Here is the plain text result without any additional lines:
When asked how much he was taken aback by the extent of his team’s Super Bowl LIX loss, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins provided a fairly harmless response: “A loss is a loss. It’s a ‘W’ or an ‘L’ at the end of the day.”
It wasn’t officiating that doomed the Chiefs, though. For all the blame that will land on Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs’ failed attempt at a three-peat (and any blame Hopkins wanted to drop on the officials), the makeshift pieces surrounding Kansas City’s superstar quarterback along the offensive line and wide receiver room didn’t help matters against an Eagles squad that owned the Chiefs in every phase.
It was clear the Eagles’ pass rush, generated entirely by the team’s defensive front, made Mahomes more uncomfortable than any defense in recent memory. Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat sped around the Chiefs’ tackles for 2 1/2 sacks, while defensive lineman Milton Williams bullied his way through Kansas City’s typically potent interior line for two more, including a second-half strip-sack.
Mahomes said he felt the Eagles blitzed him maybe once or twice Sunday; according to TruMedia, the actual number of Eagles blitzes in Super Bowl LIX was zero. Without ever needing to bring extra defenders, Philadelphia piled up six sacks on 18 pressures with a 40.9 percent pressure rate.
In order to make a team blitz, you have to be able to beat what they’re showing, and that’s what we didn’t do — especially in the first half, Mahomes said. We made some good adjustments at halftime and came out better, but it was almost too late. The momentum had kind of flipped in their favor, because of how they play and how they can run the football and control the clock with Jalen Hurts making big third-down conversions. It kind of put our defense in a really bad spot.
He’s human, said Hopkins of his QB.
That consistent pressure helps explain why on DeJean’s interception, Mahomes moved outside the pocket to his right on a designed rollout. But even with a little clear space before some late pressure arrived, Mahomes — having already been sacked multiple times by that point — pressed and threw a poor pass. DeJean picked off the errant ball, then took it back for an Eagles TD.
Mahomes put the heat on himself for the Chiefs’ miscues and inability to handle the Eagles’ pass rush, keeping the criticism away from his front five. He said he’s going to study how to be better equipped against opposing teams’ abilities to throw free defenders at him in the pocket.
True. But Mahomes needs help, too.
Source link
