Super Bowl LIX Recap: Eagles Offense vs. Chiefs Defense

The Eagles completely dominated Super Bowl LIX, at one point leading 34-0 and then 40-6. As I wrote the other day, the story of the game was really about how their defense completely smothered Patrick Mahomes.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles offense played well, but they didn’t exactly roll over the Chiefs and do whatever they wanted as the final score may have indicated.

The most dangerous element of their offense, the running game, was largely contained. Saquon Barkley gained just 57 yards on 25 carries (2.3 yards per rush). Removing 3 QB kneels, the Eagles gained 139 yards on 42 rushes as a team (3.3 yards per rush).

Overall, the Eagles averaged just 4.9 yards per play. They converted only 3 of 12 third downs and went 0-for-1 on 4th down.

If I had read you those stats before the game, you probably wouldn’t have predicted an Eagles victory, let alone a blowout.

So how on earth did they score 40 points against Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense?

Well, as mentioned above, a big part of it was the defense. 7 points came from a pick-6. Another 7 came off of an interception at the Chiefs’ 14-yard line. 3 more were added in the 4th quarter after a sack fumble in Chiefs territory (the Eagles went 3-and-out and kicked a field goal).

The other 23 points really came down to a handful of key plays by Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, who was sharp from start to finish.

The first big play (not including an absolutely horrendous unnecessary roughness penalty on 3rd down to keep this drive alive) came on a 2nd-and-11 from the Chiefs’ 28-yard line with the game scoreless.

The Eagles were in a 3x1 formation. The Chiefs were showing a 2-shell coverage pre-snap (which they did throughout the night):

Hurts noticed that there was no defender over DeVonta Smith in the slot:

The Chiefs could have still dropped out into cover-2 from this look, of course. But Hurts gambled that what he was seeing indicated a Chiefs blitz and the deep safety over Smith would then need to drop down to account for him. That meant K.C. would be rotating to single-high, which would create a 1-on-1 matchup for Jahan Dotson on the outside:

Those 1-on-1’s to the outside are where Hurts is most comfortable. So he changed the play at the line. Notice his hands going to his helmet and the two receivers to his right confirming that they heard him:

This meant there were two plays called in the huddle (perhaps a run and a pass) and Hurts was killing the first play to get to the second.

Sure enough, the Chiefs brought a blitz and rotated to single-high. Dotson ran a double move and blew past cornerback Jaylen Watson. Hurts hit him for a 27-yard gain:

Take another look from the end-zone angle. Saquon Barkley didn’t have a big day running the ball, but he was instrumental to this play working.

In this protection, he had a dual read from the Will (#23 LB Drue Tranquill) to the Nickel/Sam (#27 S Chamarri Conner). Watch how he went from Tranquill, who started dropping out just before the snap, to Conner on the other side of the formation:

Not only did Barkley do the right thing on paper, but he also went and met Conner near the line of scrimmage, ensuring that contact would be away from Hurts (he probably should have squared up the defender instead of hockey-checking him, but a block is a block).

This was just one of many examples where the Eagles’ protection gave Hurts time and space to throw all night.

Let’s fast forward to the next consequential play from the Eagles’ offense, a 3rd-and-7 on their second scoring drive. After a hard count, the Chiefs appeared to be moving to a single-high look:

Hurts saw it and knew he had a 1-on-1 with A.J. Brown against Trent McDuffie on the outside. Even though McDuffie is not exactly someone quarterbacks prefer to target, Hurts didn’t care here. He’ll generally take Brown in a 1-on-1 against anybody as often as he can.

So he gave Brown a hand signal at the line before the snap:

Then he delivered a perfect back-shoulder throw against tight coverage for 22 yards and a first down:

The Eagles would eventually kick a field goal and take a 10-0 lead. And that was the last big play the Eagles offense had while this game was still in doubt.

Patrick Mahomes threw a pick-6 on Kansas City’s next drive. After the Eagles punted the ball away on their next possession, they quickly got it back at Kansas City’s 14-yard line after a Zack Baun interception.

Two plays later, they raced to the line out of the huddle and snapped the ball quickly: