Eagles grades by position after dominant Super Bowl LIX win

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Eagles grades by position after dominant Super Bowl LIX win

Here are the Eagles' grades by position after a dominant win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX

By Dave Zangaro • Published February 10, 2025

 

EW ORLEANS — The Eagles didn’t just beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

They completely dominated a team going for the first three-peat in Super Bowl history. The final score was 40-22 but it wasn’t anywhere near that close.

This is the second Lombardi Trophy in Eagles history but this time the party pretty much started in the second quarter. (That party will continue through the parade down Broad Street on Friday.)

Let’s get to the position grades:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 17/22, 221 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 11 rushing attempts, 72 yards, 1 TD

At just 26 years old, Jalen Hurts got to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night in New Orleans and also took home MVP honors. Sure, Hurts threw an interception the second quarter but that was really his only mistake. He completed over 77% of his passes. His 72 rushing yards are the most ever for a quarterback in a Super Bowl, surpassing his own record of 70 yards from Super Bowl LVII a couple years ago.

And Hurts’ passer rating of 119.7 was the highest of his postseason career. The Eagles already had a 27-0 lead late in the fourth quarter when Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 46-yard dagger. Hurts also had some great ball placement on throws to Jahan Dotson, A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert.

Grade: A+

Running back

Saquon Barkley: 25 carries, 57 yards; 6 catches for 40 yards

The Chiefs did everything they could to stop Saquon Barkley, which is a wise strategy and it kind of worked. Barkley averaged just 2.3 yards per carry but he also has 40 receiving yards and a huge block in pass protection on that long pass to Jahan Dotson. 

And Barkley surpassed Terrell Davis for the most rushing yards in a regular season + postseason in NFL history:

1. Saquon Barkley (2024): 2,504
2. Terrell Davis (1998): 2,476
3. Terrell Davis (1997): 2,331
4. Eric Dickerson (1984): 2,212
5. Adrian Peterson (2012): 2,196

Grade: A

Receiver

DeVonta Smith: 4 catches on 5 targets for 69 yards, 1 TD

While Smith led the way for the receivers thanks to his 46-yard touchdown catch, they also got contributions from A.J. Brown (3 catches for 43 yards and a touchdowns) and Jahan Dotson (2 for 42). Dotson nearly had a 28-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter but was down at the 1-yard line; Hurts Tush-Pushed in the score. And Brown was able to shake free for a 12-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Brown could have had more without a ticky-tacky OPI call against him on the first drive.

Grade: A

Tight end

Dallas Goedert: 2 catches on 2 targets for 27 yards

While Goedert didn’t have a huge game, his 20-yard catch on a deep crosser on the first drive really helped kickstart the offense. He also drew a penalty on an unnecessary roughness call on that drive. Both Grant Calcaterra and E.J. Jenkins were blocking on Sunday.

Grade: A

Offensive line

The Eagles’ offensive line dominated the Chiefs’ defensive line on Sunday. Hurts was sacked twice but had a ton of clean pockets in this game. Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata were brick walls on the edges. Mekhi Becton had to leave the game briefly with a knee injury and was replaced by Tyler Steen. But Becton was able to return. There were some questions coming out of the NFC Championship Game about Landon Dickerson (knee) and Cam Jurgens (back) but that extra week seemed to help; both held up really well.

Grade: A

Defensive line

Josh Sweat: 6 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 2 TFLs

This was a dominant performance from the Eagles’ defensive line. Mahomes was sacked six times for the first time in his NFL career. Before Sunday, the most times he had ever been sacked in a playoff game was four times. Josh Sweat led the way with 2 1/2, followed by Milton Williams (2), Jordan Davis (1) and Jalyx Hunt (1/2). The Eagles also hit Mahomes 11 times. In the run game, the Eagles gave up just 49 yards and an average of 4.5 yards per attempt. 

Grade: A+

Linebacker

Zack Baun: 7 tackles 1 QB hits, 1 PBU, 1 INT

It should be no surprise that Zack Baun came through in the biggest game of the season with an interception in the second quarter that led to a quick Eagles’ touchdown pass. Oren Burks finished with 5 tackles in place of Nakobe Dean, who was in New Orleans to celebrate with his teammates after a season-ending knee injury in the wild-card round.

Grade: A

Secondary

Cooper DeJean: 3 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 pick-6

After going his entire rookie season without a single interception, DeJean’s 38-yard interception return touchdown in the second quarter was arguably the biggest play of the day. Mahomes ended up throwing for 257 yards but 109 of those yards came in the fourth quarter after the game was well out of reach. Quinyon Mitchell blanketed Xavier Worthy down the left sideline on a play that was designed to take a shot downfield. Give credit to Avonte Maddox, who had a crucial 4th-down pass breakup after he came in the game for a hobbled DeJean. Both C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship kept the top on the defense.

Grade: A

Special teams

Jake Elliott: 4/4 on FGs; 4/4 on PATs

There were some reasons to be concerned about Jake Elliott entering this game but he made field goals from 48, 29, 48 and 50 yards in the Super Bowl. He also made all four of his PATs. Braden Mann had two punts and downed both inside the 20 — one at the 12 and one at the 6. Cooper DeJean had a nifty 13-yard punt return in the first half. Kenny Gainwell had a tackle to prevent a dangerous kick return. Avonte Maddox and Grant Calcaterra recovered onside kicks.

Grade: A

Coaching

Final record: 18-3; Super Bowl champions

Nick Sirianni deserves a ton of credit. The Eagles contemplated firing him in the offseason and he just came back to the Super Bowl and won the whole thing. Sure, he’s a bit unorthodox and isn’t perfect, but he’s perfect for this team. And Sirianni is about to get a contract extension in the offseason.

Both coordinators had good games in this one. Kellen Moore finished off his one-year stint with the Eagles strong; he’s expected to get hired by the Saints for their head coaching job. And Vic Fangio put on a clinic. He didn’t blitz one time on Sunday and called a masterful game to beat Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Grade: A+

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-grades-by-position-after-dominant-super-bowl-lix-win/648641/