The Kansas City Chiefs had a tough task ahead of them in the Super Bowl trying to stop the offense of the Philadelphia Eagles.
With Jalen Hurts at quarterback and being a duel threat with the run-pass option, and outside weapons like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, it’s a pick-your-poison type of deal.
Philadelphia managed to score 35 points and put up over 400 yards of offense. But the Chiefs did well in one area that was crucial for them.
The Eagles were the fifth-best rushing team in the NFL in 2022. So, the Chiefs’ defense needed to win as much as they could to force long third downs as often as possible to make Hurts pass, and they put the Eagles in third and six yards or more six times.
In the first half, the Chiefs’ defense put the Eagles’ offense in these situations three times, once in the first quarter and two in the second quarter. The Eagles only converted on one of these occasions.
Kansas City would score on their opening drive of the second half to get within three points at 24-21, and then Philadelphia had the longest drive in Super Bowl history, 17 plays.
Kansas City forced three more third downs over six yards on that possession, which helped them only yield three points.
The Eagles converted three of these six third downs. However, they came on three separate possessions and the Eagles only scored a touchdown on one of them.
On the one drive that the Eagles did convert in this situation in the first half, Chiefs’ linebacker Nick Bolton forced a fumble from Hurts that he recovered and ran back 36 yards for a touchdown.
CHIEFS TIE IT BACK UP WITH A SCOOP AND SCORE
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/3uHVnyCwfW— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
Fans love flashy plays and a lot of points, and that certainly has its place in the game of football. However, winning in these scenarios, like the Chiefs were able to do, helps teams win games as well.
