The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions, putting an emphatic end to the Kansas City Chiefs’ three-peat attempt with a 40-22 win in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night.
It is the Eagles’ second championship, and it happened thanks to one of the single most dominant defensive performances in Super Bowl history.
They limited the Chiefs to just 275 total yards and did not allow them to cross mid-field until late in the third quarter, while also sacking Patrick Mahomes six times and forcing three turnovers. The overwhelming majority of the yards the Chiefs did get, as well as almost all of their points, came in garbage time when the game was already easily decided.
Here are some takeaways from the Eagles’ win and their championship performance.
Building from the lines out pays off
The addition of running back Saquon Barkley got all of the headlines before the season, and it dominated the headlines as he tried to chase down Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. But for as great as Barkley is, this championship was won on the lines.
Specifically the defensive line.
The Eagles spent years making significant investments in both the offensive and defensive lines, both through the draft and free agency, and it paid off in a huge way on the NFL’s biggest stage on Sunday night.
Philadelphia not only dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, it completely bullied the back-to-back champions and took over the game.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had all day to pass and was rarely pressured.
Mahomes was under constant pressure all night and never really had a chance, even though the Eagles never blitzed. It was just constant, relentless pressure from a four-man rush.
If you can get to a quarterback that relentlessly with only four pass-rushers, you have a great chance of winning. The Eagles have that, and they played their best game of the season at the biggest time.
Saquon Barkley sets a record
Barkley may not have been able to get the regular season rushing record, but he did get an NFL record for most rushing yards in a regular season and postseason combined.
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