2023-02-07 08:00:00
“Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.” A wisdom that is probably as old as team sports themselves.
For Patrick Mahomes, this very fact might become an extremely painful problem next weekend. In the night from Sunday to Monday, the quarterback superstar and his Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
In the fight for his second championship ring, one thing stands in the way of Mahomes: the defense of the Eagles. The D-Line that produced by far the most sacks in the regular season of the current NFL season.
Eagles-Defense mit 70 Sacks
The Philly defense managed to bring the opposing quarterback down a total of 70 times – a loss of 491 yards was generated in the process. Philadelphia missed the all-time record for most sacks in a regular season, set by the Chicago Bears in 1984, by just two sacks.
The fact that the Chiefs, with 55 sacks, are the second-best team behind their upcoming opponent in this important defense statistic is unlikely to help Mahomes in the NFL final. (SERVICE: All information regarding the Super Bowl)
But it’s not just the sheer number of sacks that impresses. Rather, it is the multitude of players who are responsible for the same. With Haason Reddick (19.5 – including playoffs), Josh Sweat (12.5), Javon Hargrave (12) and Brandon Graham (12), there are four players who already had a double-digit number of sacks in the regular season . A scenario never before seen in the NFL.
In addition, there is another top professional in the squad in the form of veteran Fletcher Cox (8 sacks). A team unity that is unparalleled in the league – and that should give Mahomes food for thought.
Mahomes praises opponent’s D-Line
In an interview with US reporters ahead of the world’s biggest sporting event, the signal caller gave his impression of the Eagles’ defense. “They have a great defensive coordinator (Jonathan Gannon, ed.). He does a lot of different things. Their scheme has evolved because of the players he has,” Mahomes said.
And further: “They have great all-pro and pro bowlers at every single level of defense so they are constantly adding new talent. They have a lot of great players – experienced mixed with young players.” (ARTICLE: How the NFL Pro Bowl Games Went)
Mahomes is more than aware that he can be prepared for something. “They’re one of the top defenses in the league for a reason. They’re going following the quarterback so it’s going to be a big challenge for us to go out there and try to be successful.”
Chiefs offense should have problems
The Eagles have only allowed 14 points in their previous two playoff games. They defeated the New York Giants 38-7 and beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-7.
Scoring points is likely to be anything but easy for Mahomes and his ailing receiving corps – pass recipient Mecole Hardman is definitely out. Especially given that the Chiefs’ signal caller is truly in an undesirable physical condition.
Giant whirl at Super Bowl Experience in Phoenix
The 27-year-old sprained his ankle in the divisional round. Usually an injury that requires a break of at least four weeks. Not so with Mahomes.
“I’ve had a few days of treatment and a few days of rehab,” he announced before the championship game once morest the Cincinnati Bengals – and was on the field just a week following his injury. Although he was struggling with pain, it was enough to get into the Super Bowl.
Haason Reddick as quarterback fright
The Eagles’ defense should be a different kind of challenge for him. And one thing Mahomes and his O-Line really need to keep an eye on is Haason Reddick. With 3.5 sacks the most effective rusher of the playoffs, who became a quarterback scare of a special kind in the NFC championship game at the latest.
First, Niners playmaker Brock Purdy was so badly injured in a duel with Reddick that he was out for several months, then the Eagles linebacker landed full force on Purdy backup Josh Johnson, who was subsequently more concerned with getting ahead of Reddick to be careful than to concentrate on his own game.
This shouldn’t happen to the experienced Chiefs playmaker, but he should definitely be warned before the Super Bowl.
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