Blow the Whistle!
BLOW THE WHISTLE, BABY! The Eagles did not fall “too short” the second time around, as the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on the biggest stage in the NFL, probably in American Sports as well. The Eagles are Super Bowl 59 Champions, commanding a monstrous victory, by a score of 40-22 (I wonder if the Swifties are feeling “22” more than ever now).
From start to finish, the Eagles dominated on both sides of the ball. Super Bowl MVP QB Jalen Hurts went 17/22 for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, while rushing for 72 yards and scoring 1 touchdown of his own. Hurts’ 72 rushing yards set the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a Super Bowl in NFL history (The previous record…was himself two years ago with 70 yards). Even though the Eagles only managed 135 rushing yards on the ground against a stout Kansas City front line, Hurts’ legs helped as much as his arm did to earn this victory. For Saquon Barkley, the Chiefs held him to just 57 rushing yards, his second-lowest of this season. But when the Chiefs spend over two weeks figuring out how to stop Saquon Barkley, one cannot be upset with his performance. Barkley’s low rushing yards did not stop him from breaking the all-time single-season (regular and postseason) rushing yards record, previously held by Terrell Davis over the last 26 years. Saquon also had 6 catches for 40 yards, including a reception that would lead to a Jake Elliott field goal that put the Birds up 27-0. Barkley set the new record with 2,504 rushing yards.
The passing/receiving game got the job done as well, with 4 out of 6 targeted receivers accumulating over 40 yards, compared to only 1 out of 9 targeted receivers doing the same for the Chiefs. Devonta Smith would lead the receiving group for the Eagles with 4 catches for 69 yards and one score. That lone score would be an absolute dime thrown by Jalen Hurts for 46-yards, ending with an incredible over-the-shoulder catch from Smith. AJ Brown had a pivotal catch as well, thanks to a turnover by LB Zack Baun, snagging a 12-yard touchdown catch to put the Birds up 24-0 to end the first half.
However, probably the most exceptional, dominating, and relentless group of players on that field…were hands down the Philadelphia defense. They sacked KC QB Patrick Mahomes a career high SIX times, while rushing no more than FOUR players, and blitzing an astounding ZERO times. Yes, you read that right, the Eagles only rushed four, had the second highest pressure rate in Super Bowl History (53.3%) and didn’t blitz a single time. Vic Fangio took one of the worst defenses in football from the 2023 season, and turned them into a Super Bowl winning force to be reckoned with. Between Josh Sweat’s 2 ½ sacks, Cooper Dejean’s birthday pick-6, Zack Baun’s touchdown-setting interception, Milton Williams’ strip-sack and fumble recovery and more, this Eagles defense did everything right and had one of the biggest turn-arounds I’ve seen in modern NFL history.
This season was one of the greatest Eagles seasons I have ever witnessed. Hopefully by now, Jalen Hurts has silenced his haters from this entire season. We thought we were gonna see a 2023 resurgence when the Birds were 2-2 going into their early bye week. However, since Week 6, they went 17-1 (that one loss getting redeemed in the NFC Championship Game) to take home Philadelphia’s second Super Bowl title. The journey this team has been on has been nothing short of immaculate. For Philadelphia Eagles fans worldwide, this will be a season we will always remember. From collapse…to champions, Merrill Reese said it best when the Eagles won their first title. “Eagles fans everywhere, this is for you. Let the celebration begin!”. I know Eagles fans, including myself, will be celebrating this win for a long time. Congratulations to the 2024-2025 Philadelphia Eagles. You are the champions of the World. Go Birds!
-Michael Roscoe/ 2nd & 15 Podcast/ OCSN
-Photo Creds: “Hawk Central” and “USA Today”
