Well, that was an embarrassing and frustrating performance from the Chiefs on the biggest stage. I know I am not the only one who had constant flashbacks to Super Bowl LV in Tampa.
Despite the desire to just forget Sunday’s performance, let’s break down where it all went wrong.
Offensive Line
Just like Super Bowl LV, the offensive line play set the tone and was a catalyst in this game. The Eagles’ pass rush played an incredible game and set them up for victory.
On 42 dropbacks, Philadelphia did not blitz a single time and still generated the most pressure that Patrick Mahomes has seen in his career. The Eagles finished with 16 pressures and six sacks on the night.
Just like that night in Tampa, it seemed that on every single play, Mahomes was taking a hit. Josh Sweat played a terrific game on the edge, constantly putting pressure on the outside and collapsing the pocket, forcing Mahomes to move up and right into the defensive tackle’s arms.
The question that I have is, why didn’t Kansas City make a change at some point in this game?
Mike Caliendo was getting dominated on the interior play after play. For the first time since taking over at left tackle, Joe Thuney was exposed. Why not bring in D.J. Humphries at tackle and move Thuney back inside at guard?
It couldn’t have gone any worse than how the line was playing. The offensive line’s play had been at the forefront of discussion all year long, and with history on the line, it faltered.
Patrick Mahomes
Let’s get this straight: Mahomes played one of the worst games of his career. However, like the last Super Bowl loss, it isn’t all his fault.
After falling behind 10-0, Mahomes uncharacteristically pressed, and it turned into big mistakes before halftime. On third down, he tried to make a play, but an errant throw led to a pick-6 by Cooper Dejean.
Later in the half, inside his own 10-yard line, Mahomes was picked for a second time, leading to a walk-in touchdown for A.J. Brown. To be fair, that interception came with Thuney in his lap off the rush from Sweat.
The Chiefs have proven to be the comeback kids, trailing by 10 in each of their three Super Bowl wins. Why did Mahomes press?
The obvious reason is the offensive line. He had zero time to throw and move around in the pocket. Tom Brady said it best on the broadcast, saying that Mahomes wasn’t trusting his offensive line, nor should he have.
Regardless, he still made head-scratching plays that led to the huge deficit at the half.
The other reason that didn’t help Mahomes throughout this game was not trying to establish the run. In the first half, Kansas City ran 20 offensive plays. Only three of them were runs.
The Chiefs struggled to run the ball in recent weeks, but not trying to establish the run and falling into a hole forced them to air it out. This gave the Eagles a chance to let their four-man front be the difference, and they were.
The Positives
I know it is hard for Chiefs fans to see any good from Sunday’s performance. However, there were some positives.
First, the defense did its job. Going into this matchup, it was imperative to limit Saquon Barkley on the ground. Kansas City held the league’s Offensive Player of the Year to his second-lowest rushing output of the season.
Barkley averaged just 2.3 yards on 25 carries. The Chiefs did their job defensively in shutting him down.
Additionally, the defense held the Philadelphia offense to four field goals. The trend of bend but don’t break continued until the final whistle.
The defense did enough to put the Chiefs in a position to win. Sadly, the two plays that blew it out of proportion came from Mahomes.
Another positive was the performance of rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy. He set the Super Bowl rookie record with 157 receiving yards. In a game where the offense struggled, Worthy was the lone bright spot.
The final positive comes from another record being broken. Travis Kelce had his worst Super Bowl performance. However, he passed Jerry Rice for the most receptions in the Super Bowl. He finished with four receptions to put him at 35 in five appearances in the big game.
Final Thoughts
As a Chiefs fan, this one hurts. It hurts more than the loss in Tampa. It’s hard to come up with the right words to describe it, but there’s a lot of anger and frustration. More than I could ever write about.
The interceptions will stand out to a lot of people, but two other plays are running wild in my head. The third down stop that was nullified by a unnecessary roughness penalty on Trent McDuffie, and the drop from Deandre Hopkins late in the first half.
The whole Chiefs and refs narrative has been blown way out of proportion this entire season, and by no means is that a reason why Kansas City lost, but that penalty was a horrific call and threw off the defense for that drive.
The drop by Hopkins reminded me of the Darrel Williams drop in Super Bowl LV on Mahomes’ Superman throw. Different situation, but just at gutting. The phrase, “When it rains, it pours,” came to mind. In this situation, DHop had at least 15-20 yards of space in front of him.
That would’ve set the Chiefs up to at least get a field goal on the board before the break and maybe be a spark for the offense. However, it was a really bad drop that felt like the nail in the coffin. Like I said, when it rains; it pours.
There is a reason why no team has ever three-peated. Coaches say it all the time, but it is hard to win, and even harder to win. consistently year after year. The run that Kansas City has been on the past six years has been nothing short of incredible.
However, to get blown out in a second Super Bowl will put a damper on the Chiefs dynasty. Growing up as a Chiefs fan, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever see a historic run like this.
Kansas City fans have become spoiled by the feeling of winning, but the only word that describes my feeling is grateful. Like Mahomes said earlier this week, you never know when it’s the last time you’ll fight for a Super Bowl.
I obviously wanted the Chiefs to make history, and this loss will haunt Chiefs Kingdom for a long time, but I am grateful for how spoiled we’ve been the last six years. Kansas City won back-to-back Super Bowls. Still crazy to think about.
The best part is that Mahomes is only 29 years old. The Chiefs will be back in the Super Bowl and will hoist another Lombardi Trophy with No. 15 under center.
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