Super Bowl Takeaways for the 2024 NFL Season
In a not-so-anticipated rematch of the Super Bowl that took place between these teams two years ago, the result was wildly different. If you were a neutral observer, you didn’t witness the best game, but there was still history to make. Kansas City reached the final game on their quest for a threepeat…and came up way short. Philadelphia dominated from wire to wire, led by their sensational defense. We’ve been on this road together all season, and I’m afraid the 2024 season ends here. Let’s do this one last week: read on for my Super Bowl takeaways! Don’t worry; we’ve still got draft coverage galore up ahead.
(2) Philadelphia Eagles 40, (1) Kansas City Chiefs 22
Many of us were expecting a lower-scoring version of the classic these two teams played in Super Bowl LVII. We also anticipated some major help for the Chiefs on the part of the officials and Lady Luck. In a (non)shocker, KC won the coin toss and deferred. Philly reached 4th-and-2 at midfield and dialed up a great deep shot to WR AJ Brown. It was called back by a poor OPI penalty. Officiating expert Mike Pereira and commentator Tom Brady disagreed with the call. The referee union called any claims of bias insulting, but I’m sorry: the evidence has gotten rather overwhelming here. Philadelphia was subsequently forced to punt.
KC punted too, and Philly began to take control. QB Jalen Hurts (17/22, 221 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 11/72/1 rushing) lofted a pass to forgotten WR Jahan Dotson (2/42) to reach the 1, and a tush push finished the drive. The Chiefs went 3 and out, and the Eagles drove once more, but a miscommunication by the offensive line led to a free rusher. That in turned forced Hurts into a red zone INT. It didn’t matter, as the defense forced another 3 and out, after which the offense added a field goal. Following this, we learned VERY quickly that one unit would define this game: the Eagles’ defensive line.
Those 4 starters and their deep stable of substitutes had a performance for the ages. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had no chance. Already down 10-0, Mahomes got sacked twice on consecutive plays before throwing a pick six under pressure to rookie DB Cooper DeJean. It was DeJean’s first INT, and it came on his birthday! Things spiraled from there. Philly earned 6 sacks without blitzing a single time. They also allowed just 49 rushing yards, with 25 of those coming on Mahomes scrambles. KC’s vaunted passer threw a second INT a couple drives later, with a diving catch made by All-Pro RB Zack Baun.
Baun’s play set up first and goal, and WR AJ Brown (3/43/1) caught a TD two plays later. Desperately needing a drive before the half, Mahomes should’ve converted a 3rd-and-11 to an open DeAndrew Hopkins (2/18/1), but he missed the throw because he anticipated pressure. Even in his Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay in 2020, I’ve never seen Mahomes look so jittery. KC’s offensive line experiment, with G Joe Thuney playing at LT, finally fell apart. Thuney played as well as one could expect, but he had trouble with speed rushers. His replacement at LG, Mike Caliendo, was a turnstile.
DE Josh Sweat (2.5 sacks) balled out, as did perennially underrated DT Milton Williams (2 sacks, FF, FUM recovery). Of course, Georgia Bulldogs Jordan Davis (sack) and Jalen Carter (more double teams than I could count) wreaked havoc as well. Even Brandon Graham, the 15th-year veteran who missed the last 9 games with a torn triceps and may be retiring, played and contributed. Arguably the best move made by any team this offseason was the hiring of DC Vic Fangio by the Eagles. The longtime coach earned his first ring by taking a 30th-ranked defense all the way to the top, led by his elite front 7.
We can’t ignore the Eagles’ offense though. OC Kellen Moore, who finished his first and only season with Philly as a champion, called a great game. He’ll be the Saints’ HC in the Superdome soon enough (and I’ll have that grade when the hire is official!), and he probably made his new team very excited over what’s to come. Kansas City’s entire game plan revolved around stopping RB (and another birthday boy) Saquon Barkley (25/57; 6/40 receiving). While Barkley did set the single-season record for rushing yards including playoffs, he was mostly bottled up. Moore had to look elsewhere for offense, and he put the game in the hands of Hurts.
The oft-maligned QB responded with one of the finest performances of his career. He knew the exact times to take off and run, and his only mistake was his pressured INT. Otherwise, he only missed 4 other passes and generated 283 yards of offense on his own. After another big defensive stand to start the 3rd quarter, Hurts led a long FG drive to burn clock. Upon a 4th-down failure by KC on the next drive, Hurts lined up his kill shot. He hit WR DeVonta Smith (4/69/1) one play later for a perfectly placed 46-yard deep ball, and in the words of basketball great Stephen Curry, it was “night night” for the reigning champs.
Philly led 34-0 at that point, which was the largest deficit of Mahomes’ career. TE Travis Kelce (4/39) had a few late catches but 0 in the first half. Aside from the run defense, the Chiefs’ only bright spot was rookie WR Xavier Worthy (8/157/2), who exploded during garbage time. The officials, who called 3 weird false start penalties on Eagles FG attempts (K Jake Elliott, in a vintage performance, made all of the kicks regardless), couldn’t save them. In fact, one might argue that they started calling more penalties on the Chiefs (7 for 75 yards) to try and look more legitimate, which was a shrewd move if true.
Mahomes (21/32, 257 yards, 3 TDs, INTs, FUM; 4/25 rushing) ended up with decent stats, but even he admitted after the game that the late scoring drives were meaningless. Some of the scoring came once the Eagles had already inserted backup QB Kenny Pickett into the game. Hurts won the game’s MVP award, and it was a just reward for all the trials he has gone through. From being benched at Alabama to having his selection by the Eagles in the draft ridiculed, he has come a long way. So too has coach Nick Sirianni, who is probably done fighting fans and will earn a lucrative new contract in the months ahead.
For a man who many wanted fired after last season’s collapse (I am proud to say that I wasn’t one of them), this was quite the redemption arc. It had to be vindicating to earn a win versus Andy Reid; Sirianni started his NFL career with the Chiefs, and Reid dumped him upon taking over. Reid couldn’t win another Super Bowl against his old team, and it comes down to the offensive line. Something has to be done about that if the team wants more rings. If KC wants a roster construction model, look no further than GM Howie Roseman. He crafted a young, stacked roster that can compete for the next half decade. Philly is going nowhere.