Eagles’ D-line masterclass vs. Chiefs in SB LIX should concern Buffalo Bills

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Jalen Hurts’ was named MVP of Super Bowl, but Philly’s d-line drove the victory from the moment Mahomes stepped on the field.

Buffalo Bills fans should hope that general manager Brandon Beane paid close attention to what unfolded on the field during Super Bowl LIX. The Kansas City Chiefs were completely overwhelmed throughout the night — especially so along the offensive line.

In today’s NFL, it’s almost always an offensive player who earns MVP, which was true of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Yet, Philadelphia’s defensive line was an unstoppable force against a very movable object, or five. Without the Eagles’ front four making life miserable for Mahomes, we may be talking about a completely different game.

The most startling stat of the game? There were zero blitzes called by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The result? Kansas City’s offensive line sent Mahomes 16 pressures, resulting in six sacks, which was just one shy of the Super Bowl Record of seven.

The Eagles run a base 3-4 defense, which on Sunday evening allowed strongside linebacker Josh Sweat (2.5 sacks), left defensive end Jonathan Milton (2 sacks), and nose tackle Jordan Davis (1 sack) to feast. Mahomes was running for his life, but with nowhere to escape.

It was a totally different offense than what the Bills faced two weeks ago during the AFC Championship Game. The reason may have everything to do with Buffalo’s starters up front. That needs to serve as a wake-up call for Beane, if he hadn’t already received a similar message elsewhere in time.

Until the game was out of reach (which was essentially before the end of the third quarter), the Chiefs hadn’t crossed midfield. This, after scoring 32 points against the Bills in the game before.

The constant pressure on Mahomes without using any form of a blitz took away the best player on the field. His final stats do nothing to explain the mess of a game played, with nasty interceptions borne out of frustration or otherwise. Mahomes simply wasn’t Mahomes in the biggest game of his life, where instead he appeared lost and clutching to a set of regressive traits that had some analyses skeptical about his outlook as a pro before the NFL Draft.

And it was because of pressure, as was true of Mahomes’ last Super Bowl loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s pressure the likes of which Buffalo hasn’t so much as sniffed in any playoff game against the current GOAT. It was pressure that not only contained Mahomes most of the evening, but flustered him, and got home... play, after play, after play. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

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How many more matchups will it take before the light goes on to inform those who need it that what Buffalo continues prioritizing along the defensive line isn’t going to get the job done in crunch time? If the answer is more than zero, then there may be other problems.

One can imagine Kansas City will look to separate itself from the situation observed in this season’s offensive line. They were terrible, no matter how one looks at it. So, it’s unlikely the Bills find similar luck in going up against the same KC unit from Sunday’s blowout loss.

The concern is that this season’s Bills couldn’t do similar things to an offensive line the Eagles embarrassed. Time and again, it’s a unit that disappears in crunch time and during the biggest games.

Beane and company shouldn’t rest on their laurels. Now is the time to make a profound move on defense. If they can land even one defensive stud in, say, an edge rusher like Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby, it may just prove to be the windfall players such as Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver need to take their play to the next level.

It won’t come cheap, if the move is to find a blue-chip NFL veteran. But the financial fallout from trading away Stefon Diggs is now in the past. The ball’s in their court: Do they stand pat with the players in-house, or make a move to show the Chiefs and everyone else they mean business?

If a defense can speed up Patrick Mahomes’ clock, he looks far less invincible. There’s plenty of tape available to prove it.

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