Top 5 Chiefs Needs to Secure a S.B. LVII Victory

Laddie Morse

When any team makes it to the Super Bowl, they must have certain aspects of their game go as planned to get the win the want. The same applies to the Kansas City Chiefs when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday. These priorities are so important that I’m going to list the first one first this time, instead of giving them to you in reverse order.

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The number one thing I’ll be looking for in this game is whether or not the Kansas City Front 5 Offensive Linemen can block the Eagles front four Defensive Linemen, with or without, the blitz. If the Chiefs can give Patrick Mahomes time in the pocket, it will go a long ways towards a victory in this game.

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It’s time to resurrect my old/new saying, “Trenches Win Championships” and that applies more to this game than at any point in the season.

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Remember the second half of the Bengals AFC Championship game last year? If you do, then the memory isn’t a good one. Well, Patrick Mahomes can not have a game, or even one quarter, like that one. The Eagles defense is very, very good and will challenge Mahomes at every opportunity. Much like the Tampa Bay defense did in February of 2021. Philadelphia is second only to the 49ers in team defense in both yards per game given up and points per game. They (the Eagles) have given up 20.2 Points Per Game (PPG) and if the final score is in the low 20’s it favors the Eagles. However, the Chiefs — led by Patrick Mahomes — are the highest scoring offense in the NFL at 29.2 PPG — so if the final game score is in the high 20s or higher, it favors the Chiefs.

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Chris Jones should win Defensive Player of the year for 2022. CJ has 15.5 sacks in the 2022 regular season and is tied for 3rd right behind with Haason Reddick (16.0) of the Eagles. While Andrew Wylie will have his hands full of Reddick, Jones will be giving the Eagles interior defensive linemen problems all day long. In fact, DC Steve Spagnuolo likes to line CJ up at DE sometimes to give him an advantage there.

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After CJ got his first sack in the post-season — ever — he had this to say:

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“I think you guys blow it out of proportion. It doesn’t

really matter to me, but I’m glad that you guys can

have a story that Chris Jones finally got a sack.”

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If CJ lives in the Eagles backfield, like he did during the Bengals in the AFCCG, it will be a long day for Jalen Hurts and company.

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Isiah Pacheco has taken over the starting RB duties from every other grown man on the Chiefs roster. Remember, he once said, he’s “ready to take another grown man’s job”… which is exactly what he’s done:

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Even with Clyde Edwards-Helaire making a return in this game, it’s up to Pacheco to take the reigns and go. In the game vs the Bengals, Pacheco had 10 carries for only 26 yards (a 2.6 YPC average) and that’s not enough. Chris Simms of “Unbuttoned” believes the Bengals defensive front is better than the Eagles defensive front so we can expect the Chiefs to run it a little bit more than they did last week. Especially if they’re having success with that part of their attack.

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The Eagles have a strong passing attack and the Chiefs rookie DBs will need to play like they are better than rookies. With A.J. Brown — who had more than 1,400 yards receiving — and DeVonta Smith — who was another 1,000+ receiver — and Quez Watkins — the Eagles have a very tough three pronged attack and QB Jalen Hurts is much better than many are giving him credit for. While many Chiefs fans are fixated (and rightfully so) on Patrick Mahomes and his #1 Ranking and league leading 5,220 yards passing this season, Hurts is ranked 10th and he played in only 15 games this year. His biggest problem may be his rank in sacks as Hurts has been sacked 38 times and that ties him for 5th in the NFL, along with Justin Herbert. While “sacks” are a front seven issue for the defense — mainly — the DBs will need to play their positions with aplomb (like below) in order to force Jalen Hurts into secondary decisions where he must hold the ball longer than planned.

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Of course the Chiefs defense must limit the Eagles QB, Jalen Hurts, in the run game, but other than that, the Chiefs defense looks good. If they can do that, the Chiefs will be well on their way to a second Super Bowl victory in the past four seasons.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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