Let me start with the most important point of this game for the Eagles. They cannot let this game be in doubt and on the line at the end with the NFL’s best quarterback, Chiefs Pro Bowl signal caller Patrick Mahomes having the football in his hands. If they let that happen, they will have set the stage for them to be on the wrong side of Super Bowl history. The Birds are good enough to build a substantial lead, so that they won’t have to be the subject of a dramatic Mahomes come from behind Super Bowl win. They are better than the Chiefs and they should win this game but….
I grew up watching movies that I knew when the movie started how it was going to end. The good guy, or the Super Hero was going to win. At the start of the movie, the good guy or Super Hero was down and the bad guy was winning, but I knew it wasn’t going to end like that. The Eagles must make sure they don’t let Mahomes, who has Super Hero qualities, and the Kansas City Chiefs be the good guys, who come back at the end to win. The Eagles need to build a huge lead by dominating the Chiefs with long drives that eat up the clock. Mahomes and the Chiefs should be limited to only eight drives total in this game. The Birds must pound and grind the Chiefs down with long drives, but they must get into the end zone when they get down close to paydirt. If they’re kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns, it will come back to haunt them because the Chiefs do have a Super Hero on their team.
WHEN THE CHIEFS HAVE THE FOOTBALL:
Everything starts with head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes, when you talk about the Chiefs offense. Reid loves to throw the football and Mahomes is the best passer in the NFL. He can throw accurate passes from any angle whether he is going to his right or his left, plus a very high percentage of the time the passes are very accurate. There are times when he throws the ball with his left hand and those throws are accurate. He is a magician (Super Hero) when he has the ball in hands, whether he is in the pocket or out of the pocket. He is not only accurate, but he has a cannon of an arm, when it is needed. He will find the open receiver, if he is out there, so the Eagles defense must cover their zone or cover their man as long as he is behind the line of scrimmage, then they must all rally and run as hard as they can to the ball when he passes the line of scrimmage.
It’s very important that the Birds defense has as many players around the ball on each play because when a fumble occurs, it’s vital that the Birds defense recovers it. Next to the score, turnovers are the most important statistic in a NFL game. The more Eagles defensive players that are around ball, when Mahomes or any other Kansas City ball carrier is tackled, the more chance they will have, of recovering the fumble if it occurs. Many times Mahomes carries the ball in one hand and even though he is a Super Hero, the Birds defenders must go after the football any time, he’s got it in one hand.
The next person to talk about after Mahomes in the Chiefs offense is the Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce. The Eagles must put together multiple strategies of stopping Kelce, especially in the red zone. They must pound him with their defensive ends when he’s lined up close to the offensive tackles and on the line of scrimmage. If he tries to block an Eagles defensive end on a running play, they need to pound him and make him pay. They need to double him with a linebacker and a safety sometimes. There are other times when they need to put two linebackers on him. On sure passing situations I would put a cornerback on him. I would love to see them match up cornerback, James Bradberry on him, because the veteran corner has the size 6’4”, and speed 4.5 forty yard dash and the smarts to match Kelce.
I would have Bradberry switch places with Avonte Maddox or C.J. Gardner-Johnson because he is taller and a better matchup with Kelce than any of the Eagles safeties. I would move Maddox or Gardner-Johnson outside at Bradberry’s corner position and put the veteran corner on Kelce. This would be a great move, because the change up would confuse the Chiefs.
I would especially want Bradberry on Kelce in red zone situations. He caught 12 touchdowns in the regular season is the number one target for Mahomes in the red zone, but many times foolish defensive coordinators have not only refused to double-team him, sometimes they have not covered him at all. Kelce must be double-teamed when possible in the red zone because he’s the first guy that Mahomes is looking for and he does a great job of lulling the defense to sleep by faking like he is blocking, then slipping out for a touchdown catch. They must have one or two guys on him at each all times, especially in the red zone.
Mahomes has made Marquez Valdes-Scantling, his next favorite target in key situations behind Kelce. Valdes-Scantling has good size and speed. He made numerous big catches including a touchdown catch in the AFC Championship game against the Bengals. His combination of size and speed allows Reid to use him on reverses and other running plays because he looks like a big running back. JuJu Smith-Schuster is another favorite target of Mahomes and he is expected to play despite a knee injury. Like Valdes-Scantling, he is big with good speed, so that the Chiefs quarterback is confident about throwing passes to them when they have tight coverage because they usually have a size advantage on defensive backs.
The Chiefs also have talented backups such as Justin Watson, Mecole Hartman and Skyy Moore, who have speed and playmaking ability. Reid does a great job of studying his own players and creating plays that allow them to do what they do best. The Birds secondary must battle this talented group every time the ball is in the air, yet be smart about it because we know the officials usually give the offense the benefit of the doubt.
I’m confident that the Eagles defensive line can have a big day against the Chiefs offensive line. I expect the talented group of Hassan Reddick, Josh Sweat, Javon Hargrave and Brandon Graham to be pressuring Mahomes in every situation. Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon must rotate them and keep them fresh. The defensive line must be disciplined and stay in their lanes, as they rush Mahomes, so they can keep him in the pocket. The defensive line wants to sack him as many times as possible, but more importantly they would like to strip sack him, in order to get the football out and recover it. The Birds defensive line must go into this game thinking turnovers. Next to the final score of the game, turnovers are the number one statistic, which best dictates which team will be the winner and which team will be the loser.
