- The Chiefs’ offensive line is a problem area: Perhaps the most obvious takeaway from the Eagles’ trouncing of Kansas City is that Patrick Mahomes needs better protection in front of him.
- The Eagles’ offense is that good: A down day for Saquon Barkley didn’t hinder Philadelphia’s offensive production one bit.
Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
The Eagles throttled the Chiefs, 40-22, for the franchise’s second Super Bowl victory, exacting revenge for their loss from two years ago. There was a lot to dissect from their win, and here we’ll look at five major takeaways.
The Chiefs once again need to make offensive line changes, starting with retaining Trey Smith
The Chiefs’ defeat in Super Bowl 59 was eerily similar to their loss in Super Bowl 55, with both the Eagles and Buccaneers managing to harass Patrick Mahomes despite hardly blitzing. Following Super Bowl 55, the Chiefs overhauled their offensive line, including bringing in Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith through the 2021 NFL Draft. Humphrey has arguably been the best center in football since then, having never finished worse than fourth in PFF grade among centers, while Smith has been very consistent as the team’s starting right guard, having finished in the top 15 at the position in each of the past three seasons.
However, outside of those two, the Chiefs’ offensive line was a problem area. One of the players brought in during their overhaul, Joe Thuney, had to kick outside to left tackle — where he hadn’t consistently played since college — because their other options had underperformed so badly. This resulted in Mike Caliendo becoming the starting left guard, and he was completely exposed in the Super Bowl. Among all Chiefs players to take a snap in the game, regardless of position, Caliendo’s 32.0 PFF overall grade was the worst. While he surrendered only two pressures, including a strip sack, he was beaten another five times when the ball was released before any pressure could be recorded.
Chiefs’ Offensive Line in Super Bowl 59
The Eagles managed to pressure the Chiefs on 44.9% of dropbacks despite not blitzing once on plays that counted (they did send five pass rushers on one play that was called back due to offensive pass interference late in the game). That’s a sign of the offensive line being overwhelmed rather than a pure scheme issue. Trey Smith is set to be a free agent this offseason, and if Kansas City lets him leave the building, they’d better have similar success drafting linemen this year to what they had in 2021.
The Eagles are more than capable of putting up points even when Saquon Barkley is shut down
From the opening whistle, it was clear the Chiefs’ defensive game plan was to make sure Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley didn’t gash them. On that front, they were massively successful. Barkley ran the ball 26 times for just 60 yards, only one of which went for more than 10 yards as the Eagles generated an abysmal -0.259 expected points added per play on run plays. With numbers like those from Barkley, one would be shocked to see that the Eagles won the game handily.
Lucky for them, the Chiefs focused so much on stopping Barkley that the passing attack put up one of its best performances of the season. The Eagles’ 0.438 EPA per play on passing plays was a big reason the team managed 40 points. For comparison, the Ravens fielded the most efficient passing offense this season and averaged 0.291 EPA per play.
Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts made up for Barkley’s lack of production in a big way, as not only did he do damage through the air with a 78.7 PFF passing grade, but he was also excellent with his legs, running for 72 yards and an 80.9 PFF rushing grade.
Xavier Worthy may be primed for a breakout in 2025, but the Chiefs still need more receiver help
The lone bright spot on the Chiefs’ offense in their blowout loss was rookie first-rounder Xavier Worthy, who quietly caught all eight of his targets for 157 yards and two touchdowns, leading all receivers from both sides with an 86.1 PFF receiving grade.
Worthy has shown flashes of being Kansas City’s future No. 1 target, and he put the whole country on notice in Super Bowl 59. However, there is otherwise a lot of concern for the Chiefs’ pass catchers. DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown are both set to hit free agency after short stints in Kansas City, and even then, neither struck fear into opposing defenses.
Xavier Worthy: Postseason PFF Grades
Then there is the big question about Travis Kelce’s future. Kelce will turn 36 years old midway through the 2025 season, a dinosaur for the tight end position, and began showing signs of decline this year. That has led many to speculate that Kelce has taken his last snap in the NFL. Should he decide to hang it up, that would leave the Chiefs with Worthy, Noah Gray and a returning Rashee Rice as their leading options, the latter of which may still miss a large portion of the 2025 season due to recovering from injury and a possible suspension.
The Eagles’ defense is set up to dominate for the foreseeable future
The Eagles ranked among the very best defenses in the league for the 2024 season. They comfortably allowed the lowest EPA per play figure, at -0.129, with the Vikings being the next best, at -0.099. That dominance continued into the Super Bowl, as they held the Chiefs to -0.296 EPA per play — worse than the Browns‘ -.207 season-long average. In layman’s terms, the Eagles made the Chiefs look significantly worse than the worst offense in football this season.
The scary part is that Philadelphia’s defense should only get better, as the majority of its impact players are still figuring out how they fit into this league. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell, Nolan Smith, Milton Williams, Reed Blankenship, Moro Ojomo and Jalyx Hunt are all 25 years old or younger, many of whom still have at least a couple of years of team control remaining.
That should be an unsettling thought for the rest of the league. Combine that with Vic Fangio at the controls of this defense, and we could see a unit that ranks among the best in NFL history for years to come.
Don’t be surprised if we see these two square off in the Big Game one more time before all is said and done
Based on the past couple of seasons, we could be set up for a trilogy between these two franchises. They’ve already met twice with very similar rosters between both games, and neither team is expected to lose a ton of playmakers this offseason. While the Chiefs do have some key contributors on offense who could be on their way out, they are currently projected to have $11.5 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap, which isn’t a ton but is something a creative front office can work with.
The Eagles are in a similar position in terms of cap space, sitting at $18 million, but they have so much roster depth that they can afford to lose guys like Josh Sweat, Milton Williams and Mekhi Becton in free agency should they be unable to re-sign them.
These rosters should be mostly intact for the next couple of years, as well as much of their coaching staffs. Barring any significant declines from key players, the Chiefs and Eagles should be the favorites to square off once again in Super Bowl 60.
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