Arrowhead Pride is taking some time to chat with Bleeding Green Nation in to preview the Super Bowl LIX matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
In this series, each side gives three reasons why their respective team might lose. This exchange allows us to show what the other side is concerned about. Read on for why the Eagles could lose, as written by Brandon Lee Gowton. To see why I think the Chiefs could lose, click here.
1. OFFENSE: The Eagles’ passing game struggles resurface
Jalen Hurts is coming off a great performance in the NFC Championship Game. He also played pretty well in the Eagles’ last Super Bowl meeting against the Chiefs. But it’s hardly a lock that Hurts will thrive against KC’s defense this time around. The Eagles’ passing attack — which ranks 14th in DVOA and 14th in dropback success rate — has been pretty uneven for most of the 2024 season.
The Birds have almost always been able to win in spite of it due to the combination of riding Saquon Barkley and playing suffocating defense. The margin for error against the Chiefs, however, is razor thin. Steve Spagnuolo’s blitzes could cause problems for Hurts, who has taken a sack against them 13.2 percent of the time — the highest mark of any starter in the NFL (via Sheil Kapadia).
If the Chiefs are able to limit Barkley (much easier said than done) and force the Eagles to rely on their passing attack, Philly’s offensive production might not be good enough to outpace the Chiefs’ scoring ability.
2. DEFENSE: The Chiefs might be able to prevent Jalen Carter from wrecking the game
The Eagles have the best defense in the NFL. But I don’t know how much that really matters when going up against Patrick Mahomes. One way I do think the Eagles can cause issues for Mahomes is Jalen Carter taking over and wrecking the game, not unlike Chris Jones is capable of doing for the Chiefs.
The problem is that Chiefs starting right guard Trey Smtih is really good. Unlike most offensive linemen, he might be able to handle Carter one-on-one. If that’s the case, the Chiefs can dedicate more attention to helping left guard Mike Caliendo. It’s possible the Eagles could look to put Carter over Caliendo. But Vic Fangio hasn’t really moved his defensive linemen around like that to this point. If the Chiefs are able to keep Carter in check, Mahomes should be able to have ample time to do damage.
3. X-FACTOR: The Chiefs are inevitable
Honestly, more than anything matchup-related, this is the biggest reason why I believe the Chiefs are going to win the Super Bowl LIX.
I’ve been saying KC is destined to threepeat ever since they beat the San Francisco 49ers last year. From February 16, 2024:
“Right after the Chiefs win [Super Bowl 58] and Patrick Mahomes is talking in the postgame interview on the field, he’s talking about number three already. It wasn’t even like ‘We’re happy we won this one.’ It’s like ‘Hey, three, we’re doing it.’ And I know a lot of people who win the Super Bowl say that. ‘Oh, we’re going to do it again next year.’ But, I don’t know this, this seemed like an entirely different focus and energy on doing it yet again.”[…]
“Does any of this matter? Do any of these other questions matter? Does anything in the NFL matter? Aren’t they actually just going to win it all again next year? We’re talking about a quarterback here who’s lost three times in the playoffs since [his debut in] the 2018 season. Two of them were to Tom Brady, one of them was in overtime. The other loss was in overtime to Joe Burrow, who’s been pretty incredible in the playoffs. So, does any of this actually matter? Fans are going to be like ‘We have to take this player in the first round!’ There’s going to be intense debate about who the Eagles should take at No. 22 overall. Or if the Cowboys should sign Derrick Henry. Or where Tee Higgins lands. Does any of this matter? Does any of it at all actually matter at all? I don’t think it does. I think the Chiefs are going to threepeat and we’re all just wasting our time acting like all this stuff matters, [re-arranging] deck chairs on the Titanic. It kind of feels futile.”
Patrick Mahomes is Michael Myers from Halloween. He doesn’t die.
The Chiefs are Thanos.
They are inevitable.
Picking the Chiefs to lose is like Charlie Brown thinking Lucy is finally going to hold the football for him to kick and not just pull it away at the last second.
