Eagles players found Super Bowl motivation in shirts Chiefs wore at previous parade
The struggles of the Chiefs’ offensive line in Super Bowl LIX was in stark contrast to what happened just two years earlier.
In their 38-35 win over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs offensive line didn’t surrender a single sack. Philadelphia had piled up 70 sacks during the regular season but failed to take down Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that night in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham later blamed the pass-rush issues on a slippery field, saying the Chiefs offensive line “got blessed” that day.
At the Super Bowl LVII championship parade, Chiefs’ offensive linemen trumpeted their accomplishment by wearing shirts that said “0 sacks.”
The Eagles used those shirts as motivation ahead of Super Bowl LIX. Offensive tackle Lane Johnson mentioned them at a team meeting, which was shown in the Eagles’ “Unscripted” series.
“We were here a few years ago, a couple years ago, and it looked like we were a little overemotional,” Johnson told the team. “I think the thing we need to focus on offensively is they’re a finesse team. They’re going to try to junk up a number of points.
“Because man for man, they’re not going to let us just tee off on them because they will get (beat) up. They’re going to get (beat) up tomorrow. Just remember (those) ... shirts they had on their parade a few years ago. Keep that in mind as you keep on ... annihilating his (behind) tomorrow.”
That pep talk apparently worked because the Eagles had six sacks in Super Bowl LIX and defeated the Chiefs 40-22.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 11:13 AM.
