After losing a 38-35 nail-biter to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57, the Philadelphia Eagles waited two years to get their revenge on football’s biggest stage.
In Super Bowl 59, the Eagles did exactly that, defeating the Chiefs to ruin their historic three-peat. They jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the first half and never looked back. The final score of the game? 40-22 — a dominant victory.
Jalen Hurts earned Super MVP honors, but Philadelphia’s defense was excellent as well. Let’s delve into the Eagles’ victory.
Trends and Insights From the Eagles’ Super Bowl Victory Over the Chiefs
- Hurts led both teams in rushing, so he joins Steve Young (XXIX vs Chargers) as the only QBs to do so in Super Bowl history. Hurts’ 72 rushing yards are a Super Bowl record for a quarterback, surpassing his previous mark of 70 from two years ago.
- The Eagles sacked Patrick Mahomes six times, which is one shy of the Super Bowl record held by four teams.
- Cooper DeJean is the second rookie with a pick-six in Super Bowl history. The other was Reggie Phillips on the 1985 Bears vs. the Patriots in Super Bowl XX (20).
- This is the first Super Bowl where both starting quarterbacks threw an interception since the Chiefs-49ers game in Super Bowl LIV.
- Philadelphia’s 24-point halftime lead tied San Francisco for the second-largest in Super Bowl history. The 49ers led the Broncos by 24 in Super Bowl XXIV. Washington holds the record for the largest halftime lead, leading Denver by 25 in Super Bowl XXII.
- Kansas City’s offense had 23 yards at halftime, the fewest in a Super Bowl first half since at least 2000. The previous low was the Giants with 36 yards in the 2000 Super Bowl.
Chiefs’ Final Trends and Insights
- Mahomes’ three turnovers are the most in any playoff game of his career and tied for his second-most in any game. The only game he had more turnovers was the 54-51 game vs. the Rams in 2018 (5 TO).
- Mahomes’ 33 passing yards in the first half are his lowest total in any game (regular season or postseason). His previous low was 41 yards against the Titans in 2021.
-
-
- SB 59, 2024 vs PHI: 33
- Week 7, 2021 at TEN: 41
- Week 2, 2020 at LAC: 6
- Week 11, 2019 at LAC: 63
-
-
- Mahomes was sacked twice and threw an interception on the Chiefs’ fourth drive, which ended with DeJean’s pick-six. It’s only the second time this season that he’s been sacked twice and thrown an interception in the same quarter. The first instance occurred in the first quarter against the 49ers in Week 5.
- The Chiefs had 23 total yards in the first half, the fewest in any game started by Mahomes in the regular season or postseason. The previous low was 32 total yards in the 2018 AFC Championship Game against the Patriots.
- Travis Kelce had four receptions in the second half, breaking Jerry Rice’s Super Bowl record for career receptions. Kelce now has 35 receptions in 25 postseason games. He was held without a reception in the first half for the first time in his postseason career.
- Xavier Worthy set a rookie record with 157 receiving yards in the Super Bowl, surpassing the previous high of 109 yards by the Rams’ Torry Holt in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Eagles Final Trends and Insights
- Saquon Barkley broke Terrell Davis’ record for the most yards from scrimmage in a season (including the postseason). Barkley entered the game two yards behind Davis’ 2,762 yards set in 1998.
- Hurts’ rushing touchdown to start the scoring was his fourth career rushing TD in the Super Bowl. He joins Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas, Franco Harris, and John Elway as the only players in Super Bowl history with at least four rushing touchdowns. Smith had five in three Super Bowls.
- Hurts moved into 9th in all-time playoff rush TD with 10.
- Since 2000, the Eagles are 20-15 in the postseason. Only the Patriots have more postseason wins in that timeframe.
PFN QB+ Metric
Patrick Mahomes
Score: 71.1| Grade: C-
- Mahomes’ 71.1 grade is his 2nd-worst in a playoff game since 2019, behind his 66.6 in Super Bowl LV vs. the Buccaneers in 2020. Overall, it’s his 2nd-worst game of the 2024 season, ahead of only a 70.2 grade in Week 2 vs. the Bengals.
Jalen Hurts
Score: 83.7 | Grade: B
- Hurts’ QB+ is his 2nd-best in a playoff game in his career, behind Super Bowl LXVIII two years ago vs. the Chiefs (84.3). Overall, it’s his fourth-best grade of the 2024 season.
