On February 12, 2023, The Philadelphia Eagles, led by their MVP caliber quarterback, Jalen Hurts, marched into State Farm Stadium in Arizona for Super Bowl 57, with the chance to go down as the greatest team in Philadelphia Eagles, and quite possibly Philadelphia Sports, history. What looked like it could be yet another stress-free win for the Eagles up 24-14 at halftime with a hobbled Patrick Mahomes, turned into heartbreak in the 2nd half. The field at State Farm stadium was a mess (be better NFL) but that 2nd half performance was even worse. The old cliché, a tale of two halfs, could not be any more appropriate than for Super Bowl 57. In the first half the young, brash Nick Sirianni was thoroughly outcoaching his future Hall of Fame counterpart in Andy Reid, taking a 24-14 lead into the locker room. During the extended halftime show (29 minutes), Andy and his long-time assistant Eric Bienemy dialed up some adjustments on offense and came out in the 2nd half and absolutely dominated the Eagles defense. The statistics are mind boggling. What the Chiefs Offensive Line was able to do to the Eagles rush defense was as much a shock as anything. 1st half the Chiefs had only 39 yards rushing but put up 119 in the second half averaging over 6 yards per carry! Jonathan Gannon, the defensive coordinator for the Eagles, has been a polarizing figure all year in Philadelphia. Although the defense has been great and setting historic numbers in the sack department, fans did not like his style of play. Sadly, those complaints were realized in the Super Bowl. Gannon’s reluctance to change his defensive scheme and big pressure from more than just his front 4 was costly. The Eagles were unable to generate a single sack against Mahomes and he just picked them apart with a quarterback rating of over 130. And on a team that went 14-3, there were not many weak spots this season, but Michael Clay’s Special Teams unit was certainly one of them. The Special Teams weaknesses were talked about and feared, but with a team as good as the Eagles, the fans and front office hoped this would not be a problem. Our fears were realized on the biggest stage. 2 punts for a net average of 9 yards and allowing a Giants cast off in Toney to change the game with a return of 65 yards (the longest in SB history) down to the 5-yard line. Leading to another KC touchdown. This game will sting for the rest of our lives as fans. But it was not all bad. HURTS WAS MAGNIFICENT IN THIS GAME. Behind an offensive line that was not having its best game, with really no running game other than himself and suspect play calling at times, Hurts’ stat line to finish the game: 27/38 Passing for 304 yards 1 TD, QRT 103.4; 15 for 70 on the ground with 3 TDS; Rushing 2-point conversion. And what I loved most about Hurts in this game was that on the biggest stage in front of the entire sports world, not only did he deliver, but look at the times he faced adversity and what he did after. Horrible freak fumble leads to a TD, what does he do? Hurts comes back and leads the team on a 12 play 75-yard TD drive. On that drive he goes for 45 rushing yards including a 28-yard run on 4th and 5 and finished the drive off with a rushing TD. Down 35-27 with only 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter? Hurts leads the team on an 8 play 75-yard TD drive and the tying 2 point conversion. On that drive he was 3/3 passing for 63 yards, a rushing TD and the rushing 2-point conversion. You Really can’t ask for more from our franchise QB on the biggest stage at only 24 years old. The Eagles will face a lot of questions now. Which free agents do you re-sign? Which veterans to you say goodbye to? How much do you pay Hurts? What do we do in the draft? Free agency? All those questions will be answered another day. But today, and for a long time, we think about what could have been.
Legal Hands To The Face
