controversy but ultimately the best team in the league coming out on top. Jalen Hurts and Head Coach Nick Sirriani silenced their doubters, and I’m sure the Philly faithful will now wish they never called for Nick’s head after he brought them the franchise’s second Super Bowl title. Sirianni is now 54-23 in his head coaching career and has tied Andy Reid with most playoff wins in franchise history (6). The Eagles are set up to make many more Super Bowl runs, with a young roster, franchise running back in Barkley, while the Chiefs need to do some serious reloading if they want to make their eighth-straight AFC Championship next season. One constant for the Chiefs though is the man under center, and when you have Patrick Mahomes leading your team, you always have a chance.

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