The Real Reason the Eagles Won Super Bowl LIX
The right colored confetti fell from the ceiling at the Superdome in New Orleans. The Philadelphia Eagles lifted their second Lombardi Trophy, and Jalen Hurts took home Super Bowl MVP honors.
While Hurts deserves endless praise for his climb to the pinnacle of the sport, the performance of Vic Fangio and the Eagles defense played a bigger part than the quarterback in taking down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Patrick Mahomes & Super Bowl MVP Narratives
Quarterbacks have won 34 of 59 MVPs in Super Bowl history. The position with the greatest impact on the game naturally commands the attention, and star power influences voting (consciously and subconsciously).
Mahomes entered as the heavy favorite to win his fourth Super Bowl MVP. However, his lack of impact was the deciding factor in Super Bowl LIX.
Pour on the effusive credit to an outstanding effort by an Eagles defense that neutralized arguably the best football player in history.
The Chiefs came up empty on their first nine possessions of Super Bowl LIX. They fell in an insurmountable 34-0 hole before Mahomes piled up meaningless stats that’ll someday skew his career Super Bowl statistics when he’s enshrined in Canton.
Hurts shook off persistent criticism of his individual impact on arguably the NFL’s most talented offensive unit. He carried the passing game and the running game while Saquon Barkley didn’t have much running room in the surprising blowout.
However, Philadelphia’s defense shined brightly on the biggest stage against the game’s biggest star in an era of the NFL when offenses are supposed to steal the show.
Josh Sweat and Cooper DeJean don’t have the widespread name recognition to win a major award. An assistant coach isn’t eligible for MVP, but Vic Fangio’s defense brought Philadelphia its second Lombardi Trophy.
Eagles Defense Gets Off To Fast Start in Super Bowl LIX
The Vic Fangio scheme frequently uses high safeties to prevent opposing offenses from executing drives quickly with explosive plays. The Eagles allowed the fewest pass plays of 20+ yards to opposing offenses in 2024. However, the strategy can sometimes leave defenses vulnerable to “death by a thousand cuts.”
Mahomes completed shorter passes consistently to help the Chiefs build an effective offensive identity this season. He appeared to be somewhat of a mismatch against Fangio entering Super Bowl LIX.
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An Eagles defense that developed an identity as an excellent coverage unit prevented Mahomes from finding any rhythm whatsoever in the first quarter. Opposing offenses can’t inflict a thousand little paper cuts with consistent short gains if they’re not on the field.
The Chiefs converted one first down on their first three possessions of the game. They ran only 10 plays in the opening quarter before the Eagles broke the game open with some explosive plays of their own on the defensive side of the ball.
Second Quarter Sequence
The Eagles led 10-0 when the Chiefs took the ball with 8:38 remaining in the second quarter.
Fangio consistently sent four rushers after Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX. They started to get home on Kansas City’s fourth possession.
First, Josh Sweat whipped by Travis Kelce on the right side of Kansas City’s line to take down Mahomes. Sweat beat Kelce again the next play and pushed through Isiah Pacheco. Meanwhile, rookie Jalyx Hunt crushed Joe Thuney on the left edge and converged with Sweat to sandwich Mahomes in the backfield for another sack.
Philadelphia will remember the resulting third-and-16 forever. Mahomes dropped back. He looked for a crossing route but threw right into the hands of Cooper DeJean, who took the interception the other way for a touchdown.
The pic-six did put the ball right back in the hands of the best player in the NFL. The Eagles quickly stuffed Pacheco on two run plays to begin the next possession and forced Mahomes into another long third down.
Sweat and Milton Williams rushed next to each other from the right side. They crushed Thuney and Mike Caliendo, and Williams’ sack forced Kansas City’s fourth punt.
Hurts and the offense didn’t step on the throat quite yet. They needed another big play from their defense.
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It was Josh Sweat again on Kansas City’s sixth possession. The impending free agent bull rushed Thuney and drove the tackle directly backwards into Mahomes to force an errant throw.
Zack Baun dove for an interception to set the Eagles up at the 14-yard line. An easy touchdown drive made it 24-0.
Disruptive plays on defense had sunk the Chiefs on three straight possessions and blown the game wide open for one of the most lopsided Super Bowls in history (even if the final score didn’t reflect it).
Vic Fangio & The Super Bowl Champions
The Eagles punished Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense in a manner that not many expected leading into Super Bowl LIX.
However, analysts sold Vic Fangio and the Philadelphia defense short in hindsight.
The unit pleased the football traditionalists this season by finishing in the NFL’s top spot in yards per game and the second rank in scoring defense.
They pleased the stat crunchers with a number one finish in expected points added (EPA) and DVOA and just miniscule percentage points away from the lowest opponent offensive success rate.
Their coverage identity differed from legendary Eagles teams in 2017 and 2022 with dominant pass rushers. However, excellent rookie performances from DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell and consistent strong safety play carried them throughout the season.
Then, the defensive line showed up when it mattered most.
Josh Sweat had the single most impactful performance in the Super Bowl victory with six tackles, 2.5 sacks, and the push that ultimately led to Baun’s interception.
Jalen Carter swallowed double teams for a four-man rush that ultimately sacked Mahomes six times. Jordan Davis added a sack, and Williams drove up his free agent price tag even higher with a strip sack and a recovery of his own forced fumble in the fourth quarter.
Baun continued his outrageously successful season while Moro Ojomo stunningly pushed from the interior all night.
Brandon Graham and Darius Slay played important roles in what might’ve been the final NFL game for both franchise greats.
Nick Sirianni appropriately wrapped up the collective performance of individuals who formed the best team in the NFL this season.
“You can’t be great without the greatness of others.” -Nick Sirianni