The secondary, which consists of Darius Slay, Bradberry, Gardner-Johnson, Maddox and Reid Blankenship must catch all the passes that hit their hands. Let me say it again, turnovers are the number stat for dictating who wins next to the score of the game, meaning the team that wins the turnover battle is most likely to win the game. If the Birds win the turnover battle the game won’t even be close.
The Chiefs run enough to keep you honest. You don’t want to get in a foot race with their number one running back, Isiah Pacheco, who is 5’10 and weighs 216 pounds. He was drafted in the 2022 NFL draft in the seventh round, just 11 picks ahead of Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy. He is very dangerous and he ran a 4.37 forty-yard dash. Pacheco is very muscular and quick, so he can break tackles, plus he is lethal in the open field and he averaged 4.9 yards a carry during the regular season. The youngster grew up in nearby Vineland, New Jersey and he attended Rutgers before being drafted.
His backup Jerick McKinnon is a veteran running back, who is an outstanding receiver and he caught 56 passes this season and 9 of them were for touchdowns. The Eagles linebackers and defensive backs must know where he is lined up at all times because he and Mahomes have an outstanding connection.
WHEN THE EAGLES HAVE THE FOOTBALL:
The Eagles have the chance to really put the Chiefs in a very tough position if they can get that passing game going along with their running game. Jalen Hurts did not play one of his better games, when throwing the ball in the NFC Championship Game against the Niners. He wasn’t on target with his throws and he had trouble reading the defensive coverages that the 49ers were playing. He’s got to play much better if the Birds are going to win this Super Bowl.
I’m confident the Eagles will be able to run the football against the Chiefs because the Birds have the best offensive line in the NFL. I’m still amazed at the way Miles Sanders was UNTOUCHED, while scoring two rushing touchdowns against the Niners, which was supposed to be the best run defense in the NFL. The Eagles will be able to run the football against the Kansas City defense, but the key will be whether they can throw it effectively and can they throw it deep effectively. It’s very difficult to beat a Mahomes-led team without a good passing game.
The first thing the Eagles need to do offensively is get that running game going. I think Jalen will be even more comfortable running with the football and they will be able to pound the Chiefs run defense with Sanders, Boston Scott and of course Kenny Gainwell. Hurts will be able to punish the Chiefs defense will his legs and that will make it more difficult for Kansas City to control the Birds running game.
With Mahomes ability to find ways to score, the Eagles need a big game out of Hurts as a passer and he’ll be throwing to open receivers, but his throws need to be on the money. I know the Chiefs are going to be changing their coverages and showing them a lot of different looks but the Eagles need a big game out of Hurts.
The Eagles dominant offensive line is going to force Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to commit players to stopping the run, so there will be opportunities for Hurts to hit his receivers deep for big plays. Spagnuolo is going to be forced to keep at least two linebackers on the field, which is a nickel defense. I don’t think he can go to a dime defense because the Eagles will make him pay with their running game. It’s going to be pick your poison for Spagnuolo as long as Hurts is on his game.
I think A.J. Brown is due for a big game against this Chiefs secondary which doesn’t have the physical cornerbacks to defend Brown. DeVonte Smith and Dallas Goedert will cause problems for Kansas City as well because the Chiefs must stop the Birds running attack or they are not going to be able to Mahomes and his crew on the field with the Eagles run game dominating the time of possession.
Kansas City Pro Bowl defensive tackle, Chris Jones is the one defensive player, who could wreck the Eagles Super Bowl plans. The Birds entire offense needs to know where he’s lined up every time they come up to the football. because Jones has shown us that he can take over a football game. I think he’s a special player because he’s so big and powerful, while having tremendous quickness and athleticism. The Eagles have got to double-team him every chance they get. The Chiefs move him all over so the Birds have got to know where he’s lining up every time because he can overpower one blocker and force a turnover. If the Eagles offensive line can block him, they can have success against the Kansas City defense.
As I look at this game, I don’t think the Eagles are playing the Chiefs, as much as they are playing themselves because if they play at the level they’re capable of playing at they will beat the Kansas City Chiefs. They can’t get distracted by the huge stage of the Super Bowl. They must treat this game as if, it’s any of the other games they played during the regular season. Their mindset must be JUST DO YOUR JOB!!!. They must come out and take it to the Chiefs defense immediately. They must keep it going as long as there is time on the clock. The Eagles offense must try to blow the Kansas City defense out of the state of Arizona. Nick Sirianni and the Birds offensive coaches must be aggressive and try to score 70 points against the Chiefs. They must put their foot on the pedal and not take it off until they’re raising that Lombardi Trophy.
If somebody asks the Eagles about showing the Kansas City defense some sympathy. They need to tell them that if they’re looking for SYMPATHY, they can find it in dictionary. Sympathy isn’t a part of NFL football and especially the Super Bowl. Sirianni, Hurts and the Eagles can’t let this thing stay close. They’ve got to get that running game going and then they’ve got to take advantage of the big play opportunities. Jalen‘s got to connect with Brown, Smith, Goedert and Watkins, so that all Eagles fans will be celebrating after the game and having another parade in Philadelphia in the near future.
I think the Eagles will win this game, 40-23.
