The Eagles really have no one to blame but themselves
Wasted. It's the only word that fits the moment. The Philadelphia Eagles wasted an MVP-level performance from star quarterback Jalen Hurts in Super Bowl LVII. And if there is anyone to blame, Philadelphia merely needs to look in the mirror. Hurts threw for 304 yards. He also gained 70 on the ground. And he scored […]
Wasted. It's the only word that fits the moment.
The Philadelphia Eagles wasted an MVP-level performance from star quarterback Jalen Hurts in Super Bowl LVII. And if there is anyone to blame, Philadelphia merely needs to look in the mirror.
Hurts threw for 304 yards. He also gained 70 on the ground. And he scored four times in total. Somehow, the Eagles lost 38-35 Sunday night because the defense couldn't muster a single second-half stop.
Patrick Mahomes had one leg. Hurts was humming. The Eagles led the Kansas City Chiefs 24-14 going into the halftime break where Rhianna broke the internet (Twitter legitimately stopped working). Then out of halftime, Andy Reid, Philadelphia's old friend turned foe, managed to break the Eagles' spirits.
Where everything went wrong for Philadelphia
The Eagles' defense gave up a touchdown on a 10-play 75-yard drive out of the half. Fair enough. Philadelphia returned the favor with a 17-play 60-yard drive that culminated in a field goal. All Philadelphia needed was some semblance of a pass rush and a stop. It didn't happen.
On a nine-play 75-yard drive, Kansas City scored another touchdown to take the lead 28-27. That is when worry should have set in for head coach Nick Sirianni and the defense that has carried his group to the biggest game of the year. Somehow, nothing changed. Instead, Sirianni opted to look frustrated or confused in every sideline cameo for the rest of the game.
Philadelphia punted on its next offensive possession. Meanwhile, Kansas City scored a touchdown, again. Philly finally responded with a score of its own. But then on Kansas City's final offensive possession, a penalty blew it, setting up the Chiefs for a game-winning field goal.
Yes, the awful penalty call will be talked about at length. As it should be. But unignorable is the reality that Philadelphia's defense didn't manage to stop Kansas City's offense once in the second half of Sunday's game.
If the defense gets one stop, it could have been a completely different game. Instead, Philadelphia watched the confetti rain down on the Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration. And the team is left wondering what could have been if the defense just got that one stop.
All anyone can really say is it was an opportunity wasted.
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Feature image via Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK.
