NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Eagles gave it one heck of a shot in Super Bowl 57 but still fell short to the Kansas City Chiefs in a remarkable back-and-forth game. While the fingers will point to the referees and whether or not holding should have been called, the Eagles lost that game by their own actions but not at the hands of the defense.
Yes, the Chiefs scored 38 points. Patrick Mahomes took home another Super Bowl MVP and the Chiefs managed to come back from 10 points down in the second half. So, by all accounts, this looks to be a defensive issue. But no, it was not. The blame falls elsewhere.
Here is where the numbers don’t lie. On the season, the Chiefs averaged 29.2 points per game. They were No. 1 with 288 Passing Yards per game and ranked 20th in rushing yards per game with 115. On the other side of the coin, the Eagles’ defense on the seaosn ranked No. 1 with 171.6 Passing Yards per game allowed and 16th in Rushing Yards allowed per game with 121.3.
How Did The Philadelphia Eagles Lose The Super Bowl
Even with the 38 points scored, this is where most have the numbers wrong regarding the Eagles’ defense in the Super Bowl. Mahomes, for all the praise he received in bringing his team back, still managed just 182 yards through the air. That’s right on par with the Eagles’ season average allowed. On the ground, the Chiefs ran the ball 26 times for 158 yards which was more than the Eagles allowed at the tail end of the season. But wait, the concern and blame is that the Chiefs still managed to score 38 points on a stout defense, right?
Yes and no. In the second half, they scored at will but 14 of those points were not mainly due to a lack of defense by the Philadelphia Eagles. In the second quarter, Jalen Hurts fumbled which Kansas City scooped up and ran in for a touchdown. Not the Eagles’ defense fault on that. In the 4th quarter, following a punt, Kadarius Toney took the punt 65 yards to the Eagles’ 5-yard line. Once again, that was special teams, not the defense. All in all, the offense and Special Teams spotted the Chiefs 14 points.
While the vaunted defense of the Philadelphia Eagles did not record a sack, Mahomes was under pressure in the game. But for those to say that Mahomes put on an ariel clinic against the Eagles’ defense is just not true. By all accounts, the defense played a good game and if not for Hurts’ fumble and a poor angle on a punt return, we may have had a different outcome.
All facets of the game count but pointing the finger at the defense of the Eagles as to why they lost the Super Bowl is not fair. James Bradberry was called for a holding penalty that set up the game-winning field goal but even that was a bit suspect. Mahomes deserved MVP as he made sure his team made it into the endzone. That’s his job. That’s why he’s the league MVP.
The game was close and came down to the last seconds. How the Chiefs won is how they won but please do not point the finger at the defense of the Philadelphia Eagles and place that blame on them. The offense did what they were supposed to do and so did the defense. It was a mistake and a terrible angle that costs the Philadelphia Eagles a championship.
