Super Bowl 59 is in the books, and it was no contest.
The “underdog” Philadephia Eagles crushed the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, to claim their second championship in eight years. In the process, the Eagles extinguished KC’s bid for a three-peat.
So there’s a new sheriff in town, and a new blueprint for the league’s 31 teams – including the Patriots – to follow.
The Eagles largely ruled in the game with their defense, which produced 6 sacks, 3 takeaways, and 5 three-and-outs against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni summed it up this way: “You can’t be great without the greatness of others.”
Here’s 5 takeaways from the NFL’s title game with an eye towards New England:
1. Patriots dynasty continues to rule
One-upping the Patriots and the accomplishments of their dynasty isn’t going to be as easy as it might have seemed for the Chiefs or any other team going forward.
With a chance to make history by winning three-in-a-row, a feat the Patriots never accomplished during their dynastic run, Andy Reid’s team came in as the favorites, even though the Eagles were the more talented team.
The pressure was clearly on Mahomes & Co. to add another Lombardi in pursuit of the bigger goal – toppling the Patriots.
With three championships already in the holster, Mahomes wasn’t able to add the next one. Unseating the Patriots will have to wait – if it happens at all.
Prior to the game, speaking with Tom Brady on the FOX pre-game show, the Chiefs quarterback acknowledged having “so much more appreciation for what y’all did” every year – for two decades.
The Brady-led Patriots won six championships over the course of 18 seasons. The Chiefs are off to a great start, but Mahomes clearly understands the gravity of what the Patriots did, and what it takes to sustain that level of excellence.
And if not, there are plenty of Patriots multiple ring-wearers who are around to remind him when people want to make comparisons between the teams, the quarterbacks and head coaches.
“Look, I don’t care if you win three in a row. When you get to six, we can talk then,” Patriots great Vince Wilfork told MassLive ahead of the game. “They got a ways to go. If they win it, they still have to catch up. The same applies with Brady and Mahomes. Call me when he hits seven.”
When it comes to Mahomes, even the great quarterbacks have bad games. He was pressed with every dropback and made uncharacteristic mistakes, throwing back-to-back picks on consecutive passes. He flinched under the pressure of the Eagles pass rush.
It happened to Brady against the New York Giants twice in the Super Bowl. It also happened to Mahomes against Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A great pass rush can be Kryptonite for any quarterback. For the record, Brady was 7-3 in 10 Super Bowls. Mahomes is now 3-2.
The Patriots were also never whipped this badly in any Super Bowl appearance. Their three losses were all by eight points or less. The Chiefs have been routed in both losses.
The morale of the story?
The Chiefs have more work to do. The accomplishments of Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots remain the reference standard of greatness.
2. Dominance of Eagles lines right in Mike Vrabel’s wheelhouse
The Eagles won this game in the trenches. The performance of their offensive and defensive lines was the difference.
Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts (17 for 22, 221 yards, 2 TDs, 1 pick) had time to throw behind his mammoth offensive line. Mahomes didn’t. He was completely rattled in the pocket. The six sacks were the most he’s ever been taken down in his career.
If you didn’t know better, you would have sworn Mahomes was playing behind the Patriots offensive line the way he was left running for his life.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio managed to speed up Mahomes and get him off his game without ever having to blitz. He got to Mahomes with his four-man front alone, which exposed the Chiefs offensive line.
The Eagles were also aided by strong coverage from their defensive backs, but by and large, the battle was won up front on both sides of the ball.
And that’s where Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is planning on starting his rebuild of the Patriots. The team’s offensive line has been woeful the past few seasons, while the defensive line didn’t distinguish itself this past season.
If the Patriots want to get back to contender status, it has to start up front. The trenches have to be a priority, and Vrabel has provided hints along those lines.
“If you look at who the coach is, he’s going to build from the inside out,” former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said during a recent episode of Eye on Foxborough. “For him, it’s going to be foundation first. It’s going to be interior D-line and O’line.”
No arguments after watching how the Super Bowl played out.
3. Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat should be on Patriots radar
There are several pending free agents from the Eagles and Chiefs that should definitely be on the Patriots radar next month.
Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat sits at the top of the list. He was a beast in the biggest game of the year. He wreaked havoc with Mahomes all game.
Sweat finished with 6 tackles (2 for loss), 2.5 sacks and 3 quarterback hits. The outside linebacker is 27, a Pro Bowler, and will get a huge payday based off this performance. The Patriots have more cash to spend than anyone, so there’s no excuse not to target him.
Eagles linebacker Zach Baun is another pending free agent. He was the team’s leading tackler and also scored a pick off Mahomes. He’s going to be another highly sought after defender.
The Patriots have a lot of work to do to replenish the roster and bring in more talent on both sides of the ball. Sweat and Baun wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
Chiefs veteran safety Justin Reid is another free agent worth consideration from the Patriots.
4. Amazing what happens with receivers who can separate
Hurts threw a pair of touchdown passes in the rout.
His mega-star wideouts – A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith – were on the receiving end of those TD throws.
Smith had a step on Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson, and reeled in a perfectly thrown 46-yard bomb from Hurts for the knockout score in the fourth quarter.
Smith caught 4 passes for 69 yards, while Brown added 3 catches for 43 with a touchdown. Brown’s 12-yard TD catch put the Eagles up 24-0 at halftime.
It wasn’t so much the volume, but the duo made key plays, getting open at critical times.
Drake Maye needs this kind of receiving talent to maximize his talent.
While Mahomes won a Super Bowl last year without a fleet of top receivers, and reached the championship game once again, he struggled all year to put points on the board with this group.
Maye’s current collection of wideouts pale in comparison with the Eagles, who legitimately have two No. 1s in Brown and Smith. So the Patriots braintrust has work to do this offseason to fortify the cast around their franchise quarterback.
5. The Patriots are in good stead with a mobile quarterback
Along with his pinpoint accuracy and ability to throw the football, Hurts absolutely killed the Chiefs with his legs.
While KC’s defensive mastermind Steve Spagnuolo did a good job containing all-world running back Saquan Barkley, he had no answer for Hurts.
Philly’s quarterback was the Eagles leading rusher with 11 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Whether it was designed runs, or simply using his legs to beat Spagnuolo’s all-out blitzes, Hurts was devastating.
As witnessed this season, Patriots quarterback Maye can also use his legs effectively. If he learns how to slide, he can be a similar weapon given his athleticism and mobility.
For that matter, the final four teams (KC, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Washington) reaching the championship games in their respective conferences all feature mobile quarterbacks.
At least the Patriots have that going for them.