Arrowhead Pride
The Eagles force a lot of fumbles, so protecting the ball needs to be a priority.
When the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX next Sunday, ball control will be at the forefront of their minds, especially on Special Teams.
While speaking to the media on Friday, special teams coordinator Dave Toub outlined the threat the Eagles present.
“They will create more turnovers on special teams than any other team,” warned Toub. “They’ve gotten six this year. They got two in the playoffs on their kickoff team... So we’re aware of that — ball security is going to be very, very, important this week.”
Toub said it’s not by luck that Philadelphia forces other teams to put the ball on the ground as frequently as they do.
“They emphasize it,” said Toub. “You could tell because the second, third guy that comes in is stripping and punching at the ball.”
And he’s not talking only on special teams. As a whole, the Eagles have forced nine fumbles this year in the playoffs alone.
“When you watch the defensive tape, you see guys getting up off the ground,” continued Toub. “And they go in and try to get the ball out right then at that point and punch it out. And they’re really good at it... once you have success at something it kind of builds...That’s what’s happening with them, with the turnovers.”
That’s precisely what happened to Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler late in the third quarter of last week's NFC Championship game. Ekeler leaked out of the backfield and caught a pass from quarterback Jayden Daniels, going to the ground as he caught the ball, and as he turned to get back up, Eagles linebacker Oren Burks punched the ball out.
In a game that figures to come down to which team executes the cleanest and takes care of the ball, the Chiefs can ill afford to put themselves in a negative situation so ball security will be at the forefront of everyone's mind.
