Two powerhouse offenses met up on Super Bowl Sunday. However, one defense matched up to the challenge, completely dismantling the other offense, and propelling their team to victory. The Eagles were able to pressure Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Philadelphia Eagles grabbed a hold of the lead at the start and never gave it up. The Chiefs could not get anything going on offense. Although the score of 40-22 doesn’t make it look too bad, the reality was that Philadelphia had destroyed them. Patrick Mahomes threw two crucial interceptions, one resulting in Philadelphia cornerback Cooper DeJean running into the endzone for a pick six. Lots of the blame for this loss will go to head coach Andy Reid, and practically the entire Chiefs offense. The Chiefs were going for a three-peat as Super Bowl Champions, and got the closest anyone ever has. The Eagles were able to redeem their loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, just two years ago.
From a strategic standpoint, the Philadelphia Eagles were much better prepared than the Kansas City Chiefs. Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley had torched defenses all season, including the Washington Commanders just two weeks prior in their conference title matchup. Obviously, the Chiefs needed to key in on him and stop the run game. However, the Eagles were ready and had gameplanned for an effective passing game. Quarterback Jalen Hurts looked very comfortable, taking his drop backs and having lots of time to find receivers. The Chiefs pass protection was much worse, and it ended up being the deciding factor. The Chiefs were so focused on stopping Barkley, the rest of the Eagles offense thrived. Hurts got more rushing yards than Barkley, which was just one of the reasons why he became the Super Bowl MVP. Although Mahomes had some great plays, the interceptions were terrible. It makes one wonder what Mahomes was doing on some plays. DeJean even threw his hands up in confusion after an errant Mahomes pass bounced off the turf with no receivers in the area. Ultimately, the Eagles played an absolutely stellar game of football, running every offensive play efficiently from the blocking to the route running to Hurts’ passes. Defensively, they were able to shock the Chiefs in the first half, putting them in a daze they wouldn’t recover from. The defensive line of the Eagles exposed the Chiefs biggest weakness throughout the season: the offensive line. This led Mahomes to feel rushed, making plays that were obviously uncharacteristic of himself. Veteran Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins dropped a good Mahomes pass, even though Hopkins is known for having great hands. Overall, the Eagles defense played against the Chiefs offense as if Kansas City were a high school team. Do your own job right and pressure the other team into making mistakes.
On a different note, Kendrick Lamar performed the halftime show, focusing on the theme of hip hop in America. He also spent a lot of the time dissing Drake, featuring the song “Not Like Us” as the finale, which won him several Grammy awards. The halftime show even featured Samuel Jackson, Sza, and Serena Williams. However, the NFL got some backlash and has expressed regret over choosing Lamar for the show. Their other choice was the rapper Lil Wayne. Beforehand, it seemed that Lamar was the obvious choice, as he had shaken up the hip hop world with his victory over Drake in their feud. The show itself had a very different feel than in previous years, and it will be interesting to see who the NFL chooses for next year.
