Assessing the Eagles’ Chances Against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX

It’s really going to come down to whether we see the Jalen Hurts we witnessed during most of the second half of the Washington game, or whether the indecisive, inaccurate, risk-averse, interception-phobic Jalen will be behind center on Sunday. Good performances, like the one against the Steelers this season, were followed by bad ones. This inconsistency has been the pattern all season, so who knows which Jalen will show up? The Eagles have no chance if it’s the latter.

On the defensive side, I have no faith in Vic Fangio’s defense—a prevent defense that prevents the Eagles from winning if Mahomes gets the ball with two minutes left needing a score. They were helpless to stop rookie quarterbacks with Carolina and Washington from marching down the field in that scenario and almost got burned similarly by Matthew Stafford, if not for Jalen Carter’s great effort at the end.

The defense has exceptional athletes in Carter, Baun, and Mitchell, and Gardner-Johnson is not far behind. More importantly, they have playmakers at every position, except for Darius Slay, he of the self-appointed and wildly exaggerated nickname of Big Play Slay. He did look better against the Commanders but not against the deep ball.

The safety, Blankenship, is definitely a playmaker with a nose for the ball, which is what the Eagles have been lacking in previous years with previous defenses. He’s great against the run, but he can’t cover deep either.

And even if Jalen Carter treats Chiefs’ mediocre left tackle, Joe Thuney, as a revolving door, Carter will wear himself out chasing Mahomes. And, of course, no one thrives under pressure more than Pat. So look for Mahomes to go deep often.

Reluctantly, I see the Chiefs winning. No one has been able to stop Mahomes in the Super Bowl, except the Brady-led Tampa Bay team.