Eagles ride dominant defense to win championship and the ultimate grudge match.

One storyline for this game that was not widely discussed was the fact that Philly had beaten the Patriots after losing to them once, their next Super Bowl opportunity doubled as a revenge opportunity. The same thing happened here, with a similar result. Actually, you really can't compare these games in many more ways; while 52 was a nail biting dogfight this one ever felt close. The Chief grabbed a couple garbage time scores to make the final somewhat respectable, but the Birds led by double digits all the way and silenced a lot of doubters. On to the storylines!

Eagles win their fifth championship all time. This memorable 2024 crew joins the 1948, 1949, 1960 and 2017 teams in winning it all. Philly's fifth title draws them even with the hated Cowboys, Commanders and 49ers, and trails only the Packers, Bears, Steelers and Patriots.

The Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts redemption arc. I think this will take months to fully process this, but these guys went from the hottest of seats four months ago to the toast of Philly. Jalen played a knockout game with just the one mistake, and Nick pushed all the right buttons to have this team ready from the jump. Jalen's MVP award is especially satisfying, after watching him outplay Mahomes in another Super Bowl.

Vic Fangio is the real MVP. The fact that Vic's defense sacked Mahomes six times without blitzing once is all but impossible to believe. Throw in three turnovers (and a couple more that easily could have been), and the fact that the Chiefs basically scored no meaningful points (only ended the shutout with Philly up 34-0). I think Fangio returns again next year and we need to hope he does, he was the special sauce for a special season.

Final score doesn't due this beatdown justice. We already talked about the 34-0 lead that the Birds had built; by that point in the game the Birds had racked up an absurd 294-55 edge in yards, 16-3 in first downs and 27-15 in time of possession. By that point it would have taken a historic comeback to even get KC back in the game, so the rest of their efforts were effectively garbage time.

Where does this game land on the list of all time great Super Bowl defensive efforts? I've only watched the NFL for 30 seasons but several of these stand out (Bucs in '02, Giants in '07, Seahawks in '13, Broncos in '15, Bucs in '20); this game certainly stands among those. Common threads: crushing pass rush, forced huge turnovers, shut down MVP level QBs. Check, check, and check!

Already mentioned this, but Jalen outplayed Mahomes significantly. Even considering that Mahomes piled up a lot of stats in garbage time, Hurts outperformed Mahomes in nearly every efficiency stat (8.54-5.16 ANY/A, 119.7-95.4 passer rating), and those don't count Hurts' edge in rushing yards (72-25), his rushing touchdown or Mahomes' fumble. It's fair to point out that the Eagles' superiority in the trenches on both side of the ball had a lot to do with this, but that serves to underline the dominance of the Eagles' win.

The young guys look OK. Pretty much all of the young guys on defense made big plays (Carter, Davis, DeJean, Mitchell, Hunt, Ojomo, Smith, etc.). Those guys (except Davis) are all under contract for awhile, and they'll bring back Nakobe Dean, Reed Blankenship, Darius Slay, CJGJ and a bunch of others. Free agents to be Zach Baun, Milton Williams and Josh Sweat combined for eight solo tackles, 4.5 sacks and four more TFLs and a pick. Here's hoping Howie can find a way to bring a couple of those guys back.

Jake Elliott gets his groove back. Four for four in field goals (with a long of 50), and 4/4 in XPs. The good vibes from that should smooth over a lot of anxiety this offseason. While we're here, the special teams as a whole was special (kick returns, punt returns, return defense all solid, Braden Mann killed both of his punts). I didn't think special teams would be an advantage for the Birds in this game; I was wrong.

Saquon's selflessness sets up offense for success. The one thing KC did right all game was to effectively deal with Barkley, who averaged only 2.3 yards/carry on his 25 carries. The Chiefs needed so much to keep Barkley in check that the Eagles' pass catchers (even Jahan Dotson, who somehow outgained fellow Nittany Lion Barkley in the first half) had consistent space to operate. Thanks to Saquon Barkley for an unforgettable season, and for selflessly acting as a decoy to buy the Birds another ring.

Finally, this wouldn't be complete without a little Chiefs mocking. Most of us got at least a whiff of fraud with this team, who's winning streak in close games was certainly at least a little sketchy. Enjoy a few of my favorite moments in Super Bowl 59 memeology:

FLY EAGLES FLY!

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!