Super Bowl LIX was the first time in a long time that we had seen Andy Reid outcoached. The Eagles’ defense only needed to rush four to sack Patrick Mahomes six times and force multiple pressures. They didn’t even blitz once. It caught many fans off guard, including Stephen A. Smith, who said it was the worst game he’d ever seen Reid coach.
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On First Take, Stephen A. didn’t mince words in critiquing the Chiefs’ “horrible” performance on Sunday night. He acknowledged that the Eagles cooked up a masterful defensive game plan but couldn’t understand why the Chiefs looked so bad and unprepared.
The leading also cooked Mahomes and explained why he may never be viewed in the same light as Tom Brady ever again.
“Listen y’all, that was horrible,” Stephen A. professed. “We understand that it was the Eagles’ defense… We get all of that. But, you threw the pick-six to [Cooper] DeJean. You threw the interception at your own 14-yard line. And so, you know, we’ve seen Brady rattled by the Giants. But what we didn’t see was that. We didn’t see you contribute to beating yourself.”
It’s a harsh critique, but one that rings true. We never saw Brady crumble in the Super Bowl the way Mahomes did on Sunday. By halftime, Mahomes had a passer rating of 10.7 — which would have been the fourth worst for a starting QB in Super Bowl history. But second-half garbage time helped him raise it to 95.4 by the end of the game. The worst passer rating Brady ever had in a Super Bowl was 71.4 in 2019—a game he won.
Stephen A. then moved on to evaluate the game plan Reid put together, seeming shocked by the lack of adjustments the head coach made throughout the game.
“Of course, for Andy Reid, it’s the worst game I’ve ever seen him coach. I’ve never seen Andy Reid appear so lost, so helpless. And that’s how he looked in that particular game… It was really, really, really bad,” Stephen A. continued.
Co-host Jeff Saturday pointed out some of the inadequacies in Reid’s game plan to support Stephen A. He highlighted the lack of adjustments on the offensive line to buy Mahomes more time to throw—something he believes Bill Belichick and his staff would’ve never let happen to Brady. Instead, they would’ve spotted the issue by halftime and adjusted the offensive formations and playcalling. Reid did none of that.
GOAT debate over?
The morning after the big game, Stephen A. went on First Take and said that he believed the GOAT debate between Mahomes and Brady was over. He said that the performance from Mahomes was too bad to ever recover from. But in the days since, he’s now backtracked and said he can still be the greatest, but only if he follows certain steps of a plan. What steps, you ask?
“To me, what Mahomes needs to do to get in the GOAT conversation again: gotta win two more titles,” Stephen A. laid out. “Because you gotta get at least five. And the reason why: you gotta overcome the two bad performances in the Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay and now Philadelphia, he’s been outscored by 40. They’ve lost by more than 18 points both times. Only he and John Elway have that distinction as starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl. That’s hard to overcome.”
Elway lost his first three Super Bowls by margins of 19, 32, and 45 points. Mahomes has now lost two Super Bowls by 22 and 18. It’s an unfortunate list to be part of, but there’s no denying that when Mahomes has lost in the Super Bowl, it’s been ugly both times.
Mahomes still has three rings that he’s won with Reid, but Sunday night destroyed much of the progress that the QB gained in the GOAT conversation over the years. But now the real challenge starts.
Will Mahomes rebound and capture another title soon? Or is the book out on the Chiefs now, and are they on the verge of falling into dark times? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure: Kansas City needs to shore up their offensive line next season.
