Hurts so good — 6 takeaways from Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl LIX a day later

It was time the Chiefs took a good spanking, huh?

It was not just a beatdown, it was an annihilation, a demolition, and one of, if not the, greatest single-game performances by a team in Philadelphia sports history.

Remember last year, or just a few weeks ago? Fire Nick Sirianni. Questions about Jalen Hurts. Did Howie Roseman build a good enough roster? Can the Eagles win if Saquon Barkley is kept quiet?

The Eagles kept the main thing the main thing, and it hurts so good.

Philadelphia will have its second parade in seven years on Friday, celebrating a 40-22 win over Kansas City in Super Bow LIX. The Eagles burst out to a 34-0 lead and then smoothly sailed to their fifth championship and second Super Bowl championship in franchise history at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Two years ago, the Eagles lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII in heartbreaking fashion. Oh, sweet revenge.

There were no negatives in this game, outside of the new FOX scorebug. That was ugly.

Here are my six takeaways a day after the win:

Full-circle Super Bowl MVP

Hurts at the ripe age of 26 has competed in two Super Bowls in three years, outdueling the great Patrick Mahomes in both of them, is a Super Bowl MVP, a Super Bowl champion, and has averaged 12.5 wins a season over the past three years.

He cannot win the Eagles a game with his arm. He is a system quarterback. He is not elite. He was benched in the National Championship Game, he is not built for the moment.

The main thing stayed the main thing.

Hurts is a competitor, a warrior, a battler, and officially an elite quarterback.

The Eagles did not get much out of Barkley in this game. He had 25 carries for just 57 yards against Steve Spagnulouo and the Chiefs defense. He averaged 2.3 yards per carry, the lowest in Super Bowl history by a runningback with 20 or more carries. Kansas City’s one motive on defense was to stop Barkley. They did that. But Hurts had the counterpunch. And just like Rocky Balboa, took down the heavyweight champion of the world on his second try.

Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, including an interception (his first since Week 9), for an incredible 119.7 passer rating, and added on 72 rushing yards. He threw 10 first downs, ran for five more, and was in full control of the offense all night. 

He made fantastic reads, read the blitz phenomenally, and threw dimes all over the place, including this one to DeVonta Smith for a 54-yard touchdown to basically end the game in the third quarter.

HO. LY. SHIT. #EAGLES pic.twitter.com/LmgL80KpDe

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) February 10, 2025

From benched in the biggest game of his life to being drafted by the Eagles out of nowhere who already had Carson Wentz, to falling short in his first Super Bowl, to facing adversity, and finally reaching the mountain top as Super Bowl MVP.

What are they going to say now?

No blitz needed

All of our biggest concerns going into this season was with the defense. How would they bounce back after crumbling into little tiny pieces? How would they make up for the loss of Fletcher Cox? And so many more.

Remember that? Funny thinking about it now, huh?

This was an unbelievable defensive effort by Vic Fangio’s unit against Andy Reid and Mahomes.

Josh Sweat, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Milton Williams, Jordan Davis, and others were unstoppable. Just absolutely dominant.

The Eagles’ defensive front did not allow Mahomes to even get set, let alone throw. They sacked him six times, forced a fumble and two interceptions, and when he did get the ball out, it was either a little dink or picked off. The first time Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense got across midfield and completed a pass longer than 11 yards was with 2:25 left in the third quarter with the Eagles up 34-0.

And what might be even more incredible was the Eagles did not blitz once across 42 dropbacks, just the fourth defense to not blitz in a game in the Next Gen Stats era. That is ridiculous.

God bless Vic Fangio

Going off of that, forget the final score. When this game was still somewhat competitive, the Chiefs had nothing going. Their first nine drives netted just 43 yards, including six punts, two interceptions, and a failed fourth down. 

This defense has been playing better and better all year, and it all came together in the biggest game of the year with a master class in team defense. It did not just come from one guy. Yes, of course, you had Carter causing disruption, Davis was all in there, and Zack Baun getting another interception.

