NEW ORLEANS – When asked how surprised he was by his team's Super Bowl LIX loss range, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Deandre Hopkins offered a rather harmless response. “Loss is a loss. At the end of the day it's “w” or “l”. ”
Hopkins then forked in the same answer, apparently wanting to get something out of his chest following a 40-22 defeat on Sunday night to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I've seen a lot about refs in the media, but obviously (expective), what are you going to say about refs and us when there was a lot of touch?” Hopkins said. “Are you going to report it? Are you going to talk about references now?”
However, it was not the judiciary that destined for the chief. For all responsibility to land on Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs' failed attempt at three-peats (and the responsibility Hopkins wanted to drop into officials), makeshift surrounding Kansas City superstar quarterback. It didn't help with the work and the issues with the Eagles squad, who owned the Chiefs at every stage along the offensive line and wide receiver room.
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It was clear that the Eagles' pass rush, produced entirely by the team's defensive front, made Mahome more uncomfortable than any defense in recent memory. Eagles edge rusher Josh sweatshirt speeds around the Chiefs tackle of 2 1/2 sacks, while defensive lineman Milton Williams put Kansas City's typical strong interior line into the second strip sack Two more interior lines including:
Mahomes said he felt the Eagles had made him a blitz once or twice on Sunday. According to Trumedia, the number of actual Eagles Blitz in Super Bowl LIX is zero. Philadelphia stacked six bags at 18 pressure at a pressure rate of 40.9% without the need to bring in extra defenders.
“To make a Team Blitz, you have to be able to beat what they're showing, that's something we didn't do, especially in the first half,” Mahomes said. “We made some good adjustments at halftime (AT) and came out better, but it was almost too late. The momentum was turned over by the good (Eagles) favors, how they played, and what So you can run football and Jalen (scar) control the watch by making big third-down conversions. It put our defense in a really bad place.
“So when you're in these big games, you have to play better from the start, and that's something I want to keep working on and getting better. .”
There is no doubt that the pressure from the Eagles affected Mahomes on both intercepts on Sunday night, including a pick 6 by Cooperdejan, which pushed Philadelphia's lead to 17-0 in the second quarter.
“He's a human,” said his QB Hopkins.
That consistent pressure helps explain why Dejean's intercept, and why Mahomes moved out of his pocket on a designed rollout. But even with a bit of sunny space before the slow pressure reached, Mahomes has already been plundered many times at that point, but he pushed a poor pass and threw it. Dejean picked up the wrong ball and returned it for the Eagles TD.
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Mahomes' second intercept took place this time from a jammed pocket deep into Kansas City's territory. Mahomes said the defender slammed the arm in the play, causing a short pass that Eagles linebacker Zach Boun crushed as he leapt into the grass.
“They didn't show any different looks,” Center Creed Humphrey said. “They didn't abandon anything. It came down to them coming out and playing harder.”
That may be the most prominent part.
Joe Sunny has been one of the best security guards in the league for many years. There's a reason the Chiefs signed him in 2021, and why was he the first team All-Pro in the past two seasons? However, Sunny was the team's last resort to protecting Mahomes' blind side after Kingsley Suamatayre, Wanya Morris and DJ Humphries proved not the answer there.
Sunny ended the regular season, allowing a pressure rate of 11.5% on left tackle with 131 pass block snaps. His numbers improved with the Chiefs' two playoff games (4.6% pressure rate) but came back on Sunday night (11.9%).
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Mahomes puts heat on himself and distanced criticism from his front five because he couldn't handle the Chiefs' mistake and the Eagles' pass rush. He said he intends to study how he has better equipment against the opposing team's ability to throw free defenders at him in his pocket.
“These defenses continue to get better and better, so I need to get better, and I take a lot of ownership about it,” Mahomes said. “…I can't make bad play worse. I think that's what you saw (Sunday) the guy might not be open and I'll throw the ball away or check it out That means you need to let others make it, and there's play happening.”
truth. But Mahomes also needs help.
It's likely that Thuney will return to his usual guard spot for the 2025 season. That is, the chief needs a left tackle. Plus, another Kansas City Guard Trey Smith may be one of the more coveted free agents scheduled to hit the market in March.
The Chiefs' offensive line issues are relatively new. Meanwhile, the lack of viable options on wide receivers began last season.
Even with Rashee Rice Healthy in 2023, Mahomes produced the worst EPA percent drop-back rate of his career. Of course, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl that season. But if the rice is not present for most of this season (a sanctuary that has been injured since October), the Chiefs will have to stitch together bands of aged veterans such as Hopkins, Hollywood Brown and Juju Smith Sushaster. Not there. I'm about to do Zel with Mahomes.
All three of these veteran receivers are imminent free agents, but only 12 catches for 155 yards and one TD combined for the postseason. I preyed on them all myself (19 receptions, 287 yards, 3 TDs).
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“This may be my last time playing with them. Some may be their last game, deals happen,” said 157 yards at a loss on Sunday. The value of catching eight passes and two TDs said. “These guys really helped me a lot about my development as a guy in this league and as a player. This knowledge they gave me to continue learning the new year. , I am truly grateful to them.”
It has always been fair how far some of these position groups are, given the few close victories the Chiefs have fled this season. Super Bowl LIX Driving should force Mahomes and the Chief to closely examine how improvements need to be made to advance the pace.
(Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
