Patrick Mahomes vs. the Eagles defense: Why Chiefs QB won’t reverse NFL MVP curse in Super Bowl

Patrick Mahomes wins his second NFL MVP award for another outstanding season as quarterback for the Chiefs’ explosive offense. Unfortunately, based on recent history, this does not bode well for his team’s chances of beating the Eagles in Super Bowl 57 on Sunday.

Since 1999, when Hall of Famer Kurt Warner did it for the surprise Rams, no regular-season MVP player has guided his team to a Super Bowl victory. Of those 22 MVPs, including Mahomes in 2018, 13 failed to lead the team to the Super Bowl. The other 9 got there, but for the most part, the 8 MVP quarterbacks and the lone MVP running back were denied a ring for running into a tough defense.

When Warner was looking for a double after winning his second MVP in 2001, Bill Belichick and New England’s pass defense bothered him a number. Rich Gannon, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Cam Newton met similar ugly fates. Even Matt Ryan, despite a strong first half, couldn’t break the curse when the Patriots stopped him in their legendary second-half comeback. It will be difficult for Mahomes to reverse the curse and avoid joining this list.

The Eagles, like the Patriots, Buccaneers, Giants, Saints, Seahawks and Broncos ahead of them, are in a similar position to defeat an NFL MVP with the right type of D. The NFL MVPs in the Super Bowl curse have correlation, but there’s also causation. Here’s why Philadelphia’s defenses pair so well together to deny Mahomes and Kansas City’s offense:

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The classic pass rush

This is the #1 item that burned MVP-led offenses in the Super Bowl. Gannon had to deal with Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp. Newton has seen too much of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. In between, the prime example, Brady saw the Patriots’ unbeaten dreams shattered by Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan.

The Eagles are also shining on the fringes as part of their NFL-leading near-record total of 70 sacks. Starters Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat each had 11 of them, while outside linebacker Haason Reddick led the team with 16.

What makes the Eagles unique is that they’ve also come in a lot with the tackles to the QB. Javon Hargrave matched Graham and Sweat’s individual production and tackle. Fletcher Cox added a robust 7 sacks.

Pressuring an NFL MVP QB with four rushers of your choice and being able to cover seven men is crucial. It also means the Eagles can trust their boys to win up front and not get too exotic with blitzes and create those cheap one-on-one coverage shots for Mahomes.

“Our focus is on the second effort and we’re just trying to bring him down, just try to beat him. It’s going to take a toll on all of us,” Hargave told Sporting News. “Sometimes the front four can win, but he can also pull from the pocket to make plays.

Aside from their physical prowess and array of quarterback moves, the Eagles’ pass rushers have a collective spirit of working tirelessly until the results come in. That’s something they’re prepared for against Mahomes.

“You have to keep rushing. You can’t get too frustrated and you can’t bow your head when it comes to plays,” Hargrave said. “That’s why he’s an MVP.”

MORE: Why Chiefs MVP’s Patrick Mahomes will win over Jalen Hurts

The deep playmaking secondary

The Patriots thwarted Warners wide receiver with physical coverage from cornerbacks Ty Law and Otis Smith. The Buccaneers were led by Ronde Barber and John Lynch vs. Gannon, but Dwight Smith and Dexter Jackson stole the show with their big games. Manning saw Tracy Porter seal his Super Bowl fate against the Saints and bust against the Seahawks “Legion of Boom.”

Darius “Big Play” Slay is the Eagles’ headliner at cornerback, well complemented on the outside by nice sound cover man James Bradberry. But they’re also tough to beat downfield with slot corner Avonte Maddox and safety CJ Gardner-Johnson.

“We just have to do our job, check our boxes and play hard for each other.” There’s not going to be anything crazy.” Slay told Sporting News about the Eagles’ plans to cover Mahomes’ receivers. “I’m an all-pro corner. James is an All Pro corner. All we have to do is pack our stuff, go out and play ball.”

The Eagles’ pressure relieves them of how long they have to stay in cover. But should Mahomes expand plays into planned scramble action or if he gets flushed out of the bag, they may also limit his options.

“It’s all a mirror, charge and cover,” Slay said. “We’re covering everyone out there well so they can get there and they’re rushing fast enough for us to cover the guys. It’s all together.”

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The versatile linebacker corps

The Patriots, from Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel against Warner to Dont’a Hightower’s game-changing strip stack against Ryan, have consistently enjoyed this under Belichick. The Bucs let Derrick Brooks make plays all over the field against Gannon. Manning was bitten by both Jonathan Vilma and Malcolm Smith.

The Eagles have dynamic upfield disruptor Reddick, but they also have an all-around ace down center, TJ Edwards. Edwards does everything well from padding against the run, pressing the QB and covering tight ends.

“Obviously it’s tough with Mahomes and what he’s doing in terms of overtime, but getting teams behind the sticks and getting them into familiar passes has been a strength of ours all year,” he said Edwards to Sporting News. “With the d-Linemen doing what they do, we really focus on first and second down to put us in a position to make big plays on third down.

The ideal mix of experience

The Eagles are also packed with venerable veterans like Graham, Hargrave, Cox and Suh. Slay and Bradberry are the smartest cornerback duo in the league. Reddick and Sweat provided more explosive energy, while youth Philadelphia are doing well with Edwards and undrafted rookie safetyman Reed Blankenship.

Not only do the Eagles excel at having the requisite positional strengths at every level of their defense, but there is great cohesion and communication under coordinator Jonathan Gannon. That leads to a really full defense, something all those other MVP-stopping teams had too.

While Slay knows it’s a three-phase game, he wasn’t shy in paraphrasing the old adage about championship teams.

“It always comes down to defense,” Slay said. “Defenses win games.”

Mahomes can be magical, but he can also be human against a top defense, as seen in another iteration of the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55. The Eagles have the talent and the blueprint to do the same thing their own way. The NFL MVP remembers the past and is doomed to repeat it.