NFL

10 Costly Plays That Doomed Eagles Vs. Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII

Penalties, defensive lapses and a head-scratching turnover kept the Eagles from winning a title

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10 Super Bowl plays that doomed the Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Against a team like the Chiefs, a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes and a coach like Andy Reid, you can't beat yourselves. You can't make mistakes. You can't have mental and physical breakdowns.

You will lose.

The Eagles had so many chances to put the Chiefs away Sunday. So many opportunities to make a big play on offense, defense or special teams that would have given them a much better chance to win Super Bowl LVII.

They repeatedly came up small on those pivotal plays and it cost them dearly.

Make just a few of them and the result unquestionably would have been different.

Here's a look at 10 plays that cost the Eagles big-time Sunday. Some were more damaging than others, but they were all the types of plays that championship teams can't make.

Isaac Seumalo's false start (10:12 second quarter)

Without Isaac Seumalo's false start on a 3rd-and-1, there is no Jalen Hurts fumble. Already up 14-7, the Eagles were lined up for a QB keeper -- a play that almost never fails -- and would have had a first down near midfield. But Seumalo jumped, and obviously, 3rd-and-5 is a whole different animal than 3rd-and-1 (because of where the ball was spotted, it was a four-yard penalty). Without the ability to run a keeper, Hurts lost the ball in the open field, and the Chiefs quickly took advantage.

Jalen Hurt's fumble (9:48 second quarter)

Hurts has come a long way in terms of protecting the football. He had lost only one fumble all year, when he was sacked by the Jaguars' Yannick Ngakoue in Week 4. He had never had a fumble returned for a touchdown, and no Eagle QB has had a fumble returned for a TD since Carson Wentz fumbled against the Vikings in 2018 and current Eagle Linval Joseph returned it three yards for a TD. In fact, it was the first fumble recovery TD against the Eagles in the postseason since 1981, when Wally Henry fumbled a kickoff that the Giants' Mark Haynes returned for a TD in a wild-card loss at the Vet. What made this play so weird is that Hurts wasn't even hit. He just lost the ball and it took one big bounce right to linebacker Nick Bolton, who ran 36 yards untouched for a TD. Hurts was magnificent Sunday, but that was the biggest play in a game the Chiefs won by three points. It was the first fumble return TD in Super Bowl history by a winning team in a one-possession game.

DeVonta Smith's 35-yard catch reversed (1:00 second quarter)

Late in the first half, Hurts appeared to complete a 35-yard pass down the right sideline to DeVonta Smith. It was initially ruled a catch on the field, but the replay official reversed the call and instead of a 1st-and-10 on the Chiefs' 13-yard-line and two timeouts remaining, the Eagles had a 3rd-and-1 on the 48. They did get the first down but had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown. It was a surprising reversal because there didn't appear to be conclusive evidence that Smith didn't complete the catch -- at least not on the replays we saw. But from 13 yards out, you like the Eagles' chances of getting seven there and taking a 27-14 lead into halftime. Could have been a much different second half.

Quez Watkins' drop (6:19 third quarter)

Quez Watkins is on the Eagles' roster for one reason. To catch deep balls. He got one chance Sunday and dropped it. The Eagles were up 24-21 with 6½ minutes left in the third quarter. The Chiefs had gained momentum, and the Eagles desperately needed a big play to try and regain their edge. With the Eagles on the Chiefs' 42, Hurts spotted Watkins streaking down the field a step ahead of safety Juan Thornhill. Hurts led him perfectly, but Watkins left his feet and lunged for the ball instead of just running to the football. The ball sailed through his hands for a costly drop. Instead of a 1st-and-goal around the 7- or 8-yard-line, the Eagles had a 3rd-and-9 and although they eventually converted, they had to settle for a field goal on that drive. If Watkins catches that ball, it's quite likely a different game.

