By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire
Good news for Jaguars fans.
Jaguars management, take note.
Patrick Mahomes can be beaten in a big game, and the Chiefs’ cloak of invulnerability has a huge hole.
In fact, being beaten was putting it mildly. He and his teammates were mauled and mugged all night by a fierce Eagles’ pass rush in Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles’ 40-22 victory wasn’t even that close.
This one goes onto the list of totally lopsided games. You can look back at the 49es’ 55-10 demolition of Denver and their 49-26 slicing of San Diego; add the Bears’ 46-10 blasting of New England; the Cowboys’ 52-17 batterting of Buffalo; or the then Redskins 42-10 rout of Denver.
I honestly thought this one was over at halftime. I couldn’t see the Chiefs coming back. Yes, they scored 22 points, but they had two garbage-time touchdowns. If you needed to get to bed early, you certainly could have.
The Eagles’ number-ranked defense lived up to its billing when most people didn’t think they could stop Patrick Mahomes, who had a 3-0 record against the teams with the league’s No. 1 ranked defense.
Instead, they levied six sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and two interceptions – one a key pick-six in the first half -in one of the most dominant defensive performances in the BIg Game.
By the way, did you notice ex-Jaguars’ left tackle Jawaan Taylor looking more like a turnstile for the Eagles’ pass rush all night?
Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts silenced his critics with arm and leg after the Chiefs shot gaps to shut down Saquon Barkley from breaking a big run.
The Chiefs’ sends a message to the rest of the league that there can be another AFC champion next season.
Despite Josh Allen’s heroics, the Bills fall short. The Bengals seem like a strong candidate with Joe Burrow, but they have to straighten out their defense.
I’m not sold on Houston, Pittsburgh, Denver, Miami or even the Jets with or without –looks like without – Aaron Rodgers yet to make a run.
Enter the Jaguars. Yes, those same 4-13 Jaguars.
They have some pieces in place with Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr., Josh Hines-Allen, Evan Engram, and Anton Harrison in place to make the trip back to the postseason.
They hired an aspiring young head coach in Liam Coen, who is building a young staff from some successful coaches and programs.
However, now the Jags’ GM hire becomes more pivotal.
They need to hire a can’t-miss candidate who can draft wisely and find some free-agent gems just like Philly’s GM guru Howie Roseman has done in the past three years.
The same can be said for Kansas City’s Brett Veach. Chiefs’ top pick Xaiver Worthy, who caught eight passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns, is going to be a superstar.
If the Jags can cast the same mold, they can begin the steps to recapture the AFC South crown and beyond.
The door is open for another team to claim the throne in the AFC, but the Chiefs certainly will be back to sit on top again.
Still, the Chiefs’ loss has shown the Jaguars and the rest of the AFC that they are not invincible.
