NEW ORLEANS – Patrick Mahomes picked the worst attainable time to have maybe the worst half of his skilled soccer profession.
The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback was 6 of 14 for 33 yards with no landing passes and two interceptions — considered one of them a pick-6 by Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean — as Philadelphia raced to a 24-0 halftime lead within the Tremendous Bowl.
The Chiefs managed one first down over the primary half-hour, and it got here on their first offensive play, an 11-yard cross to JuJu Smith-Schuster after that they had compelled the Eagles to punt. The remainder of the half? They gained simply 14 extra yards.
Mahomes wasn’t completely accountable, although he deserved a very good share of it. The Chiefs’ offensive line was dominated by the Eagles’ defensive entrance, which not solely sacked the three-time Tremendous Bowl MVP thrice however put a lot stress on Mahomes that it performed an enormous half in each of the interceptions; the second, by Zack Baun late within the half, led to a different landing.
The Chiefs struggled all season to guard Mahomes’ blind aspect. They tried rookie Kingsley Suamataia at left sort out earlier than benching him for second-year professional Wanya Morris, who struggled a lot himself that he was inactive for the Tremendous Bowl.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid thought he had solved the issue by shifting All-Professional guard Joe Thuney exterior and placing journeyman Mike Caliendo at guard. And it appeared to work late within the common season and in playoff wins over Houston and Buffalo, when the road gave Mahomes sufficient time to choose aside each defenses.
But the road was no match for the Eagles’ entrance of Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Jalen Carter, Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith, who managed to supply all that stress with out coordinator Vic Fangio even needing to name a blitz.
Mahomes was 0 for five with the pick-6 to DeJean on third down, and the consequence was this: For less than the fourth time ever with their star quarterback below middle, the Chiefs have been unable to attain any factors on their first 5 drives.
The pick-6 was Mahomes’ first within the playoffs and ended a streak of 297 consecutive passes with out an interception.
The Chiefs rallied from double-digit deficits in every of their previous three Tremendous Bowl wins, and Mahomes performed an enormous half within the comebacks along with his second-half heroics. However that they had by no means confronted a 24-point gap like they did towards the Eagles.
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