The Chiefs’ 38-point performance in Super Bowl LVII was, first and foremost, the result of a great gameplan and an almost perfectly called game by Andy Reid. Patrick Mahomes was certainly deserving of the MVP, especially given what he fought through with his ankle. But this wasn’t one of those games where he ran around the field making play after play (He only threw for 182 yards). Instead, it was a more measured performance where he leaned on the rest of the offense, executed Reid’s gameplan with precision, and then expanded upon it at exactly the right times.
Let’s dive in.
Protecting Mahomes
The most important number from Super Bowl LVII was 0. That’s the number of sacks the Eagles and their league-leading pass rush finished with against the Chiefs. As we mentioned entering the Super Bowl, this had to be the #1 focus of the gameplan. Protect Mahomes at all costs and the rest would take care of itself.
So how did the Chiefs do it?
Andy Reid threw absolutely everything at the Eagles, from play-action, to boots, half-boots, chips, screens, quick throws, and RPOs. He got those Philly pass rushers hesitating, moving laterally, or running into roadblocks, which largely kept them away from Mahomes.
You could see their tactics in action on the Chiefs’ second offensive play of the game. K.C. went with play-action, kept tight end Noah Gray (#83) in to help out on Haason Reddick to the right, and had running back Isiah Pacheco (#10) chip defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (#97) inside:
Mahomes had the time and space to step into his throw and deliver an absolutely perfect ball to Travis Kelce. It wouldn’t be his last great throw of the day.
On their next drive, the Chiefs used play-action off of a fly sweep to the left, which got the entire D-line moving in that direction. To the right, they used running back Jerick McKinnon and tight end Noah Gray (again) on Haason Reddick. There didn’t end up being a pass rusher within 7 yards of Mahomes when he delivered this ball:
You can also see how the route played off of the boot action. To linebacker T.J. Edwards (#57), he saw Mahomes starting to boot right and Kelce’s crossing route going in that direction as well. Then Mahomes stopped his boot and Kelce broke his route back in the other direction, leaving Edwards in the dust (or slippery grass). A classic Andy Reid tendency-breaking route.
The smoke and mirrors kept coming. Here was another boot to keep the d-line moving laterally: