The Eagles were the NFL’s top team for the bulk of the 2022 regular season and they established themselves as the more physical team through 30 minutes of football in Super Bowl 57.
Buoyed by three total touchdowns from All-Pro quarterback Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia jumped out to a 7-0 lead and overcame a fumble to lead 24-14 at the end of one half.
The Eagles were 6-10 on third downs and converted one crucial fourth down to finish off a scoring drive.
Patrick Mahomes reaggravated his ankle injury and his condition going forward in Glendale will be something to watch.
With the second half underway, here are ten takeaways from the first half of action in Super Bowl LVII.
1
Eagles made a statement on the first drive
11 plays, 75 yards.
Eagles 7, Chiefs 0.
Jalen Hurts' opening drive: 4 of 5 for 54 yards, 1 carries for 12 yards. https://t.co/AoFQQMlc4B
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) February 12, 2023
2
Travis Kelce dominated his first drive
We talked about the Eagles using man-zone combination concepts to neutralize Kelce and they doubled the Chiefs’ star tight end twice on the first drive, but still ended up with confusion.
On the first drive, Kelce had two catches for 38 yards and one touchdown, capping a 6-play, 75-yard drive.
Rookie Isaiah Pacheco ran for 29 yards on 3 carries.
That route though. 👀 @tkelce
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/SSOPU8AQ9D— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
Kelce finished the first half with three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, but he can’t dominate if he’s not on the field.
3
Super Bowl shootout
The Eagles and Chiefs both scored a touchdown on their opening drives…#SuperBowlLVII is the first since Super Bowl XXXII between the Packers and Broncos in which both teams scored a TD on their opening drive
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) February 13, 2023
4
Chiefs want Hurts on the run
If Frank Clark can continue to get pressure on Hurts off the left side where Jordan Mailata is blocking, things could get interesting.
Jalen Hurts completed just 22% of passes (10 completions/46 net pass attempts) when scrambling this season — worst of 26 qualified NFL QBs; League Avg: 39%
— Inside Edge NFL (@IE_NFL) February 13, 2023
5
Miles Sanders limited
Sanders had one carry on the first drive for -1 yards and promptly headed indoors after taking a hard blow while running out of bounds.
Miles Sanders is back on the field.
— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) February 13, 2023
6
Chiefs playing copycat
Doug Pederson’s Eagles loved to utilize 12 and 13 personnel and Kansas City is having success running two and three tight end packages just like Philadelphia likes to do.
Two big Kelce catches over the middle have been out of 13 personnel. The Eagles have been in 4 down fronts on both of them, but Kelce is beating TJ Edwards in the open field https://t.co/aXqyNNWAui
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) February 13, 2023
7
Jalen Hurts is the true MVP
Mahomes won the regular season MVP award, but it won’t matter if Jalen Hurts is able to lead his team to another dominant first half of offense.
Hurts overcame a late second-quarter fumble to lead his team on four scoring drives, as the All-Pro was 17 of 22 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown through the air.
As a runner, Hurts logged 11 carries for 63 yards and 2 TDs (and a fumble).
8
Not this time DeVonta
In the NFC title game, Smith had a long catch rule complete after San Francisco chose not to challenge the ruling.
On Sunday in the second quarter, Smith had a catch overturned.
Eagles connect deep with DeVonta Smith down the sideline and rush to the line, but officials stop the play to review before the Eagles could get a snap off. Similar to the opening drive last week, except Eagles couldn't get the snap off this time. (Officials review, not KC)
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) February 13, 2023
9
Patrick Mahomes update
The regular season MVP was 8-13 passing in a first half that saw the time of possession dominated by the Eagles, as Philadelphia held the football for 21:54 in the first half, limiting Kansas City to 8:06 time of possession with 20 total offensive plays.
10
Random notes
Philadelphia held Isaiah Pacheco to 28 yards on five carries in the first half.
Kenneth Gainwell filled in for Miles Sanders, logging 18 yards on six carries, along with three catches for 15 yards.
A.J. Brown led the Eagles in receiving with 74 yards on 3 catches and a touchdown.
DeVonta Smith led Philadelphia with six catches in the half, totaling 55 yards.