PFN Offense+ Metric
Chiefs
Score: 70.7 | Grade: C-
- Fifth worst OFF+ score of season
Eagles
Score: 78.5 | Grade: C+
- Sixth best score of season
PFN Defense+ Metric
Chiefs
Score: 73.2| Grade: C
- 12th best DEF+ score of season
Eagles
Score: 78.8 | Grade: C+
- 4th best DEF+ score against Chiefs
- Second best playoff DEF+ score this season (81.9, B- vs Packers in Wild Card)
PFN’s Metrics Explained
PFN’s metrics aim to provide fans and analysts alike with an easy-to-digest single score and grade that encompasses a deep level of statistical analysis. All of our metrics are based on historical data going back five or more years (depending on the statistic) and are ranked relative to the entire database. These are then converted into a score for each statistic, which is then evaluated using a weighted average to produce a final “score” and “grade” for each metric.
In each metric, we have evaluated years of data to determine the most suitable statistics to include and which ones to give the most weight to within the metric. This has allowed us to build a suite of metrics that we can use to evaluate teams and players across games, seasons, or careers.
When it comes to our grades, we follow the standard U.S. education grading system where an A is anything 90 or above, a B is anything 80 or above, a C is anything 70 or above, a D is anything 60 or above, and an F being any score that falls below a 60. Within each of those grades, we also have tiers that are denoted by a plus, a minus, or a standard grade. To achieve a plus, a player must be at a seven or above (i.e., 97 = A+), while a minus is anything a three or below (i.e., 93 = A-).
QB+ Is the Best Way to Evaluate Your Signal-Caller
Quarterback+ utilizes EPA measurements in certain situations alongside other variables to evaluate a quarterback’s performance over the course of a game or season. By using EPA, we are able to provide added context to the situation around a quarterback’s performance that is lost in other widely available passer rating metrics, which just look at high-level box-score statistics. Using EPA also means that we integrate rushing yards off scrambles into our evaluations.
Additionally, we use net yards per attempt in our equation, as opposed to just standard yards per attempt, to account for the impact of sacks and their negative impact on the game. Our metric also includes an element that evaluates the quarterback’s performance in key situations on third down.
Finally, what really sets QB+ apart from other metrics is that we use situation statistics to evaluate a quarterback’s performance in crucial moments of the game. We have defined clutch situations by examining the most impactful moments and situations in games over the last 20+ years to determine which to include in our metric.
Offense+ Gives You A Better Look At the Game
There are several ways to evaluate an offense’s performance. Most of the time, people quote a single statistic when stating who is the most efficient or best offense in the NFL. However, these do not give a full picture of the game. Offenses that play alongside bad defenses will often have a high number of points scored or lots of yards, but that does not necessarily make them the best offenses.
Therefore, our Offense+ metric uses several different statistics that cover multiple situations to create one score and grade that encompasses all these different elements into a ranking. By doing this, we present multiple levels of statistical analysis in easy-to-digest numbers that show you exactly where each offense ranks relative to one another across the pass-and-run game.
To produce the score and grade, we use statistics such as EPA, success rate, points per drive, and yards per play. We then evaluate situation statistics such as third-down avoidance, third-down conversion rate, and red-zone conversion rate. Finally, we look at outcome statistics, such as turnover rate, sack rate allowed, and pressure rate statistics, which allow us to give full context to the offenses’ performances.
We do not include top-level statistics such as total points and total yards, which can often be heavily influenced by the way a game plays out and not the team’s performance. This allows us to use Offense+ not only as an evaluation tool but also as a predictive tool that examines how an offense may fare in future weeks.
Defense+ Analyzes the Other Side of the Ball
We see a number of defensive statistics quoted to justify who has the best defense. However, most of the time, these statistics are single statistics that do not provide a full picture of defensive performance (e.g., total yards allowed or total points allowed). Therefore, we have created the Defense+ metric, which evaluates multiple statistics to create a single, easy-to-digest “score” and “grade.”
By doing this, we present multiple levels of statistical analysis in a single number that demonstrates exactly where each defense ranks relative to one another in the pass-and-run game and, more generally, in their total performance.
To produce the score and grade, we use statistics such as EPA, success rate, points per drive, and yards per play. We then evaluate situation statistics such as third-down conversion rate and red-zone conversion rate. Finally, we look at outcome statistics, such as turnover rate, sack rate allowed, and pressure rate statistics, which allow us to give full context to the defenses’ performances.
We do not include top-level statistics such as total points and total yards, which can often be heavily influenced by the way a game plays out and not the team’s performance. This allows us to use Defense+ not only as an evaluation tool but also as a predictive tool that examines how a defense may fare in future weeks.
