They Probably Won't, But This Eagles Team Should Go Down As One Of The Most Dominant In NFL History

I'm still coming down from the sticker shock of Sunday night. It still doesn't feel like what happened, happened. It doesn't feel possible the NFL allowed their hallowed halftime show to become a 15 minute diss track. It doesn't feel real that FOX's design team is so pathetically untalented that they debuted a scorebug that looks like it was from Atari Football on the 2600. And it doesn't feel possible that the two-time defending champs were boat-raced out of New Orleans by the Eagles in the biggest lopsided Super Bowl since noted cold weather allergic Peyton Manning had to play in the only cold weather Super Bowl in NFL history 11 years ago.

I picked the Eagles to win cause they were the better team at every position and position group outside of QB. But I didn't see this, or at least didn't have the balls to actually predict it (I did say the Eagles had a better chance of blowing KC out than the opposite). Who would've predicted this?

Who would've thought Pat Mahomes would play his worst game of his life, running around like a mad man from the first series, missing routine and easy third down throws early and often, and handing the opposing team 17 points on a silver platter with three turnovers?

Who would've thought that Saquon Barkley would be held to 57 yards rushing on 25 carries, never breaking one longer than a first down distance, and yet Philadelphia would hold a 34-point lead in the third quarter? You're lying to me and you and everyone else if you said you did.

This game was thought to be won in the trenches, but in my preview I highlighted the wrong side. I touched on it for a sentence, but Philly's front four was the beginning and end to the story of this game. They pressured Mahomes on nearly 50% of his drop backs through three quarters including six sacks. They mauled the Chiefs offensive line on nearly every play, collapsing the pocket while simultaneously containing the edges to not allow Pat to escape and scramble.

All while blitzing zero times.

Every pressure you saw, every dazed and confused Chiefs O lineman, every Mahomes pirouette, was caused by a four man rush. Not once in the entirety of the game did Vic Fangio bring a fifth guy. Every play, the Chiefs had more blockers than the Eagles had rushers. And they couldn't do anything to stop them.

The first half was one of the best defensive performances I've ever seen. I'll leave Pro Football Focus to get into the Next Gen Stats on how that half compares historically, but how can you get any better?

After AJ Brown scored with a minute and change left in the second quarter, the Eagles had 10 more points than the Chiefs had yards gained (24-14). Philly had gained more yards on defense (the yards Cooper DeJean ran the pick six back for) than they had let up, and had one less sack yard than yards they let up.

They skunked the best third down offense in football to the tune of an 0-6 first half, and allowed just one first down - the Chiefs' first offensive play.

They scored on a pick six, and added a second pick inside the Chiefs 20 yard line after Josh Sweat trucked Joe Thuney into Pat Mahomes as he was throwing the ball.

I thought Josh Sweat could've been the MVP of the game if Jalen didn't play so well. But it wasn't just him. Milton Williams had multiple sacks and lived in the backfield. Jordan Davis and Jalyx Hunt also RSVP'd to the sack party. Jalen Carter didn't have the stats to match his counterparts, but caused a key holding call and had a few QB hits that made his presence felt. And Brandon Graham, playing his first game since week 9, added to the depth of the front four rotation and made some plays.

I don't know how you can have a better half. All without a single blitz. It's still blowing my mind.

I know Jalen Hurts is getting a lot of well deserved praise today, but it's not like the offense went scorched Earth. They just did what they've done all year; limit the mistakes, stay patient, and take advantage of the opportunities those dawgs on the other side of the ball give them.

They had just two of their seven scoring drives go for more than 50 yards. They were 3-12 on third down.

They were insistent on running the ball on first down (despite my advice) with little to no success (like I predicted), but it was all to set up to the 46-yard dagger in the third quarter to Devonta, just the seventh pass on first down all game to that point (vs. 17 runs).

The Chiefs defense didn't play terribly, but how much can you ask a unit to do? When your offense's only drive in the first half that took up more than two minutes of game time resulted in a pick-6, and they ran less plays than the opposition had points, when you're on the field for more than two-thirds of the game, you eventually get tired and deflated.

This game, and frankly this Eagles' season, was about the defense. A defense that was bottom three in nearly every statistical category last year that became the most dominant in the league in a span of months, capped off by maybe the best Super Bowl performance we've ever seen (excluding garbage time).

This defense gave up more than 23 points one time since their week five bye. They finished their last 17 games with a 16-1 record and a +29 turnover margin. They were the best defense in football in terms of yards allowed, clearing the second best defense by 32 YPG. They had rookies become Pro-Bowlers, and backup special teamers become All-Pros. And in the last game of the season, despite their season long dominance, played their best game, making the best QB in football look like Matt Saracen in his first appearance for the Dillon Panthers.

Mahomes and the Chiefs played uncharacteristically bad, yes, but it was because of the Eagles. There was no team in football that stood a chance last night against that team, and KC just happened to be the unlucky foe that was standing across them.

The New York Giants teams that slayed Brady and the Patriots are forever remembered for their defensive line performance in those Super Bowls, particularly 2007. I could argue last night was even more impressive, given the scrambling abilities of Mahomes that no Brady apologist could ever argue he could match.

They probably won't, because they weren't even the one seed in their own conference and because of the off field distractions and headlines that consumed them while they kept on winning, but the way this Philadelphia Eagles team played all season, and especially how they finished the season, holding 32 and 34-point leads in the conference championship and Super Bowl, respectively, they should be remembered as one of the most dominant teams of our lifetime.