There were plenty of reasons for the Philadelphia Eagles’ demolition derby of a win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl 59. Jalen Hurts was excellent, the big offensive line did its job, and the wideouts made big plays when needed. But really, the 40-22 win all came down to the fact that Philly’s defensive front would not be denied. Six-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Belichick identified the Eagles’ D-line vs. the Chiefs’ O-line matchup as the key to the game.
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Kansas City’s inability to keep Mahomes’ jersey clean is the reason they lost—and lost so badly. Because of that, the tackle position should be their No. 1 area for improvement this offseason, according to Belichick.
As the legendary coach pointed out on The Lets Go podcast, the Chiefs knew their offensive line, specifically left tackle, would be an issue for them. They drafted Kingsley Suamataia No. 63 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, but after two starts, they moved on to Wanya Morris. He wasn’t excellent either, allowing seven QB hits throughout the year, tied for the 10th most among tackles.
“For Kansas City this year, a good place to look is the left tackle situation. Clearly, Andy [Reid] and Brett [Veach], the general manager, identified that as a problem and they took Kingsley [Suamataia] in the first or second round, whatever it was. They took him as a 2nd pick after Worthy,” Belichick said.
Morris and Suamataia were both benched at various points this year by the Chiefs. Trade acquisition D.J. Humphries didn’t impress when he got his chance either. Injuries piled on to make things so dire that they moved All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the left tackle spot during the playoffs. It was a move that ultimately cost them in the Super Bowl.
The interior line of Creed Humphrey, Thuney, and Trey Smith was solid during the regular season, but fell apart in the playoffs. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who carries the 3rd-highest cap hit on the team, also left much to be desired. His 12 penalties were the most among tackles, and he allowed the 10th-most sacks (7), QB hits (7), and hurries (29).
“They addressed it, and that didn’t work out and then they played four offensive [guards] with their last offensive tackle at the end of the season and in the playoffs. Joe Thuney, who’s really a guard who’s never played tackle since he played it at NC State in college… You get up against the best teams or the best team, and that was a problem for them. It was a problem for them last night,” Belichick continued.
Bill Belichick was spot on about “the best team”. The Eagles had the No. 2 scoring defense, and were No. 1 in total defense and passing defense during the regular season. However, their pass rush was far from elite, as their 41 sacks ranked 15th and their 17.8 pressure rate was 5th-worst in the league. That all went out the window on Super Bowl Sunday.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio became just the 4th to go a full game (regular or postseason) without dialing up a blitz in the Next Gen Stats era. The defense recorded six sacks on Patrick Mahomes, the most the QB has ever had to endure in a single game in his NFL career, regular or postseason. They also pressured the QB on 16 dropbacks. That amounts to a whopping 38 percent pressure rate for Mahomes on the night.
The Chiefs won’t have a good enough draft pick to select a top tackle prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. All the money they are paying Jawaan Taylor could also make it tough for them to sign a top-flight free agent at the position. K.C. could be looking at a full rebuild at both tackle positions this offseason.
That could be tough. K.C. has just over $11.5 million in cap space available for them in 2025, the 11th-fewest in the league. They might have to give Suamataia another shot, and then find him a suitable partner for the right side.
