Super Bowl LVII Stock Market: Eagles Falter in Second Half

The Eagles looked like world-beaters in the first half but Patrick Mahomes proved to be too much in the end

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Despite a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII the 2022-23 Eagles remain the best team in franchise history, at least during the Super Bowl era.

The punishment for losing on the biggest stage is that the team will never be regarded as that by a Ricky Bobby society where "if you're not first, you're last."

For 30 minutes, the Eagles looked like a machine, entering halftime with a 24-14 advantage while outgaining the Cheifs 270-128.

After the lengthy Super Bowl halftime show, however, Philadelphia could not sustain the dominance, particularly defensively on what Haason Reddick called "the worst field he's ever played on."  

Kansas City scored on three consecutive possessions to start the second half and it would have been a fourth had not the savvy Jerick McKinnon slipped short of the end zone, something that allowed Kansas City to drain the clock for a Harrison Butker 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left to win it.

THE BULLS

Losing the coin toss- The Eagles were 14-3 in the regular season when it came to the coin toss and always deferred when they won it. In the postseason they are 0-3 and have been forced to take the ball each time. The results have been three touchdowns on opening possessions against the Giants, the 49ers, and now the Chiefs.

Nick Sirianni's aggressiveness - The Eagles' coach turns the plus side on the field into a math equation. When you have to stop four downs instead of three, the pressure on the defense is significant. After Kansas City tied it at 14-14, the Eagles answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that featured two fourth-down conversions, one a big 28-yard Jalen Hurts run on 4th-and-5 and another when Derk Nnadi jumped offside that turned 4th-and-2 inside the 10 and into first-and-goal.

Jalen Hurts - Hurts outplayed the MVP and best player in the game en route to setting a new Super Bowl record for quarterbacks when it comes to rushing yards 

THE BEARS

Jonathan Gannon - Gannon is likely leaving Philadelphia as enemy No. 1 after a short stint of turning the tide with an untoward viral quote before the NFC Championship Game. His defense collapsing in the second half of the Super Bowl will unfortunately be his unfair legacy.

Back seven communication - The communication in zone coverage was going to have to be big when it came to defending Travis Kelce but the defense got lost during second-half touchdowns to Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore

Special Teams - All season, you got the feeling that special teams might bite the Eagles at some point and it happened in the last one when the Chiefs were able to extend a 28-27 lead when Kadarius Toney reversed field and found a wall en route to 65-yard return to set up Patrick Mahomes on a short field.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen