The Eagles didn't just win Super Bowl LIX against the dynasty Chiefs Sunday night in New Orleans — they made the back-to-back champions led by a generational quarterback look like a peewee football team.
Kansas City could have missed its flight and been replaced by East Kansas City High school, and it might not have looked much better.
In their one-sided dominating 40-22 win (with 16 Chiefs points coming in garbage-time), the defense stole the show — and we'll get to that. But Jalen Hurts looked like a top 5 NFL QB, Kellen Moore looked like a genius play-caller, and Nick Sirianni could likely remain the Eagles' head coach for life, as the oft-criticized skipper is now a Super Bowl champion on the heals of four straight playoff appearances.
This could be the best football team to ever play for this city.
DeVonta Smith had a monster game. The offensive line gave Hurts time and space to make plays with his legs and arm. And the party on Broad Street will spill over to Ben Franklin Parkway a few days from now in the second ever Eagles championship parade in this city.
In between taking shots and Eagles chats, take a look at our final look at a soaring stock, and one that hit the trading floor:
Stock up — Eagles' defense wins championships 📈
Vic Fangio really should be eligible for Super Bowl MVP. The veteran coach, along with everyone else on this Eagles team, will get a ring after one of the more impressive defensive performances in storied Super Bowl history:
• We'll start with rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, who celebrated turning 22 years old Sunday by doing this:
COOPER DEJEAN PICK TO THE HOUSE!
📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/y4Q4bGTHE2— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
The Eagles undoubtedly had one of the better drafts in recent memory, landing both he and fellow defensive rookie of the year finalist cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first two rounds, as well as Jalyx Hunt (a third round pick who had a half sack) and Will Shipley (who had a monster NFC Championship game). But it's DeJean who will undoubtedly never have to buy a drink in Philadelphia again, with a play that rivals Brandon Graham's strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII.
• Josh Sweat was an absolute beast at defensive end, and a bullrush against Creed Humphrey forced yet another turnover:
Zack Baun interception! #FlyEaglesFly
📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/7LPFimMuP8— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
Sweat also had 2.5 sacks and is going to want his money in free agency.
Zack Baun is getting paid too. The former Saint was a free agent acquisition changed positions and at the edge spot become a defensive player of the year finalist. His interception set up an eventual AJ Brown touchdown catch and 24-0 lead before halftime. The Eagles have won the postseason turnover battle 13-1 over the last four games.
• The last time the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, they had a defensive front that had produced 70 regular season sacks back in 2022-23. The much less potent and more youthful pass rush did more in the first half of Super Bowl LIX than the defense did in all of Super Bow LVII.
The defense's back to back sacks in second quarter helped set up the DeJean pick-six, 1.5 of them credited to Sweat with a little help from Hunt on the second one.
• Milton Williams had a strip sack (that looked just like Graham's actually) in addition to one in the first half — he's come out of nowhere to out-snap Jordan Davis in the middle of the defense. Davis got his own sack in the third quarter.
Milton Williams with the strip sack! Philly defense is playing lights out. #FlyEaglesFly
📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/G54a6qiOqx— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
• The pass rush hit Patrick Mahomes 10 times, with constant pressure, six total sacks and a bevy near of near sacks that tested Mahomes' elusiveness.
• A few tipped passes also highlighted the secondary's big day, none bigger than Avonte Maddox tipping a fourth down pass late in the third quarter, thwarting any chance for the Chiefs to make it a game.
• Mahomes took six sacks, turned it over three times and had by far his worst Super Bowl outing ever. He'll have more than a few nightmares about this Eagles defense.
Stock down — The Chiefs' three-peat 📉
It could be a long time before a team has a chance at a Super Bowl three-peat — it took 59 Super Bowls for the NFL to have one — and the Chiefs basically laid an egg in a game they were favored in.
We wrote a few days ago about how surprising it was that 68% of the 123 Super Bowl picks from experts were for the Chiefs. But in hindsight, it's pretty easy for those pundits to realize why they were so dreadfully wrong.
Defensive coordinatore Steve Spagnolo wanted to make the Eagles one-dimensional by quieting 2,000 yard man Saquon Barkley. And while they succeeded in keeping the MVP candidate quiet, they slept on Hurts, who threw for 221 yards and ran for another 72, with three total touchdowns.
Kansas City's days of dominating seem to be behind them, and the team was in the middle of the pack by most regular season measuring sticks in 2024. The Chiefs won 17 one-score games in a row and routinely did what they had to do, and little more. They don't have a home run threat, a big play offense, or even a ball hawk defense. They were good, not great at everything.
The Eagles were great at everything in 2024, and even better in the postseason as they positively dominated their competition from Wild Card to championship.
The dynasty might not be over, as Mahomes is still in KC with one of the best coaches to ever live in Andy Reid. Neither is going anywhere and both will be heard from again next season. But their historic run is over, and they might just have to find a new approach on offense after fielding a team of weapons that are extremely unimpressive (Xavier Worthy's garbage-time touchdown not withstanding).
Without comment, here are some of the numbers from the Chiefs' quiet dissipation on Sunday:
| Category | Chiefs | Eagles |
| 1st half yards | 23 | 179 |
| Total yards | 275* | 349 |
| Time of possession | 23:02 | 36:58 |
| Third down conv | 3-11 | 3-10 |
| First downs | 11 | 21 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
*50-yard touchdown pass to Worthy late in fourth quarter
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