Coach Andy Reid’s decision-making may have cost the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LIX on February 9 as Patrick Mahomes’ side were crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22 in New Orleans. The Chiefs were gunning to become the first team to ever win three straight rings but had that dream brutally ended, only managing to get past the halfway line in the third quarter, as the Eagles’ offense and defensive lines shut them down.
Notably, Mahomes was sacked times on the night and was given no breathing room and part of that could be because of Reid’s decision to move Joe Thuney to left tackle, despite his offensive line coach objecting. Andy Heck theorized it would weaken the interior and place the All-Pro guard into new territory and unmapped waters, but the 66-year-old supremo opted to do so anyway and it worked for a while.
The Chiefs passed their NFL Playoffs tests against the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills but came up short against Nick Sirianni’s side, with the offensive line being broken repeatedly and the Eagles admitted they targeted him. “He don’t play tackle. He’s a guard,” Josh Sweat admitted after the contest at the Caesars Superdome, on a night he made 2.5 sacks as Mahomes obtained the second-worst quarterback rating in Super Bowl history.
Chiefs feel as though they wasted Mahomes
Left vulnerable throughout the night, the 29-year-old was sacked six times and threw two picks (including a pick-six) as well as a fumble. He had no answer and even when he found space, his go-to targets were stuck in coverage through an effective rush four; drop seven approach.
It wasn’t until Sirianni pulled his regulars out of the game to let the rest of the team see some action that Mahomes began to find his feet, eventually throwing for three touchdowns but it was too little and too late with the stat line flattering him.
“It makes it so much more stressful,” passing game coordinator Joe Bleymaier said after Super Bowl LIX. “You feel the burden as a coach and as you’re putting a game plan together to not waste his abilities. “To not go through a season where you don’t give him the opportunity. To not screw it up as the coaching staff.”
