How Eagles’ Tendency Fascinatingly Led To Chiefs’ Most Important Play

The Chiefs scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns on one play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles and it helped Kansas City claim Super Bowl LVII with a 38-35 victory.

And as one might expect, the first score rooted back to Kansas City’s film study of Philadelphia while the second rooted back to the fact the Eagles failed to stop it the first time.

The Athletic’s Rustin Dodd told the fascinating story following the Chiefs’ second Super Bowl title in the past four years. Dodd, upon speaking to Kansas City backup quarterback Chad Henne, wrote how the Chiefs’ coaches discovered Philadelphia’s tendency and spent the previous two weeks perfecting the play to capitalize on it. That tendency? Well, they learned that when the Eagles lined up in man coverage, they would overcompensate if an offense used a motion that appeared like a jet sweep.

“On Saturday night, Bieniemy had put a play up on the screen for everyone on the Chiefs’ offense to see,” Dodd wrote, referencing Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. “It came from the Eagles’ game against the Jaguars earlier this season, and it featured Jacksonville receiver Jamal Agnew faking as if he were going in motion before stopping, reversing course and getting open for a touchdown.”

That’s exactly how the Chiefs took their first lead of the game, 28-27, three minutes into the fourth quarter. Kadarius Toney motioned before the snap, clearly causing confusion between the Eagles defenders, before he gained 11.2 yards of separation on the easy touchdown grab from Patrick Mahomes.

“(Bieniemy) put it on tape and said: ‘Hey, like, if they do this, this guy is wide open. It’s man (coverage),'” Henne told Dodd. “They’re just trying to protect themselves from the jet sweep and trying to bubble over the top and get an extra player (on the other side of the field). But we faked the jet twice, and they didn’t figure it out.”

The second time, a mere three minutes later, it went to Skyy Moore. Moore motioned in from the opposite side of the field only to plant his foot and return to where he just came from. Like Toney, Moore was dealt an easy pitch-and-catch from the Chiefs quarterback after a Philly defensive back over pursued and ran across the field.

That’s the type of championship-level detail that can help a team hoist the Lombardi Trophy. And the fact the play was called “Corn Dog” by Andy Reid’s team certainly will make it all the more memorable.