Super Bowl LIX | Recap | What Happens Next?

The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl 59. A game that wasn’t even this close. The Eagles have won their second Super Bowl in franchise history, both taking place in the last decade. A lopsided trouncing of a team that had just won the last two Super Bowls.

The Eagles provided the blueprint for how to not only defeat, but dominate Patrick Mahomes. An otherworldly showcase of defensive dominance and a coaching masterclass allowed for the Eagles to waltz right into the downpour of postgame confetti.

Patrick Mahomes took 6 sacks in this game; the most he’s ever endured in the regular season and post. Josh Sweat led the way with 2.5 sacks; the Eagles defense was relentless despite not dialing up a single blitz. A very similar blueprint to what Todd Bowles did during the 31-9 blowout that occurred during Super Bowl 55. 42 total drop backs throughout the entirety of the game, Vic Fangio knew his unit was strong enough to rush 4 and let the linebackers and secondary do their thing at the next level. Cooper Dejean’s pick 6 stretched the lead to three scores; with Zack Baun’s pick on the subsequent drive put the Eagles into cruise control.

Mahomes looked flustered, jittery, nervous, off kiltered; the plan was completely thrown off course thanks to relentless pressure. The Chiefs offense was the weak point of this season in spite of their 15 regular season wins. While the engine got going late in the season, this team was not equipped to protect their qb in the biggest game of the season. It was an outclassing of epic proportions; the Chiefs did not muster up anything offensively until the score was already 40-6 very late. Despite the previous success for this juggernaut in the AFC, could there be some concerns?

What could this lead to for the Chiefs organization?

Patrick Mahomes has had an illustrious career and the most successful start to a career one can have. 3 Super Bowl victories and 5 Super Bowl appearances in his first 7 seasons as a starter. 2 league MVPs, one in 2018 where he compiled over 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdown passes in his first year as a starter.

Winning is a great deodorant. A great eraser. It allows for good, but not elite statistics to get filed away as flipnotes in the midst of Super Bowl winning seasons. Mahomes has noticeably taken a step back in terms of season statistics over the course of the last two seasons. His 2023 campaign featured 10 team wins, 4,183 passing yards and 27 TDs. Both of these marks were his career lowest until this regular season where he put up 3,928 passing yards and 26 TDs.

This new refined version of Mahomes has allowed for the Chiefs to play well when everything is going right. Are we sure it allows for them to play well from behind? Everything about this team is centered around underneath routes to wide receivers running crossers and slants. Travis Kelce getting open in zone coverage has been a staple of this offensive genesis. The deep ball component has not been baked into the current Chiefs offense anywhere near the rate that it used to. We saw some glimpses of it late during garbage time in the Super Bowl, but that type of explosive offensive attack has not been a common theme with this current Chiefs offense.

It’s not the fact that Eric Bienemy and Tyreek Hill have both been out of the organizations for a few years. Andy Reid is still in the organization, and they’ve approximated Hill’s speed and deep ball threat with rookie Xavier Worthy. Mahomes air yard per attempt has waned significantly since both of his MVP seasons.

2018: 8.8 yards per attempt

2022: 8.1

2023: 7.0

2024: 6.8

While still an uber productive quarterback with the ability to unleash deep throws from time to time, how limiting is the conservative style of quarterback play when the game becomes a crisis? Super Bowl 59 was an unmitigated disaster, and the Chiefs had no answers. Mahomes is at his best when he can uncork footballs down the field. While not having Tyreek Hill for the last three seasons, they still have the personnel that can get Mahomes to rack up gaudy numbers that we used to be so accustomed to seeing in the past.

Where does Travis Kelce go from here? The future hall of famer has taken a noticeable step back over the course of the last 2 seasons. His 823 receiving yards was the lowest mark in his entire 12 year career. The wear and tear of a long career while also racking up a bunch of playoff games have a noticeable tax on the body. Despite his precipitous drop in yardage production, if he calls it a career, it will force the organization to pivot to a successor at a position of stability for a decade.

Perhaps the organization would benefit from drafting another speedy wide receiver who can stretch the field vertically. The Super Bowl also proved that they could use another offensive lineman. It will be interesting to see what steps the Chiefs take to rebound after a very strange season. They won 15 regular season games and represented the AFC in Super Bowl 59, but the absolute blowout of a loss and a conservative offense all season long has definitely left a cloudy haze over an organization that just a season ago looked to have all the answers.