In Super Bowl LV, the Chiefs wilted under the pressure of the Buccaneers pass rush and went down to a lopsided defeat in Tampa.
Things went very differently in Arizona on Sunday night. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes came into the game with an ankle injury and aggravated it on the team’s final offensive play of the first half while facing an Eagles defense that was among the all-time leaders in sacks, but Mahomes was not sacked at all over the course of the evening.
The work of the offensive line helped the Chiefs come back from being down 24-14 at the break and left tackle Orlando Brown took some time to revel in that performance after the game.
“Zero sacks,” Brown said. “Put it on a fucking t-shirt. This is a historic offensive line. You look at what coach [Andy] Reid, [offensive line coach] Andy Heck, [offensive coordinator Eric] Bieniemy, the position they put us in up front to allow us to have the consistency that we have week after week. To be able to stand up here as a world champion, none of that is possible without everyone understanding the plan. They continue to put us in a great position, they know the type of talent they have, they know the leadership they have. We take a lot of pride upfront in being the source of energy and when you’re coming into this game, circumstances, everything is going to be really high, it’s the Super Bowl, Patrick’s been dealing with an ankle injury. We knew we’re were going to have to pass in certain situations. It wasn’t pretty or perfect, but it was enough to win the game and that’s what matters.”
The Chiefs spent a lot of time, draft picks and money addressing their offensive line after the Bucs loss. Those investments paid off handsomely on Sunday night.