The Kansas City Chiefs have been on a historic run over the Mahomes era. A second Super Bowl would bring out the calls of a KC dynasty.
Hosting five straight home AFC Championship games, and going to three Super Bowls in his short time as a starter has brought a golden era of football to the Chiefs Kingdom. Another Super Bowl would not just add to his legacy but would put him in an elite territory as many quarterbacks have won one Super Bowl but so few have managed to get back to the NFL’s highest level. Players like Joe Montana, John Elway, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Steve Young are often talked about as being the best players to ever play in the NFL. A win on Sunday will put Mahomes in the top-tier category.
A win on Sunday will not come easy as the Philadelphia Eagles are the NFC’s best team. Both their offense and Defensive lines are arguably the best in the NFL. As a result of their dominant play, the Eagles have had little trouble getting to where they are. On the flip side, the Chiefs have had one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL facing multiple teams that had top five defenses. The Bucs, Broncos, Bills, and 49ers all were ranked at the top of the NFL. The one common part of these teams is their ability to put pressure on the quarterback.
The Chiefs’ offensive line will have their hands full. The Eagles have four players who at the end of the season had 11 or more sacks. Brandon Graham, Javon Hargrave, and Josh Sweat all ended the season with 11 sacks. Their best player Haason Reddick ended the year with 16 sacks.
The Chiefs’ defensive line will also have their hands full as the Eagles have one of the best-rushing offenses in the league. Miles Sanders led the Eagles’ rushing attack with almost 1,300 yards on the year. The Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts was the second leading rusher for the team with 760 yards on the year. This dual rushing attack is exploited by the Eagles running a significant amount of RPO or run pass option plays.
The best way to beat an RPO run game is to play great man-to-man coverage. If linebackers and defensive ends only have to worry about being gap-sound and not having to drop back into zone coverage you simplify the defense.
The Chiefs have a heavy cover-two scheme and while the Chiefs are young at the corner position they are still effective. The Chiefs played the most split safety looks in the NFL. The Chiefs running two safeties 57% of the time was the most since 2018.
The benefit of the Chiefs running this look so is that the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is the master of disguising what the team is doing.
The two safety look allows the rookie corners to play press on receivers and if they make a mistake there is always help over the top. This subsequently eliminates quick and easy passes to the outside receivers because the corners can play press.
If the Chiefs’ defensive backs can eliminate the RPO game the advantage goes to Kansas City and the Chiefs will be hosting their second Lombardi trophy of the Mahomes era.
