The Kansas City Chiefs will go head-to-head with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Super Bowl LIX. At this point, the entire football-watching world knows the Chiefs are going for the NFL's first ever Super Bowl three-peat. They've gotten so much attention that the wave of anti-Chiefs hysteria has become almost comical. However, their opponent is flying a little under the radar. The Eagles will be a big test for the Chiefs on Sunday.
The Detroit Lions were the media darlings of the NFL this season and looked poised to make a run at the Super Bowl in the NFC. However, while the Eagles might not have gotten the attention that Detroit did, they have been one of the best teams in all of the NFL this season, especially down the stretch. After a 2-2 start to the season, their only loss since September was a 36-33 loss to the Washington Commanders in December when Jalen Hurts left the game early with a concussion. In other words, they've won 15 straight games if you don't count a three-point loss where they lost their starter unexpectedly near the beginning of the game.
Last week I wrote about how stopping Saquon Barkley should be the focus of the Chiefs' defense. That's no small task with how fantastic Barkley has been this season, but you can make a strong argument that it's the Eagles' defense that is the best unit on their team. Philadelphia finished the regular season #1 in yards allowed, #2 in points allowed, #1 in passing yards/game allowed, and #10 in rushing yards/game allowed.
Philadelphia's defense has been equally dominant in the playoffs so far. They are giving up just 18.3 points per game and opposing quarterbacks have just 3 passing touchdowns and 4 interceptions and have been sacked 10 times through their three games. If they have similar success against Patrick Mahomes on Sunday it will make it incredibly difficult for the Chiefs to come out on top.
The Chiefs have to make sure they don't play right into the hands of one of the NFL's best defenses.
The Eagles defense boasts a very strong defensive line. They have two massive defensive tackles in Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis. While Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith are their best pass rushers, their real strength comes in the depth of their rotation. They had 8 different front seven players with more than 2 sacks this season.
The Chiefs would be foolish to build their offensive game plan around running right at the Eagles' defensive tackles and equally foolish to have Patrick Mahomes consistently sitting in the pocket waiting for plays to develop while Philly's pass rushers attack from every possible alignment. So if running the ball and dropback passing isn't a good idea, that basically leaves the quick passing game as KC's best option. Fortunately for the Chiefs, they are built to succeed in just that way.
If you look back at KC's final two regular season games where they played their starters (vs the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers) they executed a quick passing attack that spread the ball around with great efficiency. In those two games, Mahomes went a combined 57 of 79 (72.2%) for 580 yards (290 yards/game) for 7.3 yards per attempt with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.
In those two games, Mahomes took full advantage of finally having all the weapons that he needed. Xavier Worthy totaled 15 receptions for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns in those two games. Travis Kelce had 13 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. Hollywood Brown had 9 receptions for 91 yards. DeAndre Hopkins had 6 receptions for 44 yards. That doesn't even include guys like Justin Watson, Juju Smith-Schuster, Noah Gray, and K.C.'s running backs.
Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce may have been the top receivers, but what made the Chiefs so hard to stop in those games was how they spread the defense out and let Mahomes quickly assess which of his trusted targets had the best matchup and then quickly get them the ball before the pass rush could get to him. In fact, he was sacked only one time in those two games combined. That is the same approach that they should have against the Eagles defense.
If that isn't enough to convince you that finding efficiency in the passing game is the key to this Super Bowl matchup, here's one more. In the Eagles' three losses this season the opposing quarterbacks threw for 7.4 yards per attempt (their season average was just 6.0) with 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The Eagles only allowed 22 passing touchdowns all season. So 40.9% of their passing touchdowns allowed came in those 3 games. That is the kind of success that KC must find in this matchup.
Simply put, the Chiefs need Patrick Mahomes to continue to be the star player who has helped carry this team on their storybook run to a potential three-peat. While he is amazing and should never be counted out, the Eagles' defense is good enough that the Chiefs have to be smart about how they set him up for success. That plan should include an efficient quick passing game that spreads out the defense and puts pressure on the Eagles young secondary and their linebackers in coverage. If he can't get the ball out quick he needs to be on the move, taking advantage of his legs and not letting the pass rush pin their ears back and attack him.
So what do you think Chiefs fans? Do you agree that a quick passing attack that spreads the ball around is the best way to attack this Eagles' defense? Do you feel good about the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes pulling it off? I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments below.