Gotta Give Philadelphia Eagles Defense Some Props
Jalen Hurts won the Super Bowl LIX MVP and deservedly so. But his defense did work last night and took some of the pressure off their superlative signal-caller. They put on a performance that I don’t think many people expected to see but was wondrous to watch. And that’s why I gotta give the Philadelphia Eagles defense some big props. How they played the game last night left many of us in awe. There was nothing that the Kansas City Chiefs could throw at them that they couldn’t handle.
The Eagles offense got the ball first and were moving down the field. But an offensive pass interference penalty on A.J. Brown derailed their possession and they had to punt. But the Eagles defense took to the field and allowed the Chiefs to pick up a first down on an 11-yard pass. After that they shut down K.C.’s offense forcing them to punt. On the Chiefs’ next possession the defense forced a three and out and another punt. The Chiefs defense then pressured Jalen Hurts and he threw an errant pass that was intercepted. But the Eagles defense didn’t allow them to capitalize on the turnover.
It was another quick three and out as the Eagles defense got after Mahomes and they punted. The defensive line was dominating the Chiefs not letting them get into any kind of rhythm. In the second quarter the secondary got in on the act with rookie Cooper DeJean intercepting Mahomes. The pass was intended for DeAndre Hopkins but DeJean read Mahomes’ eyes and picked off the pass and scored a touchdown.
Gotta Give Philadelphia Eagles Defense Some Props
One of the wildest things about how the Eagles defense played was that they never blitzed during the game. Their front seven still managed to sack Mahomes six times and had 16 pressures. Mahomes was pressured on 38.1% of his dropbacks despite not seeing a blitz. That is crazy! Regarding not blitzing Josh Sweat said:
“That’s our pride,” said Josh Sweat, who led the team with 2 1/2 sacks. “Vic didn’t want to blitz. We knew if we had to blitz, we’d be in trouble. We put it on the four-man rush and we made it happen.”
“They let me go crazy,” Sweat said. “I don’t think I ever got more than two in a game, so my biggest game, sack-wise. Bringing it home for the D-line. That’s what I wanted to do.”
The sacks broke down this way: Sweat (2 1/2), Milton Williams (2), Jordan Davis (1), Jalyx Hunt (1/2). And beyond the sacks, Jalen Carter fought through double teams to have 2 QB hits. Nolan Smith also had 2 QB hits. Moro Ojomo had a Tackle For Loss. And even Brandon Graham, in his return from a torn triceps, had some pressure.
Whew, they did work! The Eagles need to keep this unit together if they want to return to the Super Bowl next year. However, Sweat and Williams are set to be free agents in March. And we don’t know yet if Brandon Graham will return for a 16th season. If not it was a great way to end his playing career.
**Want Even More Sports, News, Hot Takes, Stats as well as Athlete Celebrity Sighting Updates; Insights as well as Trends? Well, be sure to join all of us Sports Feens over on Youtube to get an additional sports fix; and also don’t forget to check out all of our new Podcast topics and episodes. Plus, get fast highlights and trivia daily by following us on TikTok. Just Click HERE**
Thoughts on Gotta Give Philadelphia Eagles Defense Some Props? Well let’s connect then you Feen! We are always around on social media posting as well as chatting away. And we would love to hear some POV from you. Therefore, join the discussion and talk all things Sports Feen; athletics as well as breaking industry news related with us by dropping a comment or two. Get into our comment section on YT; or also hit us up on our TikTok page or tweet us @SportsFeen.