Jerick McKinnon's 14-yard run on 3rd-and-1 (13:54 third quarter)

Early in the third quarter, with the Eagles still up 10 points, the Chiefs faced a 3rd-and-1 on their own 34-yard-line. Stop them there and you get the ball back, up double-digits with a chance to extend the lead to 13 or 17. But Jerick McKinnon ran untouched for 14 yards and the Chiefs didn't face another third down on the drive, getting back in the game at 24-21 on Isiah Pacheco's TD run. The Chiefs were 0-for-3 on third down in the first half and 4-for-5 in the second half.

Jordan Davis' near sack turns into Chiefs first down (13:20 third quarter)

On that pivotal Chiefs TD drive to open the third quarter, Jordan Davis had Mahomes wrapped up for what was about to be a five-yard sack near midfield. The Eagles didn't get many legit pressures on Mahomes, but the rookie defensive tackle had one. But just before Davis got him on the ground, Mahomes somehow flipped the ball in the general vicinity of Travis Kelce, who snagged the ball just before it hit the ground for an 11-yard gain and a first down. Six plays later, Pacheco scored and the Chiefs were down just three.

Khalen Saunders' sack short-circuits Eagles drive (3:17 third quarter)

Late in the third quarter, the Eagles found themselves with a 1st-and-10 on the Chiefs' 19-yard-line up 24-21. Seemed like a great chance to get into the end zone and build the lead back up to double-digits. But on first down, Hurts dropped back to pass, got flushed out of the pocket and chased out of bounds by defensive tackle Khalen Saunders. It was only a one-yard sack, but it put the Eagles behind the sticks. They got no closer than the 15 and wound up with a Jake Elliott field goal. Against a QB like Mahomes, field goals get you beat.

Kadarius Toney's punt return (10:33 fourth quarter)

Kadarius Toney wasn't exactly seen as a punt return threat. He has a career regular-season average of 5.5 and just 61 career regular-season punt return yards. He ranked 34th this year among 37 players with at least 10 returns at 6.1, and that 5.5 career regular-season average ranks 89th of 96 active returns. He's really bad at this. But Toney surpassed his career punt return yardage total on one zig-zagging return through the Eagles' beleaguered special teams early in the fourth quarter. Giving Mahomes a five-yard field is not a very good idea, and the Chiefs scored three plays later. It was the longest punt return in Super Bowl history and the longest against the Eagles in the postseason since Charlie Trippi's 75-yard TD for the Chicago Cardinals in the 1947 NFL Championship Game at Comiskey Park. The funny thing is punt coverage was one of the few areas of special teams the Eagles were decent at this year – they ranked 8th in the league. They didn't allow a punt return longer than 20 yards and in fact hadn't allowed a punt return longer than 25 yards since 2017. But special teams has been a problem all year, and it cost the Eagles dearly Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes' 26-yard run (2:55 fourth quarter)

With the score tied at 35, the Eagles were desperately trying to get a stop in the game's final minutes. The Chiefs had a 1st-and-10 on the Eagles' 43 with 2:55 left, so they still weren't quite in field goal range. But Mahomes, whose longest run in the regular season was 20 yards and who hobbled off the field earlier in the game after twisting his ankle, took off through the Eagles' defense for a season-long 26-yard run down to the 17. Just an inexcusable play by the Eagles' defense. After that it was just a matter of running clock and setting up the game-winning kick.

James Bradberry's holding (1:54 fourth quarter)

The question isn't whether James Bradberry held JuJu Smith-Schuster. He did. The question is whether it should have been called in that situation. But Bradberry, who has been one of the Eagles' best defensive players all year, was called for the infraction, which gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs with 1:54 left and let them run the clock down to 0:11 before they attempted the game-winning field goal. The Chiefs were already in chip-shot field goal range before the penalty, but if it wasn't called, the Eagles would have gotten the ball back with about 1:40 left needing only a field goal to tie. The way Hurts was playing? I liked their chances.

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