Super Bowl 59 Rehashed This Sports Adage, and Philly Had It All Season

Super Bowl 59 turned into a bloodbath for Kansas City. They never found their groove, and it led to an epic 40-22 rout that had to be supremely satisfying for Philadelphia Eagles fans who have not forgotten the ignominious end to Super Bowl 57, where a late defensive holding penalty on Eagles defensive back James Bradberry set up the Chiefs to kick the game-sealing field goal.

Not this year. That game was avenged and then some. It was total domination.

The highlight reel starting with a 34-0 score is diabolical 😭 pic.twitter.com/Wj9TJAJzDb
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) February 10, 2025

Patrick Mahomes in the entire FIRST HALF of the Super Bowl:

6 for 14
33 passing yards
0 touchdowns
2 interceptions

One of the worst halves of football ever played pic.twitter.com/RTMGgzynq1
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) February 10, 2025

The Eagles' defense, a highlight of the disappointing 2023 season that led to the team collapsing after the bye week, was retooled by new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. They stomped on the Chiefs all night, sacking star Chiefs quarterback Mahomes a career-high six times, holding the team to 38 total offensive yards heading into the second half. Oh, and did I mention that the Eagles lead 24-0? This game had the feeling of Super Bowl 48, where Seattle’s Legion of Boom, the number one ranked defense that year, held the top-ranked offense, Denver Broncos, to under ten points in the 43-8 blowout at the Meadowlands.

wtf pic.twitter.com/bldyu53Erm
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 10, 2025

In the first half, the Eagles defense allowed:

🦅 23 total yards
🦅 1 first down
🦅 0 points

📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/ot5R1ycSu7
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025

The Chiefs could never get set, frazzled by the Eagles defensive line with a 47-52 percent pressure rate without blitzing. Philadelphia has prided itself on maintaining stout offensive and defensive lines for a quarter-century, knowing that games, especially the big ones, are won on the line of scrimmage. It’s the kind of line that can make a generational talent, Saquon Barkley, go off, which he did by reaching the 2,000 rushing yard club.

According to @NextGenStats here at the stadium, Eagles' pressure rate is up to 52.4% with a 0% blitz rate.
— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) February 10, 2025

Per @NextGenStats, the Eagles had a 47 percent pressure rate in the first half without blitzing once.

That'll do it.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) February 10, 2025

The Eagles did not blitz once across 42 dropbacks in Super Bowl LIX, just the 4th defense to not blitz in a game in the NGS era.

Relying on their front four, the Eagles generated 16 pressures and sacked Mahomes six times, his most in a game in his career.

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— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) February 10, 2025

The Chiefs avoided what could have been a historic loss by being shut out, with Mahomes finding wideouts Xavier Worthy (twice) and DeAndre Hopkins in the endzone. Still, these were empty-calorie touchdowns—the game was already over.

The Chiefs are performing as well as Kamala Harris in the swing states.
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) February 10, 2025

Super Bowl 59 again confirmed an adage in sports: Defense wins championships.

After a rough four weeks in 2024, Philadelphia’s defense under Fangio came alive. They were the 2^nd ranked overall defense, the number one passing defense, and second in scoring defense. The Chiefs weren’t a bad defense either, sitting fourth overall, fourth in scoring, eighth against the run, but 18^th in passing. They shut down Barkley, who only had 57 yards on 25 carries, but that was about it. Hurts did enough from the air to seal the game. There were no 100-yard receivers tonight in Philadelphia’s talented wideout corps, but you don’t really need that when the defense is elite.

Yet, this is why you play the games. It could have gone the other way, but it didn't. Philly remained resilient and dominant, which gave Mahomes fits.

Philly 40 burger in the Super Bowl 🍔

📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/3qaXjBuWoF
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025

EAGLES HAVENT BLITZED ONCE

MAHOMES HAS A CAREER HIGH 5 SACKS

INSANE 😱😱
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 10, 2025

***

Defense wins Championships
— Carl Banks (@CarlBanksGIII) February 10, 2025

Last Note: As mentioned above about the defense, in 2013, the Legion of Boom, in their prime, smothered a Denver offense that raked up a record 606 points in 16 games. In 2015, the Broncos retooled, building one of the best defenses in NFL history in their Super Bowl matchup with the 15-1 Carolina Panthers. They prided themselves in being the 'no-fly zone' with the number one passing defense and third in stopping the run. They had to be in the top five in these categories since Peyton Manning's arm was damn near dead, and the offense wasn't a powerhouse (19th overall). In 2000, the Baltimore Ravens' defense also had to be beyond elite, as their offense couldn't score a touchdown for five games. It was special teams and the defensive play that bailed them out, as they did in the last game of the season against the New York Jets, where Baltimore only had five first downs and a whopping 142 yards in total offense. They still won the game 34-20. That Ravens squad had a first overall team defense, eighth against the pass, first against the run, and the number one scoring defense. Looking back, it's no shock that they throttled the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl 35.

As a die-hard New York Giants fan, I hate the Eagles*. I also don’t care much for the Chiefs, but with these defensive stats, which only got better and were maintained after week four of this season, you cannot be shocked at this game. The Chiefs were 15-2, but it was the luckiest season probably of all time. Luck runs out quickly against a legitimate defense, and Kansas crashed into the wall tonight.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the luckiest team in the history of football 😐 pic.twitter.com/D60MccF8ae
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) November 30, 2024

As for Saquon, yeah, it sucked to see him go, but he won’t be the first or last Giants player who was beloved to walk away from 1925 Giants Drive. It sucked when Michael Strahan retired, when Osi Umenyiora left, along with Justin Tuck, Kevin Boss, and Jason Pierre-Paul. These things happen. Barkley likely would have had another 1,000-yard season if he’d stayed in New York. He’s done so plenty of times with worse talent on the offensive line, but he never would have won a ring or made history, and you cannot hamstring talent like that. It is generational.