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Chris Jones left the Super Bowl with an injury. Travis Kelce almost looked like he never arrived. Finding the Chiefs most to blame for the blowout Super Bowl 59 loss to the Eagles will take some time. There’s plenty of blame to go around.
But it starts unquestionably with the Chiefs offensive line. The unit looked like it hadn’t played an NFL-level down for most of three quarters. As soon as the ball hit Patrick Mahomes’ hands in the shotgun formation, the Eagles seemed to be on top of him before he could even make his first read.
Because the Chiefs had never put together a performance this bad, it had to come down to effort. The Chiefs got smacked in the mouth and apparently they didn’t have the manliness to respond in any way, shape, form or fashion.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid didn’t have his team prepared
One game won’t tarnish the great career of Andy Reid. He has proven time and again he is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. But Reid simply failed this time.
It’s one thing to get surprised at the outset of a game. Sometimes a team comes out with a good game plan. But Reid has always been considered a coach who makes great adjustments.
However, in Super Bowl 59, Reid’s adjustment score came up as a big zero. He had nothing. He simply stood there on the sideline with a blank look on his face. No answers.
The Chiefs had no adjustment to slow down the Eagles’ pass rush until the final outcome had long since passed any question. At one point in the game, the Chiefs’ offensive line had wilted like a wet paper towel, according to a post on X by Jesse Newell.
According to @NextGenStats here at the stadium, Eagles' pressure rate is up to 52.4% with a 0% blitz rate.
Awful. Poor preparation for the Chiefs. Even their good linemen got abused by the Eagles’ defense. That’s on Reid. Perhaps the pressure got to the Chiefs. Perhaps they quit. Both of those things belong on Reid’s doorstep.
Patrick Mahomes failed in an epic manner
First, in fairness to Mahomes, he didn’t have a lot of time. But that doesn’t 100% explain some of the terrible throws. Balls behind receivers. Throws at the receivers’ feet.
And worst of all the pick-six that set the blowout in motion. That pass belongs to Mahomes’ account. It looked like the kind of mistake a rookie makes. And yet this came from the arm of Mahomes, who had been on this stage five times in his seven years as a starting NFL quarterback.
For the game, Mahomes completed 21 of 32 passes for 257 yards. He had three touchdown passes and two extremely costly interceptions. And while those numbers may not seem too awful, most of his damage came after the Chiefs had been hopelessly buried and the Eagles called off their pass rush.
Is retirement calling for Travis Kelce?
The Chiefs Hall of Fame-worthy tight end made no impact for his team. With the Eagles’ pressure requiring receivers to get open quickly, Kelce offered no relief valve for Mahomes.
For the game, Kelce finished with four catches for 39 basically meaningless yards. The Chiefs needed not just a good game from Kelce, but probably a huge effort. And he could not deliver.
There’s no disputing what Kelce has brought to the Chiefs organization. But on this night, he simply did not get the job done.
Therefore, all of his boasting dribbles off into silence. Perhaps the best thing about Kelce’s failure is maybe there won’t be so many commercials with him and Jason.
