The Kansas City Chiefs have spent a full week game-planning for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
The Eagles’ defense has allowed a combined 14 points through two postseason games en route to the Super Bowl, presenting a big challenge for a Kansas City offense that almost certainly won’t be at full strength. Speaking to reporters last week, Patrick Mahomes offered up his early impression of what he’s seen from the Philadelphia defense.
“Yeah, they have a great defensive coordinator (Jonathan Gannon), first off,” Mahomes said. “He does a lot of different things. Their scheme has evolved because of the players that he has.”
Beyond running a very adaptable scheme, Gannon has playmakers and depth at every level of his defense. According to Mahomes, it’s a good blend of veterans and youth too.
“They have great All-Pro, Pro Bowlers at every single level so they continue to add talent, man,” Mahomes continued. “They have a lot of great players, veteran players mixed with young players.”
He’s not lying about the All-Pro and Pro Bowlers at every single level of the defense. Haason Reddick and James Bradberry both earned Second-Team All-Pro selections this season. Reddick was also selected for the Pro Bowl alongside CB Darius Slay.
What Mahomes seems to be most impressed with, however, is how this Philly defense gets after the quarterback.
“I mean they’re number – I don’t know if they’re number one – but they’re one of the top defenses in the league for a reason,” Mahomes concluded. “They get after the quarterback, so it’ll be a great challenge for us to go out there and try to have some success.”
The Chiefs finished second in the league this season with 55 total sacks on the year. The Eagles finished first in the league with 70 total sacks in 2022, a whopping 15 more than Kansas City had. Rest assured there will be a big emphasis on pass protection from the Chiefs’ offensive line heading into this game as a result.
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