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Super Bowl LIX: What we learned as Philadelphia Eagles shatter Kansas City Chiefs three-peat hopes
The Philadelphia Eagles overwhelmed the three-peat-chasing Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win a one-sided Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Sunday night.
A dominant defensive performance put the shackles on Patrick Mahomes and company, while Jalen Hurts produced with both his arms and his legs to lead the Eagles to their second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Here are five things DAZN News learned from the Eagles' stunning victory.
Jalen Hurts’ straightjacket is well and truly off
Jalen Hurts had a bit of fun after the NFC Championship game win over the Washington Commanders with his comments that he had been let out of his ‘straightjacket’.
He had even more fun out on the field in New Orleans as he passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns, adding another 72 yards on the ground (the most by a quarterback in a Super Bowl), plus another score as his dual-threat playmaking abilities came to the fore.
Hurts had another strong statistical game two years ago when the Eagles fell short, but he can now celebrate his first Super Bowl ring and an MVP trophy to boot after putting in a brilliant performance.
Vic Fangio schemes up a gameplan for the ages
This was billed as a match-up between two of the game’s best defensive coordinators, as Vic Fangio and Steve Spagnuolo went head-to-head.
A look at the scoreboard is enough to tell you who won the battle, but that only tells half the story of just how much the Eagles defense, especially their four-man front, dominated the Chiefs offensive.
The high point was perhaps the second-quarter sequence that saw back-to-back sacks followed by a pick-six of Patrick Mahomes, a three-peat of plays that rocked the Chiefs and their quarterback to their foundations and never really recovered from.
The Eagles' six sacks mean they ended up just one sack short of the Super Bowl record in what was one of the best defensive performances the Super Bowl has seen in recent years.
Patrick Mahomes is human after all
Has Patrick Mahomes ever had a worse 30 minutes of football than he did in the first half at the Superdome?
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had the Chiefs QB on strings during the opening half, as the Eagles jumped to a 24-0 lead.
The Chiefs offensive line has suffered injuries this season and this was the day when it caught up with them, as Mahomes was harried, pressured, sacked four times and left with no answers during a brutal first half which saw the QB complete just six of 14 passes for 33 yards and two costly interceptions.
The sacks followed after Kendrick Lamar’s half-time show and it wasn’t until the tail end of the third quarter - when the Chiefs were down 34 points and truly desperate - until we saw signs of life.
Mahomes was forced to improvise with his feet and finally got his side into Eagles territory with a 50-yard pass to Xavier Worthy, with the rookie going on to get score his side’s first points with a 24-yard touchdown grab, plus a late bomb to give the scoreline a tad more respectability.
But the damage had been done before half-time, as this proved to be a hole even Mahomes couldn't drag his team out of.
Saquon Barkley plays his part
All eyes were on freshly crowned NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley when the action got underway, but the Eagles rusher struggled to get into the game, as Steve Spagnuolo’s early blitzing looked to be effectively containing Barkley.
Barkley went into the game needing 30 yards to break Terrell Davis’ 1998 record for the most combined regular and post-season rushing yards and that did not come until the final play of a first half in which Barkley’s best contribution was probably a key block on the passing play which saw Jahan Dotson catch the ball on the goalline to set up Philly’s first brotherly shove of the game.
While Spagnuolo’s plan to stop Barkley was working, the Chiefs defensive coordinator could not legislate for his side’s ineffective offense, whose errors meant that Philadelphia could control the clock, allowing Barkley to grind out more yards, but also set up the play action, which led to the 46-yard pass DeVonta Smith that put the Eagles 34-0 up late in the third quarter.
Barkley would end with 57 yards on the ground, but his role in the passing game was just as important, as he grabbed six balls for 40 yards, as well as being key in pass protection.
While it wasn't the game many believed Barkley would have, he was a key contributor.
What next for the Chiefs after three-peat dream dies?
The wait for a Super Bowl three-peat goes on, as the Chiefs joined the eight other teams unable to better back-to-back Lombardi Trophy wins.
All NFL dynasties have a shelf-life as success never lasts forever, but what does the heavy defeat mean for Kansas City?
As long as Mahomes and Andy Reid are at Arrowhead, it would be unwise to mark them down as a declining force, but they will have work to do this offseason.
We will see what the future holds for Travis Kelce in the coming days or weeks, but the Chiefs have only two wide receievers currently under contract for next season, in Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice. Elsewhere, they have more big-name players set to hit free agency, not least linebacker Nick Bolton and guard Trey Smith.
A big offseason awaits.
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Read next | Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Live updates, results, highlights from Super Bowl LIX
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