But Cooper DeJean, on his birthday, got his first interception for a pick-six against Mahomes and shut Travis Kelce down, letting him catch just four balls for 39 yards, and all of them in the second half. Williams forced a big strip sack. Avonte Maddox had a huge breakup on fourth down.

That DeJean pick came at such a needed time, as well. With the Eagles up 10-0 in the middle of the second quarter, DeJean made a perfect read on a bad pass from Mahomes, picked it off, and returned it 38 yards for the score.

That play seemed to be the real fork in the Chiefs, and it was not even halftime yet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COOPER DEJEAN‼️ #EAGLES pic.twitter.com/hC8WpaAk3N

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) February 10, 2025

A year ago, the Eagles had one of the worst defenses in football. They ended the season allowing 32 points in the Wild Card in Tampa, finishing off the historic and demoralizing destruction.

Fangio entered the room, and a complete transformation occurred. The Eagles became fierce again, they were intelligent and returned to good-old football, playing spectacular team defense and beating offenses down.

The Chiefs did score garbage time TDs, but this was an absolute beatdown against one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. It does not get much better than this. And in Eagles history, I do not think it ever has.

How about Josh Sweat?

In what was probably his final game as an Eagle, Sweat played his tail off. He would have seriously been in the MVP conversation if Hurts had not gone out and done what he did.

The Eagles’ fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft recorded six total tackles, 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, and two tackles for a loss. He smothered Mahomes and made himself a lot of money Sunday night.

The Josh Sweat Game™️#Eagles pic.twitter.com/TrtyOwJhxz

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) February 10, 2025

Sweat’s biggest play, however, will not show up in his scoresheet. Toward the end of the second quarter, bulldozed Joe Thuney, forcing an errant pass from Mahomes that Baun picked off at the Kansas City 16, leading to an A.J. Brown touchdown.

EXTEND HIM IMMEDIATELY #EAGLES pic.twitter.com/nu4WPZxlyk

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) February 10, 2025

The Eagles had three takeaways in Super Bowl LIX. They had 13 this postseason, compared to just one turnover. That is how you win football games.

Never doubt Jake the Make

Jake Elliott was horrible this year. He missed 13 kicks, the most in the NFL. But in the biggest moments, on the biggest stages, he comes through.

Elliott went four-for-four Sunday night nailing a 29-yarder, two 48-yarders, and a 50-yarder, including being perfect on extra points.

Elliot is now 26-for-27 in his postseason career for 96%, the fourth-highest accuracy in NFL history by a kicker with 10 or more attempts. 

It was hard to be confident with Elliott this season. He had a horrible year, and it seemed like his success and trust that stemmed from his rookie season, where he nailed huge kicks against the Patriots in Super Bowl LII, was fading away.

But, he will always have the clutch gene.

Welcome the the golden age

Back in 2018 when we all piled in the streets, Doug Pederson told us that winning Super Bowls with that group would become “the new norm.” Of course, that is not exactly how it went down.

But, the Eagles may be able to poise that title again.

Think about it. This roster is built for sustained success, not just this year, not just next year but for years to come. Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, Mekhi Becton, Reed Blankenship, DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, and Jalen Hurts are all 26 or younger. 

Barkley is locked up for the rest of his career, and Sirianni and Fangio are going nowhere.

And do not forget, the Eagles have an owner who cares and own the best general manager in football.

We have been through a lot in Philadelphia over the past few years. Disappointment, heartbreak, and failure. But, this team is going to be good for a long time.

Sirianni is the first coach in Eagles history to go to multiple Super Bowls. Hurts is the first quarterback in Eagles history to go to multiple Super Bowls, and is the first real starter to win Super Bowl MVP in franchise history. Nick Foles, of course, was not the starting QB on that 2017 team.

To me, that makes those two the best coach and QB in Eagles history. Already, I am ready to declare it.

The golden age of Eagles football was once Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb in the early 2000s. It is now Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts.

Welcome to the golden age of Eagles football, it is not going anywhere anytime soon.

I will see you at the parade on Valentine’s Day.

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