So watching the Philadelphia Eagles lay the hurt on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last night to win Super Bowl LIX was a real pleasure to watch. And suffice it to say, it's not a result I saw coming.
I'm a Philadelphia sports fan through better and worse. I've seen the Eagles, Flyers, & Phillies all break my heart in sometimes amazing fashion. So needless to say, I went in to the Super Bowl with no expectations. I knew the Eagles were good and had a fantastic season. I also knew the Chiefs with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are a force to be reckoned with. I figured the game really could go either way and figured the game would be a close win for either team. I'm not surprised the Eagles won, I'm just (pleasantly) surprised they won in the fashion they did.
Seeing the Eagles go up 24-0 at the half and then continue to hold on 40-22 was not something I expected to see. The final score really undersells how good the Eagles were. Basically the only thing they couldn't really get going was the ground game with Saquon Barkley, who the Chiefs managed to shut mostly down. In the meantime, they seemed to forget they also had to shut down Jalen Hurts and the passing game as well. Outside a first half interception, he had a fantastic game and rightfully won the Super Bowl MVP.
But as great as the Eagles offense played, their defense was out of this world. I don't think I've ever seen a defensive unit play as good of a game against one of the best teams in the NFL. The Eagles held the Chiefs to 24 yards and 1 first down in the first half. They sacked Mahomes 6 times, caused him to turnover the ball 3 times, and just absolutely dominated the Chiefs offense. To make things even more unbelievable despite being true, the Eagles defense didn't blitz once. They didn't need to. They got into Mahomes' face with just the front four. Vic Fangio came in and turned one of the worst defenses last season into a juggernaut this season and especially this game. It's actually kind of a shame you can't name the defense the MVP, because with all due respect to Hurts (who deserves the MVP), the defense was the surprise of the game.
I'm ecstatic about the result, seeing the Eagles win 2 super bowls in less than 10 years is incredible. I'm going to enjoy it while I can, because who knows when this golden period might end.
FLY EAGLES FLY!
GO BIRDS!