How Do Chiefs Defend Eagles’ Unique Run Game?

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The Philadelphia Eagles present a unique rushing attack entering Super Bowl LVII. Despite all of the star pass catchers and defenders, this area may be the most diverse part of either team’s units. Philadelphia is part of the new offensive trends that the NFL is gearing towards. You have a dual-threat quarterback who is smart as a rusher. Meanwhile, the mix of motion, eye candy and RPO action can leave defenders guessing from start to finish.

We know how dominant the Eagles offensive line can be, to boot, as we mentioned in yesterday’s article. With all of those variables, it comes as no surprise that Philadelphia was among the best in the league in offensive rushing. The Eagles had the third-most rushing attempts in the NFL during the regular season. In total, they finished fifth in rushing yards and first in rushing touchdowns.

How do the Kansas City Chiefs go about defending this lethal Philadelphia rushing attack in Super Bowl LVII? Additionally, will the Chiefs sell out to stop this powerful run game early on? Let’s kick it off.

Signs Of Improvement

All told, Kansas City has shown signs of improvement this season with their run defense. It may not be at the top of the NFL. Yet, the Chiefs have found success when they fully commit to stopping the run. Getting younger and faster on defense last offseason surely paid dividends as well.

That appears to have made a major difference in limiting yards per carry and rushing touchdowns. Interestingly, Kansas City finished in the top 10 in each of those categories during the regular season, placing seventh in rushing touchdowns allowed and eighth in yards per carry allowed.

In Super Bowl LVII, the challenge will be to remain fundamentally sound, first and foremost. The Chiefs have to finish on their tackle attempts and not whiff. They have to deconstruct blocks and plug gaps. Most of all, Kansas City cannot get caught by taking poor angles and being too aggressive against this Philadelphia rushing attack.

Exuding Toughness

If you look at the Eagles, this rushing attack is all about exuding toughness. They want to play bully ball and force you to tackle in space. Simply put, quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Miles Sanders can play bigger than their size may indicate. As the top two rushers on the Eagles, Hurts and Sanders are incredibly sturdy against contact, while still being able to make defenders miss with their own elusiveness.

Hurts has been that way since his college days at Alabama, and later on at Oklahoma, after his transfer. He is just so keen on the small details as a running quarterback. For example, Hurts continually falls forward, if possible, while still showing consistency and focus to protecting the football. He can run away from you if he wants to. But, Hurts is not afraid to run straight into a defender’s chest, either.

As for Sanders, it was truly a breakout year for him. That was crucial for him, as the Penn State product is set to be an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason. Sanders set new single-season career highs in rushing yards (1,269), rushing touchdowns (11) and rushing yards per game (74.6). His blend of power, long strides and short area burst makes him a compact rusher that is challenging to corral.

Many Years Of Preparation

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For the most part, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been able to slow down some of the best offenses over the years. He will obviously have his hands full with this Eagles running game. However, this style of offense is something that Spagnuolo has been preparing for over the years, as he said on Thursday.

“I was just trying to do research, because I knew this kind of football was coming, and you wanted to be ahead of it,” Spagnuolo said. “And now I think NFL coaches defensively are figuring out ways to at least slow it down.”

Spagnuolo even referenced that he reached out to former college coaches a while back, to help gain more perspective on defending a unique run game like Philadelphia’s. With the RPO action taking center stage in college football over the last decade or so, there were many places where the Chiefs defensive coordinator could look towards for advice.

Later on, Spagnuolo discussed the pulling action and lateral blocking of the stout Philadelphia offensive line.

“I think that makes it challenging, because you get a little bit too aggressive, and they pull and kick out. There’s a big seam there if you don’t have anybody to step up and replace them,” Spagnuolo stated. “I think those look a little bit unique to me in some ways. I mean we’ve seen them along the way, but I think Philadelphia uses them quite a bit.”

Keeping Contain

So, how do the Chiefs ultimately look to stop this dynamic Eagles rushing attack? Keeping contain and limiting large chunk gains will be the key. Even if you cannot completely erase those long runs, Kansas City must keep them to a minimum.

There is always a fascinating debate on how teams should defend RPO looks. When it is all said and done, the Chiefs could find success by looking to play and defend the man, rather than the ball, so to speak. Essentially, it is important to have both the quarterback and the running back accounted for with multiple defenders. Forcing one player on the edge to watch the ball and wait to attack either guy is setting players up for failure.

All in all, we could see the Chiefs put trust in veterans like Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap to key in on the running back at the mesh point. Names like Chris Jones, Khalen Saunders, Nick Bolton and Willie Gay could be trusted to keep tabs on Hurts. With the speed and quickness that those guys have, Kansas City may not be outraced in the open field, if those guys are containing him. The Chiefs could have a better cast for defending this Eagles run game, compared to what most may think. Can Kansas City execute in that area?

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout next week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.