Eagles-Chiefs matchups: How will Jalen Hurts do under pressure in Super Bowl LIX?

In one week, the Eagles will take a flight to New Orleans ahead of their Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs.

But as Nick Sirianni would say, the 2024 Eagles are unaffected by the shortcomings of the 2022 Eagles, the group that fell to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. Both teams feature plenty of new faces, from free-agent additions like Saquon Barkley to impact rookies like Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and some familiar ones, too (looking at you, Andy Reid).

Could this Eagles group be the team that takes down the mighty Chiefs, who will make their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six years and have won it on three of those occasions? Here are three matchups that will take center stage at Super Bowl LIX:

One thing about Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, he knows how to dial up a blitz. Spagnuolo started his NFL coaching career with the Eagles in 1999 and spent eight seasons learning under the late Jim Johnson. He adopted Johnson’s penchant for aggressive blitzes and continues to use a range of exotic pressure looks in his role with the Chiefs.

That approach has been successful for the Chiefs this season. In 2024, Kansas City blitzed at the fifth-highest rate in the league (35.6%) and excelled at creating free rushers, according to Next Gen Stats. The Chiefs generated a league-high 49 unblocked pressures on blitzes. In the AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs blitzed Josh Allen on 37.8% of his dropbacks, leading him to complete just eight of 16 attempts for 108 yards with a touchdown. He went 19-of-24 for 154 yards against four or fewer rushers.

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All eyes are going to be on Hurts to see how he fares when Spagnuolo sends extra rushers in the Super Bowl. This isn’t Hurts’ first experience with Spagnuolo. The quarterback excelled against the blitz in Super Bowl LVII, going 13-of-18 for 101 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. But in his next meeting with the Chiefs in the 2023 regular season, Hurts faltered against extra rushers and completed 5 of 12 passing attempts for 83 yards and an interception.

Hurts has been better against the blitz this season, tossing just one interception against extra rushers compared to eight in 2023. He was blitzed at his third-highest rate of the season in the NFC championship game against the Washington Commanders (46.9%, according to Next Gen Stats). It wasn’t perfect, but he completed 7 of 13 passing attempts for 116 yards (a season high) while taking one sack.

Chiefs fans call him Playoff Patrick for a reason. As the season has progressed into the playoffs, Mahomes has continued to ascend in multiple facets of his game. Now he will become the third starting quarterback in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl five times.

His latest performance in the AFC championship game provided more evidence of Mahomes’ postseason dominance. According to Next Gen Stats, Mahomes set season highs in dropback success rate (64.7%) and dropback expected points added (plus-21.5) in the AFC title win over the Bills. His three best performances by dropback EPA this season have occurred over his last four games. The statistic measures the efficiency of a quarterback on a per-dropback basis.

Mahomes thrived against man coverage vs. the Bills. He faced the look on roughly half of his dropbacks and went 12-of-15 for 169 yards and a touchdown (plus-19.3 of his EPA), according to Next Gen Stats. He did most of his damage in the intermediate level of the field where his receivers could rack up yards after catch. The Eagles’ back seven must continue to be sound in coverage and tackle well to minimize those chunk plays that Mahomes facilitated on Sunday.

Plus, Mahomes can do damage on the ground. He scrambled on six of his 34 dropbacks in the AFC championship game, which was his second-highest scramble rate in a game in his seven-year career as the starter (17.4%). The 29-year-old converted a first down on five of his six scrambles, which tied a career high.

Jones, a 30-year-old defensive tackle, is as dominant as ever in his ninth NFL season. He earned his third consecutive All-Pro nod this season and led all interior defensive linemen with 85 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. He has four quarterback hits (including one sack in the divisional round against the Houston Texans) in the playoffs so far.

Jones will be tasked with facing one of the league’s best offensive lines in the Eagles’ unit under Jeff Stoutland. The group is banged up right now, as Landon Dickerson exited the NFC championship game with a left knee injury following his first-half stint as the starting center, which forced Cam Jurgens to take over in relief despite dealing with a back issue. Jurgens gutted through the pain and finished the game. The next two weeks will reveal more information about their statuses heading into the Super Bowl.

» READ MORE: ‘He’s a warrior’: Cam Jurgens plays through injury in Eagles’ NFC title win, gets Jason Kelce’s seal of approval

The Eagles excelled at limiting Jones’ impact in the passing game in Super Bowl LVII, as he finished the night without a quarterback hit. Still, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Jones can line up anywhere and cause disruption. Where will he try to do his damage in Super Bowl LIX? Given the strength of Eagles tackles Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, he may be eyeing the interior offensive line, especially if Jurgens and Dickerson still aren’t 100%.

Pass rushing is Jones’ claim to fame, but he is a key piece of the Chiefs’ run defense, too. He ranks third on the team with 18 run stops, according to Pro Football Focus. Sound run blocking will be imperative against Jones and the Chiefs, as the Eagles will look to get Barkley going in an effort to take some of the pressure off Hurts.