The Chiefs are down by 10 against the Eagles at halftime in Super Bowl LVII. Things are off to a rocky start for Kansas City, but there are big questions in the second half of the game with Patrick Mahomes apparently aggravating his high ankle sprain at the end of the first half. The offense desperately needs a long time-sucking drive as Philadelphia has dominated the time of possession so far in this game.
Here are a few quick takeaways from the first half of play:
Defense needs to find an answer in the trenches
The Eagles were getting anything they wanted in the ground game early on in this one. Their interior was winning in a big way against the Chiefs’ interior defensive linemen, attacking players like Khalen Saunders with clearout blocks right down the middle of the field.
It was most apparent on the QB sneak at the goal line. The Chiefs didn’t stand any sort of chance to stop that play. The Eagles O-Line got enough push that they would have got the touchdown if they’d needed four yards to gain instead of one. Later in the game, they picked another first down on the QB sneak.
If Kansas City can’t find a way to get some extra juice in the defensive trenches, especially on those short-yardage situations, they’re going to have a long night.
You don't win the Super Bowl by playing conservative
Andy Reid has traditionally been a conservative play-caller on fourth down, but you don’t win the Super Bowl with that type of mentality. After the game, no matter the results, Reid is going to say that he wanted points in that situation and that he trusted Butker to go get them. The problem is, Butker isn’t the league MVP. That’s the guy you have out there at quarterback — and you should probably trust him to go get three yards on any down and distance.
Reid and the Chiefs won’t win this game playing conservatively. They’re going to need to trust the offense to go out there and execute. They’re going to have to take some chances that they normally wouldn’t take. Eagles HC Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for it on fourth down has been the big difference in this game.
Defense must stop giving Eagles free opportunities
The defense has done a great job at getting the Eagles to third down and even fourth down at times, but they’ve been horrible at stopping them once they get them there. There have been a ton of unforced penalties on the Chiefs during the game — including offside penalties by DE Frank Clark and DT Derick Nnadi.
Yes, the defense has been on the field for over 21 minutes and mistakes are going to happen and be magnified in the Super Bowl. These mistakes have given Philadelphia and the Eagles’ offense a clear advantage during this game.
