The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS), by EJ Smith
NEW ORLEANS The Eagles departed for New Orleans on Sunday to start their serious preparations for Super Bowl LIX after finishing the last week of practice at the NovaCare Complex.
Although there will be a lot of excitement and anticipation in the days ahead, the Eagles’ rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs will ultimately depend on the matchups that each team has been carefully researching over the past week.
Before kickoff on Sunday, each team must respond to the following five questions:
Can the Chiefs stop the Eagles’ run game?
Since the Eagles’ early-season bye, Saquon Barkley and company have posed this question to opposition defenders almost every week, but they haven’t received many responses. The Eagles have managed to be effective, reliable, and explosive through the running game even when facing some of the top rushing defenses in the league. Given how rarely the Eagles have attempted downfield plays at times this season, depending instead on Barkley’s ability to break off huge runs to sustain an explosive offense, the latter is the most crucial.
Throughout the playoffs, the Eagles have also demonstrated that it takes more than just packing the box to end the run. Because there aren’t many tacklers on the second and third levels of the defense if the offensive line clears the traffic up front, Barkley has been able to break off big runs despite the crowd at the line of scrimmage. However, Next Gen Stats estimates that about a third of Barkley’s rushing attempts this postseason have involved eight or more defenders inside the tackle box.
Bring on the Chiefs, who were sixth in rushing yards per attempt allowed at the end of the regular season. But even that doesn’t give the whole tale. Five of Kansas City’s last six games have seen them surrender 130 yards or more in rushing. Although the Chiefs haven’t let a running back reach 100 yards on his own this season, they have recently shown that they are vulnerable to quarterback-inclusive run games, giving up 147 to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday and 149 to the Houston Texans in the divisional round, with Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud sharing the load.
Given the extra week, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will undoubtedly have a customized strategy for the Eagles’ running game. However, the Eagles have demonstrated that a strong offensive line that enables Barkley to get momentum while escaping from defenders may thwart even the best-laid strategies.
Can Jalen Hurts handle Spagnuolo s blitz packages?
Speaking of Spagnuolo, Jalen Hurts will learn a lot from the impending challenge the seasoned defensive play-caller will pose on clear passing downs.
With additional rushers sent 31.6% of the time, the Chiefs ended the regular season fourth in terms of blitz rate. Spagnuolo’s team also finished fifth in terms of pressure rate, which shows how successful Kansas City’s rush packages have been all year long.
This season, pressure looks have been able to put the Eagles offense under stress, even by teams that aren’t as good at blitzing as the Chiefs are. Hurts has taken 11 sacks on 36 pressured dropbacks this playoffs and is only completing 33% of his throws when hurried, according to Pro Football Focus. In contrast, quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs has taken five sacks on 25 rushed dropbacks and is completing 62.5% of his passes under pressure.
It is reasonable to note that not all forms of pressure are created equal. Due to inner offensive line mix-ups, Hurts has had to deal with a few free rushers, but Spagnuolo will want to replicate those blitzes. Determining which side of the Eagles’ Jekyll-and-Hyde passing game plays at the Caesars Superdome will largely depend on the answers to those pre-snap glances.
Does this game feature the NFL s two best three-techniques?
This game at least features the two most productive interior defensive lineman in the postseason, Chris Jones and Jalen Carter, who can both argue that they are the best in a world without Aaron Donald.
Jones recorded 11 pressures in two games, while Carter recorded 20 in three postseason games, according to PFF. With 74 total pressures, Jones was ranked second among defensive tackles even during the regular season, while Carter tied for ninth with 53. The argument for Carter and Jones being at the top of their position is strengthened when you consider that they have committed three forced fumbles in total.
It’s difficult to argue that defensive tackle isn’t becoming a more valuable position in the NFL, especially considering how both of these defenses are constructed around elite interior rushers. Jones and Carter both have the opportunity to ruin a game, and if one of them does, it might determine who wins the Lombardi Trophy.
Can the Eagles safeties contain Travis Kelce?
The team brought in Brent Celek, another former tight end for the team, to help address the situation after Zach Ertz’s 11 receptions for 104 yards against the Eagles secondary in the NFC championship a few days earlier.
During Friday’s practice, Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson both performed half-speed reps against Celek, hinting at their upcoming matchup with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on Sunday. Although the 35-year-old’s output somewhat decreased this season, he is still quite dangerous when playing in the red zone in the middle of the field, just like Ertz. In the Chiefs’ divisional-round victory over the Texans, Kelce had seven receptions for 117 yards and one score, including a 49-yard reception that sparked a Chiefs scoring drive.
The Eagles will probably need to use zone calls that also require one of their defensive backs to stay with Kelce or deploy a safety on him in man coverage because Kelce is astute enough to identify the weak points in their zone coverages.
Can A.J. Brown feast vs. Chiefs corners?
A.J. Brown’s greatest performance in Super Bowl LVII should give him confidence coming into the rematch.
Trent McDuffie, the cornerback Brown will probably see even more of this time around, was the target of his 45-yard touchdown catch. Although the former first-round choice is no slouch—he was selected to the second team All-Pro this season—he has switched from playing mostly as a slot corner to playing outside most of the time this season. This season, McDuffie has gotten 82.6% of his snaps from an outside alignment, up from 66.8% the previous season, according to Next Gen.
Despite McDuffie’s impressive play, physical profiles suggest the Chiefs could be better off keeping him on DeVonta Smith. With 6-2 Kansas City CB Jaylen Watson set aside for Brown, the 5-foot-11, 193-pound corner might perform better against a technique like Smith. In any case, there’s good reason to think Brown can have an effect.