2 winners and 6 losers from the Chiefs misplaced to the Eagles in Tremendous Bowl LIX

“Sometimes you eat the bear; sometimes the bear eats you.”

The Philadelphia Eagles took management of this recreation early, and it felt just like the (now) former two-time defending Tremendous Bowl champions by no means had an actual likelihood to come back again. As loopy as the end result was, the formulation was fairly easy. The Chiefs turned the ball over thrice, and the Eagles solely as soon as. The Eagles sacked Patrick Mahomes six occasions; the Chiefs received to Hurts solely twice. Every time the momentum felt prefer it might shift Kansas Metropolis’s manner, an enormous play went in opposition to them.

Listed here are just a few that stood out because the Chiefs dropped to 3-2 in Tremendous Bowls previously six seasons (that’s nonetheless fairly nice, by the best way).

Winners

Photograph by David Buono/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photographs

Extensive receiver Xavier Worthy: There weren’t many causes to cheer on this Tremendous Bowl, however most of them concerned the rookie sporting No. 1. Worthy caught all eight of his targets for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Sadly, most of that manufacturing got here when it was too late to mount a comeback. However all of us received an enormous glimpse of what’s potential when the quickest man on the sector also can win on the catch level. The considerations about his measurement needs to be fully over. The child is a soccer participant — and his future couldn’t be extra vivid.

The Chiefs’ run protection: Coming into this recreation, the best fear was Saquon Barkley, who dominated the league by way of the common season and playoffs. However Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs protection swarmed and tackled him, stopping any actual injury. Barkley was not solely held to 57 yards and no touchdowns but in addition averaged solely 2.3 yards per carry, and his longest run was 10 yards. The Chiefs had 10 tackles for loss in opposition to the Eagles

Losers

Stephen Lew-Imagn Photographs

Left deal with Joe Thuney and left guard Mike Caliendo: These two weren’t presupposed to be in these two positions, and it confirmed. Each seemed to be overmatched in opposition to a fierce Philly defensive entrance. Each ought to get credit score for serving to the workforce get so far, however watching the offensive line be the first motive this workforce misplaced one more Tremendous Bowl was maddening.

Head coach Andy Reid: Reid’s grasp class in teaching in opposition to the Buffalo Payments was adopted by a fully puzzling efficiency on Sunday. The sport plan didn’t work, and there weren’t any seen changes made. The makeshift offensive line in all probability ought to have been reshuffled when it was clear that the Eagles would overwhelm them. The Chiefs had a few tackles on the bench that might have helped. They’ve a fullback and additional tight ends; they’ve a deep playbook with some calls that usually make groups pay for getting too aggressive. As a substitute, the Chiefs had been on their heels till it was too late.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo: Effectively, if we’re going to speak concerning the Chiefs being outcoached, Spagnuolo will get his share of the blame. Saquon Barkley was not the dominant pressure we feared he may very well be — as talked about above, that was as a result of defensive scheme and execution, together with super tackling. Sadly, the Eagles had been in a position to regulate, transferring the ball by way of the air with relative ease. I famous various occasions when the Eagles received the matchups they (presumably) needed. It felt like they had been in a position to pressure Trent McDuffie to face AJ Brown and Jaylen Watson to try to sustain with DeVonta Smith— in all probability the precise reverse of what we needed to see attributable to measurement and velocity variations. They threw the ball to Barkley seven occasions, exploiting a weak point within the Chiefs’ capacity to cowl operating backs. Jalen Hurts was wonderful on the bottom, setting a brand new Tremendous Bowl document with 72 yards speeding and a tush-push landing. I believe we’ll look again on the season and make sure that these had been recognized deficiencies within the protection that the Eagles adjusted to whereas the Chiefs couldn’t counter.

Working again Kareem Hunt: The redemption story of Kareem Hunt might have been capped off within the sweetest manner — with a Tremendous Bowl win. As a substitute, the Chiefs received virtually no manufacturing from Hunt or the operating recreation in any respect. Hung had solely three carries — out of seven for all Chiefs operating backs mixed. A lot of that’s on the teaching and playcalling; a few of that’s as a result of Chiefs trailing all through. However, regardless of the motive, it looks like a grand missed alternative for Hunt.

Kicker Harrison Butker: Talking of gamers who didn’t get a possibility, how concerning the weird incontrovertible fact that Harrison Butker didn’t get to aim a kick? The Eagles’ kicking recreation was excellent, hitting 4 area objectives and 4 further factors, a few them after penalties that made them longer. This entry isn’t a lot a knock on Butker, who remains to be among the many finest postseason kickers in NFL historical past. It’s simply one other unusual story of the sport. When was the final time the Chiefs didn’t try a area aim or an additional level (apart from the Week 18 observe squad shutout)? I consider it was December 2012, when the Oakland Raiders shut them out. It could be troublesome to consider it ever occurred for a workforce that scored over 20 factors.

Observe: Making use of the labels “winners” and “losers will not be supposed to be a judgment on the expertise or character of any of those folks. It’s only a easy approach to grade their efficiency in a single recreation. No disrespect is meant.