This game, like so many playoff games, was won in the trenches and in the turnover battle.
The Chiefs did a good job limiting Saquon and they were good on 3rd & 4th down (Philly was 3/12 on 3rd down and 0/1 on 4th down). But, they lost the turnover battle 3 to 1 and the Time of Possession battle 36:58-23:02.
The Chiefs only gave up one long, sustained TD drive. And that was the start of the game.
After that, it was the 2 play, 14 yard drive after the INT late in the 2nd quarter and the 1 play 46 yard drive with the big pass play to Smith.
The Eagles had 3 long, time consuming drives that stalled out and ended in FGs. Those three drives had over 16 minutes in time of possession.
I think it was crazy how dominant the Eagles defense was. The fact that this game was 40-6 with 5 minutes to go is insane.
I mean, yes and no. They were the beneficiaries of repeated turnovers and bad plays by the chiefs.
Their offense in the first half had 170 yards, and three scoring drives (one of which was a 15 yard drive). Half of their possessions were punts or turnovers. But their offense stepped on the gas in the second half once it was a 24 point lead.
Like any blowout in the NFL, it was a bit of an anomaly and you can’t take much from it
Sort of to both. You've got to do some things to make this strategy work. Reid scripts his first 16 plays, and both Reid and Spagnuolo make the best adjustments of any coordinator in the league.
The Eagles got a tad lucky with their first drive, clearly looked at some historical game film, and got aided by some anomalies from the Chiefs.
Eagles first drive was 6 plays, 2 rushes and 4 passes (1 Hurts scramble). The Chiefs got aided by the ticky tack offensive pass interference. They punted.
Chiefs first drive was 4 passes and they punted after a first down. Mahomes went 2-4, missing Kelce and Brown on the last two plays. They punted. The Eagles avoided what could've been a 7-0 hole - Reid historically does that to teams.
Eagles second possession was a touchdown aided by the phantom unnecessary roughness. 5 rushes and 3 passes. 7-0 Eagles.
Second Chiefs drive was a 3 and out, with one run. Chiefs have now called 7 passes and one run in their first two drives, with one first down. Eagles have not sacked Mahomes yet.
Eagles third drive: 6 passes and 6 runs. Ends with Hurts interception.
Chiefs third drive: 3 passes. 3 and out. Chiefs have now called 10 passes and 1 run. Eagles have still not sacked Mahomes. Chiefs punt.
Eagles 4th drive. 3 rushes, 3 passes (1 Hurts scramble). 48-yard field goal. 10-0 Eagles. Eagles have called 16 runs and passed 16 times.
Chiefs 4th drive: the Chiefs entered the drive calling 10 passes and a run. The 12th scripted play was a pass and Mahomes was sacked for the first time. The 13th scripted play was a pass and Mahomes was sacked for the second time. The 15th scripted play was a pass and Mahomes was intercepted for a TD by DeJean. 17-0 Eagles.
At the 17-0 point, Reid called 14 passes in his first 15 plays. That's crazy. On the drive where DeJean made the interception, the Eagles were already teeing off on Mahomes, but they weren't being crazy about it. The ends were driving outside in to prevent Mahomes breaking the pocket, and the DTs were pushing hard. No blitzing (the first Eagles blitz came with 4 minutes left in the game).
This is the exact same strategy Spagnuolo used against Brady. 4-man pressure but the main part of the pressure was in Brady's face. Same as Mahomes. The ends got there but it was through disciplined rushing, and the Chiefs OTs aren't good.
Chiefs 5th drive: 2 rushes and a pass, 3-0 punt. Mahomes sacked again on 3rd and 9, obvious passing down. Reid's first 16 plays were 14 passes and 2 runs.
Eagles 5th drive: 4 rushes, 4 passes, holding penalty short circuits the drive. Eagles are now at 21 runs and 19 passes. The punt to the KC 6.
Chiefs 6th drive: first play was a pass, pressure on Mahomes, intercepted by Baun.
Eagles 6th drive: one run and a TD pass to Brown: 24-0 Eagles.
Chiefs 7th drive: starts with a pass but Mahomes scrambled so it counts as a run. 3 more passes and KC punts. KC is now 18 called passes and 2 runs.
Eagles 7th drive: Eagles run and then let the clock run out. End of the half.
Chiefs 8th drive: starts with a run, 3 called passes where Mahomes is sacked twice. Then Mahomes scrambles on a called pass. Chiefs punt. 22 called passes and 3 runs.
Eagles 9th drive: 4 passes, 7 rushes (two were scrambles by Hurts), FG, 27-0 Eagles.
Chiefs 10th drive: Pass, rush (fumble recovery by Chiefs), pass where Mahomes fumbles but recovers. Rush, two passes with the 4th down pass break up by Maddox. 4 called passes (Mahomes fumbled on a scramble) and 2 runs. The Chiefs count is now 26 passes to 5 runs.
Eagles 10th drive: dagger TD to Smith, Eagles, 33-0. Ball game. Eagles 28 called runs and 27 called passes.
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I don't know what Reid saw in the Eagles defense, but he wanted no part of running the ball. I suspect it was Carter, Davis, Baun, etc in the middle of the defense. But I don't know for sure. What I do know from watching was the Eagles used a very similar rush technique to what the Giants did to Brady twice, which emphasized middle pressure with outside rushers maintaining integrity. So Mahomes was stepping up into the pressure when the DEs got close to him. The back end for the Eagle mixed man and zone, and didn't blitz until 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter, when the game was over. Fangio stayed in two high safeties almost all game, and mixed man and zone underneath.
This is not a very far departure to what McDermott does. In an alternative universe where McDermott got fired and went to Philly as the DC, this would be really close to what he would've called.
The Chiefs went one-dimensional, and the Eagles completely took advantage. The different between the Eagles and the Bills is that the Eagles played the pass but their front 4 was so good that the Chiefs didn't run. Again, look at the defensive line.
The Eagle kept balanced on offense and made the Chiefs play honest. The Chiefs took away Barkley but couldn't stop the pass. They took their shots but played a pretty diverse passing game. Hurts was over 50% in attempting passes shorter than 10 yards, with YAC factoring in. The Eagles stayed balanced and allowed their offensive line to take over the game. Even so, the Chiefs stopped Barkley. Hurts made them pay with scrambling and with passing, even with the interception.
This is also not a far departure from the Bills and what Brady do.
I said it in a short post before, but I don't see the Bills as being far off. Imagine getting Garrett and using draft picks on DTs. Most of what the Eagles do, the Bills also do. And get Reid to slip back into Eagles Andy Reid and get pass happy.
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