Super Bowl LVII: Kansas City Chiefs Paths to Victory
Win or lose, the Mahomes era in Kansas City has been darn impressive. Three Super Bowl appearances in the last four seasons. Five trips to the AFC Championship game under Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
As impressive as that is, winning this Super Bowl means a lot to the conversation about whether or not the Chiefs’ half-decade of dominance can begin to be mentioned as a dynasty. Winning a second Super in four seasons sounds a lot better than losing a second straight Super Bowl appearance and twice in three years.
A win tomorrow for the Chiefs opens the dialogue of where their half-decade of dominance stacks up in the history books. A loss tomorrow opens the discussion of what could have been in Kansas City.
Let’s discuss some things that can lead the Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl 57 on Sunday.
Cover 3
In the Eagles’ path to victory story ahead of the NFC Championship game, we discussed the dynamic RPO offense that leads the Eagles to success. Philadelphia’s offense builds the offense inside out, from the rushing attack to go ball deep shots outside the numbers.
Philadelphia does this and does it consistently, which makes them so hard to beat. The Eagles have the NFL’s best rushing attack that draws opposing defenses into the box. Their short-to-intermediate passing game adds another layer, almost lulling defenses into a slumber with a basic up-the-middle approach in both the run and pass game.
Then they take their shots deep to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, usually outside the numbers, taking advantage of Jalen Hurts’ undeniably good deep ball accuracy.
This formula works among the league’s best against most defensive formations that the Eagles see. However, they have a pressure point that the Chiefs can attack, which is cover three.
Philly ranks 30th in EPA (-0.16 per pass play) against cover three. Why? Because cover three gives defenses the ability to zero in on the Eagles’ middle-out RPO attack while leaving the cornerbacks responsible for the deep third of the field with safety help to either side if the Eagles do go deep.
If Kansas City wants to contain the Eagles, a heavy dose of cover three will be their best bet on Sunday.
Kelce Time
There’s no secret what the Chiefs’ bread and butter is. Once a vertical team when Tyreek Hill was in town, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have transformed into an intermediate-focused offense. That offense’s success starts and ends with Travis Kelce.
Kelce ranks fourth in these playoffs with 177 receiving yards, and his three touchdowns lead all pass catchers. Still, it seems like Kelce is always open. Everyone in the NFL knows that the Mahomes-Kelce connection is coming early and often, and somehow, he still seems to be open constantly.
The key to defeating the Eagles’ pass rush on Sunday will be getting the ball out quickly. That’s something that Mahomes and the Chiefs can do while staying in their game plan, as long as Kelce can continue to slither open.
Most of Travis Kelce’s damage is done on catches in the 10-yard or less range, with the run after the catch being the deadly component.
Get it, throw it, and let Kelce work in the open field. If not, Mahomes will have the same struggles that Brock Purdy and the 49ers had against the Eagles’ pass rush last week.
