The Eagles did the rest of the NFL a favor by dismantling the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 on Sunday in New Orleans.
They provided the perfect blueprint for beating Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Kansas City roster. It’s one the Raiders would be wise to follow.
New coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek were likely going down the same road anyway. Carroll’s Seahawks made a different legendary quarterback in Peyton Manning look mortal in their 43-8 win over the Broncos in Super Bowl 48. And Spytek and the Buccaneers also rattled Mahomes in their 31-9 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55.
Expect them to try to mimic what Seattle, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia did so successfully with the Raiders. Here are two things the team can take away from the Eagles’ 40-22 win:
Must stop Mahomes
Too many teams attempt to beat the Chiefs by trading haymakers. Mahomes almost always throws the last punch when that happens and records a knockout.
The Eagles didn’t try to do that. They trusted their defense to slow Kansas City down, easing the pressure on their offense.
Mahomes has been sacked nine times in his two Super Bowl losses. Philadelphia recorded six of those sacks Sunday. And both the Eagles and the Buccaneers applied pressure by primarily using four pass rushers, giving them plenty of bodies to use in coverage.
That forced Mahomes to move around to find open receivers. Often, there weren’t any. He threw two interceptions against Tampa Bay and two more against Philadelphia, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
It didn’t take a complex game plan to topple the Chiefs, either. The Eagles did not blitz a single time Sunday. Their physical defensive line pulverized Kansas City.
The investment Philadelphia made up front — it has picked nine defensive linemen its last four drafts — paid off in spades. The Raiders need to follow suit. And given the priority Carroll and Spytek have placed on defensive linemen their previous stops, they’re likely to do so.
Run the ball
Mahomes is unique. He’s one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history and he doesn’t turn 30 until September.
The Raiders could get frustrated about not having a quarterback like him. Or they could do what the Eagles did, and build an offensive environment that gives their quarterback a better chance to succeed.
Philadelphia won behind Jalen Hurts, a second-round pick, because its offensive line and running game made life easier for him. The Eagles ran the ball on 56.3 percent of their plays this year, the highest rate in the NFL.
The Raiders, on the other hand, passed 64.3 percent of the time despite their poor quarterback situation. Some of that was due to them trailing so often. But their run-pass balance was clearly out of whack.
Philadelphia’s rushing attack, led by running back Saquon Barkley, forced the Chiefs to devote resources to slowing it down. That gave Hurts more favorable matchups in the passing game, which he took full advantage of.
He completed 17 of his 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on his way to being named Super Bowl MVP. Hurts had five completions of 20 yards or more, one of which was a 46-yard touchdown that put Philadelphia up 34-0 in the third quarter.
The game was a continuation of a season-long trend for the Eagles. They attempted the fewest passes of any team in the NFL, but they were efficient when they did throw. Their 67.6 completion percentage was the eighth-best in the league and they finished tied for the third-fewest interceptions with six.
Philadelphia’s balance on offense allowed it to beat standout quarterbacks like Mahomes, Matthew Stafford and Jayden Daniels in the playoffs. Hurts didn’t need to try to outduel his counterparts to win.
The Raiders could look to replicate the same formula in Las Vegas. It’s what Carroll did in Seattle, as he won a Super Bowl with an elite defense and an outstanding running back in Marshawn Lynch making things simple for quarterback Russell Wilson.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
