We saw some of the best coaching and quarterback play in the league on Sunday night, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII trading body-blows to determine a new champion. Andy Reid versus Nick Sirriani. Patrick Mahomes against Jalen Hurts, who played the best game of his life on the biggest stage possible.
It was a really impressive display, but it also helped to highlight some league-defining trends, and there are a couple of key takeaways we can break down from the game. Here are 4 things the New Orleans Saints can learn from the Chiefs and Eagles as they prepare for the 2023 season:
1
It pays off to be aggressive
The Eagles converted both of their fourth-down attempts in this game, including a gutsy run by Jalen Hurts on 4th-and-5 from the Kansas City 44-yard line that gained 28 yards, and they picked up a third conversion thanks to a defensive offsides penalty before the snap. And the Chiefs put themselves in a tight spot early on by opting to try a field goal on 4th-and-3 from the Philadelphia 21-yard line which banged off the goalpost. The Eagles seized on that opportunity and drove upfield to take the lead with a 45-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown.
Kansas City won the day, but this mistake on fourth down in the first quarter cost them. Philadelphia helped themselves by acting aggressively to stress the Chiefs defense and control the pace of play. That’s something we saw far too seldom from the Saints last year. No team attempted fewer fourth down conversions than they did (11, converting just 4 of them), though the Chiefs were close (12, converting 9). We saw Kansas City’s decision to play it safe burn them just like it burned the Saints oftentimes last year. Unfortunately for New Orleans, they don’t have Patrick Mahomes to bail them out.
2
A mobile quarterback is a competitive advantage
This game saw two young quarterbacks playing at the height of their powers, and one of the qualities they share is that they each made plays on the ground. Hurts led the Eagles with 15 carries for 70 rushing yards, including 3 touchdown runs and a two-point conversion. Mahomes scrambled to pick up 44 yards on just 6 carries (while playing on an injured ankle). For comparison, Andy Dalton had 54 rushing yards on the season for the Saints last year. Both players are dangerous passers, but their ability to make plays with their legs gives each offense an element that’s missing in New Orleans.
Sure, the Saints have Taysom Hill, but he’s limited to his package of plays as a utility player and they aren’t getting the full benefits out of having a mobile quarterback under center. It’s becoming more clear that if you can’t move, you aren’t going to last long in today’s NFL. You aren’t going to get perfect protection and wide-open receivers on every play. There will be times where the quarterback needs to step up and run for a first down on his own.
3
Quality coaching matters
Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy learned from the mistakes some of Philadelphia’s past opponents committed — they didn’t ask their tight ends to block Haason Reddick on an island, for one thing, instead chipping him with a running back while keeping the offensive line’s attention on him. That freed up Travis Kelce to do what he does best and go flying downfield, where he led the Chiefs with 6 receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown catch. They got the better of Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in the red zone by picking up a tendency to bite on pre-snap jet sweep motion, which led to back-to-back touchdown passes.
Reid got the last laugh, but Eagles coach Nick Sirriani showed his bonafides in this one too. He didn’t view every fourth down as a must-go-for-it situation, but he was smart and took his opportunities when they presented themselves in enemy territory. In short-yardage situations, the Eagles ran their signature quarterback dive as a high-percentage play. And he showed good judgment in accepting a delay-of-game foul to preserve a timeout in the second half (though, ideally, his offense would do a better job fielding substitutions in the first place).
4
Defense doesn't always win championships
Sure, they often do, but it wasn’t the case this time. The Eagles went into this game with more sacks than any other defense in the NFL and one of the most-disruptive secondaries around the league, but they couldn’t get a hand on Patrick Mahomes. He wasn’t sacked and only one of his passes was broken up (by a linebacker, too, not any of their high-priced defensive backs). Philadelphia’s proud defense was carved up in the second half by allowing every Chiefs possession to end with points, including three consecutive touchdown drives.
That’s not to say defense doesn’t matter at all. Getting stops and creating takeaways helped both teams get to the Super Bowl, and one of the game-changing plays came when Kansas City recovered a Jalen Hurts fumble and returned it for a touchdown. But a good offense can beat a great defense in today’s league. The Saints can’t go into the 2023 season expecting Allen’s defense to solve all of their problems on its own.
