Super Bowl LIX Takeaways: Josh Sweat, Eagles throttle the Chiefs

For the second time in franchise history, the Eagles are Super Bowl Champions! 

Here are some takeaways from a blowout 40-22 victory over Kansas City Chiefs. 

Josh Sweat Leads Dominant Eagles Defense

It's possible that Josh Sweat — a free-agent-to-be — priced his way out of Philadelphia Sunday night. But he'll drink for free every time he ever returns to the city. 

Sweat turned in a legendary Super Bowl performance as the Eagles' defense smothered Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, preventing them from becoming the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. 

A fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Sweat recorded six total tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, three quarterback hits and two tackles for a loss. 

Still, the biggest play made by Sweat on the night probably came when he bullrushed Joe Thuney is the second quarter, leading to an errant pass from Mahomes that Zack Baun picked off deep in Kansas City territory: 

Zack Baun interception! #FlyEaglesFly

📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/7LPFimMuP8

— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025

The Eagles finished the night with six sacks, and Sweat was at the forefront of it. 

Jalen Hurts Comes Up Big On The Biggest Stage

Hurts made a couple of poor throws in the second quarter, including an underthrow that was intercepted by Bryan Cook. But honestly, who cares? 

On a day where Saquon Barkley was bottled up by Steve Spagnuolo's defense, Hurts put together a tremendous Super Bowl performance for the second time in as many tries. 

Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown on the tush push, setting a new Super Bowl record for a quarterback with 72 rushing yards in the process. 

His most impressive throw of the night? The 46-yard dagger to DeVonta Smith that gave the Eagles a 33-0 lead: 

DeVonta TD! What a throw by Hurts ✅ pic.twitter.com/oY9xz04lzi

— On Pattison (@OnPattison) February 10, 2025

Wherever you rank Hurts among the current crop of quarterbacks in the NFL, it's hard to deny the amount of winning the Eagles have done with him. And that list of wins now includes one that allowed them to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. He's also outperformed Mahomes twice in the Super Bowl. 

Other Notes

• The additions of Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean certainly played a major role in the Eagles having a ferocious defense, but it's hard to overstate how great of a hire Vic Fangio was. The Eagles allowed 20 points or less in 15 of 20 games, including tonight. 
• The Eagles are one of the rare teams who benefitted from having an early bye week. They were 2-2 at the time of their Week 5 bye. After that, they went 16-1. 
• Do you ever just stop and think about all the time we spent debating Andy Reid in Philadelphia? As it turned out he's now coached against them in more Super Bowls than he coached them in. 
• The Eagles are now 2-3 all-time in Super Bowls. 
• Is this the greatest Eagles team of all-time? It's going to be hard to argue against that. I actually thought the 2022 Eagles were better than the 2017 Eagles, although they didn't get over the hump and win the Super Bowl. This team did, and while 2022 had Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox, this team had Saquon Barkley, Zack Baun, Jalen Carter, Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell.