Patrick Mahomes was startlingly off his game in the Kansas City Chiefs' 40–22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and at least one Eagles defender would like to take credit for it.
In the biggest NFL matchup of the year, Mahomes put up an absolute dud of a performance with 257 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. His first passing touchdown didn't come until the garbage-time minutes of the game, and his NFL highlight reel was so short that it began at the end of the third quarter when the Eagles were up 34–0 against the Chiefs.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts went on to win Super Bowl LIX MVP, but a strong case could be made for Philly's entire defense to take home the award.
Following their dominant Super Bowl victory, Eagles safety Reed Blankenship spoke a bit about how his unit shut down Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“This whole week, we told everybody it wasn’t going to be close,” Blankenship told Josina Anderson during the Eagles’ locker room celebrations. “We had Pat Mahomes messed up. We didn't really have to call a lot of blitzes ‘cause our front seven is like that. Shout out to our DL. We could just sit back in coverage and match up the routes. … We got the job done.”
Super Bowl postgame: 1-on-1 with #Eagles S Reed Blankenship: "We had Pat Mahomes messed up...."
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 10, 2025
Plus, Reed unveils the Reed dance...
Ha.#TheExhibit pic.twitter.com/ktLyNgJd9w
Blankenship also sent the Chiefs a simple message after their failed attempts to make three-peat history:
“We don’t care about legacies, we don’t care about three-peats. We care about the Philadelphia Eagles and bringing a trophy home to Philadelphia,” Blankenship said.
Among other key stats, the Eagles defense finished with six sacks and two interceptions, one of which was a game-changing pick-six in the first half. What's bad news for the Chiefs but good news for the rest of the league is that Mahomes turns out to be mortal after all—the Kansas City quarterback came off the second Super Bowl blowout loss of his career and fell tantalizingly short of winning three in a row.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eagles DB Explains How Defense ‘Messed Up’ Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX Win.
