Arrowhead Pride
Looking at the enemy’s greatest concerns ahead of the game coming up on Sunday.
Arrowhead Pride is taking some time to chat with Bleeding Green Nation in to preview the* Super Bowl LIX matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
In this series, each side gives three reasons why their respective team might lose. This exchange allows us to show what the other side is concerned about. Read on for why the Eagles could lose, as written by Brandon Lee Gowton. To see why I think the Chiefs could lose, click here.
Jalen Hurts is coming off a great performance in the NFC Championship Game. He also played pretty well in the Eagles’ last Super Bowl meeting against the Chiefs. But it’s hardly a lock that Hurts will thrive against KC’s defense this time around. The Eagles’ passing attack — which ranks 14th in DVOA and 14th in dropback success rate — has been pretty uneven for most of the 2024 season.
The Birds have almost always been able to win in spite of it due to the combination of riding Saquon Barkley and playing suffocating defense. The margin for error against the Chiefs, however, is razor thin. Steve Spagnuolo’s blitzes could cause problems for Hurts, who has taken a sack against them 13.2 percent of the time — the highest mark of any starter in the NFL (via Sheil Kapadia).
If the Chiefs are able to limit Barkley (much easier said than done) and force the Eagles to rely on their passing attack, Philly’s offensive production might not be good enough to outpace the Chiefs’ scoring ability.
The Eagles have the best defense in the NFL. But I don’t know how much that really matters when going up against Patrick Mahomes. One way I do think the Eagles can cause issues for Mahomes is Jalen Carter taking over and wrecking the game, not unlike Chris Jones is capable of doing for the Chiefs.
The problem is that Chiefs starting right guard Trey Smtih is really good. Unlike most offensive linemen, he might be able to handle Carter one-on-one. If that’s the case, the Chiefs can dedicate more attention to helping left guard Mike Caliendo. It’s possible the Eagles could look to put Carter over Caliendo. But Vic Fangio hasn’t really moved his defensive linemen around like that to this point. If the Chiefs are able to keep Carter in check, Mahomes should be able to have ample time to do damage.
Honestly, more than anything matchup-related, this is the biggest reason why I believe the Chiefs are going to win the Super Bowl LIX.
I’ve been saying KC is destined to threepeat ever since they beat the San Francisco 49ers last year....
