Philadelphia's Defense was Mahomes' Kryptonite in Super Bowl rout

 Philadelphia beat the odds. They did what many (including myself) thought was impossible. The Eagles made the two-time reigning champions looks pedestrian. Philadelphia handed the Kansas City Chiefs just their third loss since Christmas Day 2023. Think about that for a minute.

The Eagles won Super Bowl LIX with Saquon Barkley not being that much of a factor on the ground (22 carries for 57 yards which averages out to 2.28 yards per carry) but was more impactful receiving with six catches for 40 yards, including a joggling 22-yard catch that set up a field goal that pretty much put the game on ice at 27-0 Philadelphia. But Barkley never got into the endzone. Barkley wasn’t the walking highlight reel he has been all season long. And yet Philadelphia still won by 18 points.

Jalen Hurts was excellent. Throwing for 221 yards, two passing touchdowns, 72 yards rushing on 11 carries, and a patented “Brotherly Shove” touchdown for the opening score of the game. Hurts was the offense for the Eagles, and it showed on almost every play. But neither Barkley nor Hurts are the reason Philly is leaving New Orleans with the Lombardi Trophy.

The reason would be what the Eagles defense did to Patrick Mahomes. It’s not every day you make Superman look like Clark Kent. It’s not every day you make one of the best postseason pass catchers, Travis Kelce, just another name in the box score (Kelce had four catches for 39 yards). Philadelphia defense punched Kansas City’s offense in the mouth and the reigning champions had no answer. Let’s not get too twisted, this Eagles defense will not go down as one of the best, but they played a perfect game against a guy in Mahomes that you must be perfect against to beat.

Zack Braun had an All-Pro day in an All-Pro season with seven total tackles which lead the team and an incredible diving interception that completely flipped the game. Cooper DeJean had his first NFL pick six and three tackles on his 22nd birthday. Josh Sweat had 2.5 sacks and lived in the backfield all night long. Milton Williams had two sacks, two more tackles for a loss, and forced a fumble that was cherry on top of the defense sundae.

We have time to over analyze this win for Philadelphia and declare them “the next dynasty.” But that’s what happens when you win in such dominating fashion. That’s what happens when you dethrone a dynastic run—you now have the target on your back. I will not say that the Eagles will pull off a string of years here where they win multiple Super Bowls, nobody can predict that stuff. Plus, Philly will have to navigate their own division with Jayden Daniels in it, a conference with Detroit and San Francisco still in “championship windows,” and teams like Green Bay and the Rams that will always in the conversation. If they get through that gauntlet, they will have to play perfect against Kansas City again, or shutdown the high-powered offenses of Buffalo, Baltimore, or Cincinnati. It will be tough to repeat. But I will say that the Eagles gave the rest of the NFL a key piece of homework to dissect over the offseason on the Kansas City Chiefs. The word is out on Kansas City, who besides Philadelphia will answer the bell? The Eagles are an incredibly well constructed team with a quarterback who is a lot better than we give him credit, an all-world running back, a great collection of wide receivers, a good secondary, and a devastating pass rush. They are excellent. Winning one is tough, doing it again, that’s even tougher, but hey, as the Eagles showed last night, that’s why you play the games.

 

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