Eagles used a simple tactic to throttle the Chiefs offense in Super Bowl LIX

Football can be a wonderfully complex game, but at the end of the day it comes down to one thing: can my guys outperform your guys? On Sunday, with a Super Bowl on the line, the Philadelphia Eagles did just versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

Their offense was efficient and, even with standout running back Saquon Barkley playing a comparatively minor role relative to the standards he had set this season, controlled the flow of the game from start to finish. The star of the show, however, was the defensive side of the ball — a unit that collectively overwhelmed the two-time defending champions.

Statistics such as yards or points, of which the Chiefs had 275 and 22, respectively, do not do the showing justice. Philadelphia’s defense was dominant at the point of attack, and all over the field in the secondary.

How did they do that? By keeping it simple and having their guys outperform the Chiefs’ guys.

It all started up front, with a defensive line that put relentless pressure on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and forced the Chiefs into playing a one-dimensional game focused on passing the football. The pressure Philadelphia was able to generate, particularly in the first half, was the basis of the Chiefs’ collapse.

That basis was built by four men, and four men only. Veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, a purist by heart who doesn’t use an extensive set of exotic looks and packages, decided to put his team’s fate into his front four.

The unit delivered. Despite Fangio not calling a single blitz in 42 dropbacks, the Eagles were able to pressure Mahomes 16 times for a rate of 38.1 percent. They also sacked him a career-worst six times.

With Josh Sweat and Milton Williams leading the way, the Chiefs’ All-world QB looked flustered from the get go: he looked uncomfortable stepping up in the pocket, seemingly failed to read the field properly, and made questionable decisions with the football. His two interceptions in the first half — including a Cooper DeJean pick-six — resulted in 14 Eagles points and put the two-time defending champions in an early hole, something that further played into Fangio and his defense’s hands.

“We knew that one of the keys to this game was going to be winning up front. We were able to do that,” said Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni after his team’s 40-22 win.

Adding insult to injury, Mahomes was also strip-sacked in the early fourth quarter to set up an Eagles field goal and effectively put the game out of reach. And while the turnovers leading up to that point were not the only difference in the game, they did put Philadelphia on the fast lane to victory.

“Defense played their ass off, like they did all year,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said during his postgame press conference. “I truly believe offense wins games, defense wins championships, and how the defense has been able to play is a great testament to them.”

Whereas Mahomes and the Chiefs had no answer for the Eagles’ ferocious four-man pressure looks and only started moving the ball when it was too late, Hurts picked Kansas City apart when faced with the same number of rushers.

Facing a standard four-man rush, the eventual game MVP completed 15 of 17 passes for 185 yards and both of his touchdowns. He did throw one pick versus a pressure look, but otherwise held up against whatever Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo threw his way.

While front line disruption and the difference in how the teams handled it was notable, the Eagles also performed well in the backend. Once again, Fangio kept things relatively simple: he called zone coverage on all but two of Mahomes’ dropbacks, with Cover 4 as the primary shell used (59.5%), per Next Gen Stats.

With their four-man pressure getting home repeatedly, the Eagles were able to use their extra defenders to get a numbers advantage at the second and third levels. Flooding the field, they made Mahomes hold onto the ball and try to maneuver the pocket; more often than not, he couldn’t successfully do that.

As a result, Fangio and the Eagles defense had Mahomes in uncharted territory. Before garbage time — which for our intents and purposes can be defined as the entire fourth quarter — they held the opposing quarterback to his worst performance ever in terms of expected points added per play.

“Vic’s an outstanding play caller,” said Sirianni. “He brought so much detail to this defense and called great games. Developed the coaches, developed the players. It takes everybody; you can’t be great without the greatness of others. That sure as heck applies to Vic Fangio and all his contributions. Pretty cool that he’s able to win his first Super Bowl in the town that he grew up in. Pretty special.”