Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had one of the toughest seasons of his coaching career, which saw him on the New Orleans Saints’ sideline in the Superdome.
This season ended in disappointment again in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles, as the Eagles gained 345 yards in a dominant 40-22 win that denied the Chiefs a chance at a third straight championship.
“Their pass game was rolling, you know. And at the end of the day, they just came out and played harder than us,” said Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie. “Gotta take it on the chin and learn from it.”
Spagnuolo, often called Spags, came into the Super Bowl as one of the most well-known figures in the game. He had recently interviewed for head coaching positions with the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Las Vegas Raiders.
Having won four Super Bowls as a coordinator, Spagnuolo was praised for his ability to use creative blitzes to disrupt opponents’ offenses. This strategy helped the Chiefs beat teams like the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills in earlier rounds, and it worked two years ago against the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
However, while the Chiefs did manage to limit Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley to just 57 yards, the Eagles found other ways to dominate offensively.
“They had a heck of a game plan. They executed. They outplayed us to a man,” said Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis. “It’s the reality of the game we play. It sucks. They played a phenomenal game. They had a great game plan. We needed to do more.”
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones didn’t make much of an impact before leaving with a knee injury in the second half, and the entire Kansas City pass rush struggled.
Zack Baun celebrates awith Nick Sirianni in the 1st halfThey couldn’t get to Jalen Hurts, who passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns, including a 46-yard strike to DeVonta Smith that helped seal the win.
“Spags did a few different things; he had a couple blitzes in there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I thought the backs did a nice job — both of them — of picking the blitz up. And when we got through, (Hurts) moved, and they got some big plays.”
Hurts also rushed for 72 yards, and the Chiefs couldn’t stop the Eagles’ strong running game, including a successful tush push that put the Eagles up 7-0 early, a lead they would never lose.
“Hurts played really well, and he was poised the whole game,” said Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. “You know, he’s in control. And he made checks and he threw dimes and he just gave us opportunities. And when we were covered a little bit, he ran, used his legs.”
In the end, the Super Bowl resembled Spagnuolo’s tough 2012 season with New Orleans, when the Saints gave up a record 7,042 yards, the most in NFL history for a single season.
