PHILADELPHIA − There are always key moments and key plays that make a difference in a Super Bowl.
Five years ago, for example, who figured rookie running back Corey Clement, an undrafted free agent, would have 100 yards receiving, including a 22-yard touchdown catch, in the Eagles’ 41-33 Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots?
Or that Brandon Graham would have the only sack of the entire game, and a huge one at that, causing the fumble that Derek Barnett recovered with 2:16 left that for all intents and purposes clinched the victory?
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“I’m happy I was able to do that in my career … to be able to make a play like that at a time when we never had a championship, and we finally brought us one,” Graham said. “It changed my trajectory on how people view me as a player.”
So as the Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl next Sunday, somebody will have to make a play like Clement or Graham did in order for the Eagles to come away as champions.
Here, then, are the 9 most important players for an Eagles victory. Keep in mind, they aren’t necessarily the best players.
9. Landon Dickerson, left guard
Think of Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones as a game-wrecker like the Eagles’ Haason Reddick. But Jones, who had 15.5 sacks during the regular season, mostly rushes from the inside, although he’ll move outside at times. So it’s likely that all three Eagles interior linemen − Dickerson, center Jason Kelce and right guard Isaac Seumalo − will face Jones. Dickerson has been dealing with an elbow injury since the NFC Championship game. He’s expected to play, but if he can’t hold up, that means Andre Dillard would be the likely replacement at left guard.
8. Kenny Gainwell, running back
Sure, Miles Sanders is the Eagles’ main running back, as he finished with a career-high 1,269 yards this season. But Gainwell, the 5-foot-9, 200-pound bowling ball, has been the Eagles’ leading rusher in each of the two playoff games. He had a career-high 112 yards rushing in the 38-7 win over the Giants and 48 yards against the 49ers. Gainwell, of course, is known more for his receiving ability out of the backfield. So if there’s a Clement-like play that needs to be made, chances are quarterback Jalen Hurts will look to Gainwell, especially near the end zone.
7. Jake Elliott, kicker
We have seen three Super Bowls decided by a field goal in the final minute. And you can ask Buffalo Bills fans about the one that missed. So yes, in a game featuring the No. 1 offense in the Chiefs and the No. 3 offense in the Eagles, it could come down to a last-second field goal during a frantic rally. What’s often overlooked in the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win is that Elliott, then a rookie, went 3-for-3 on field goals, including a 46-yarder with 1:05 left, while the Patriots’ Steve Gostkowski missed one of his three attempts.
It doesn’t take a mathematician to know that if Elliott missed that last field goal while Gostkowski had made that 26-yard chip shot that he missed, then Brady would have had plenty of time to lead New England to a potential game-winning field goal.
6. Darius Slay, James Bradberry, cornerbacks
The Chiefs don’t have a wide receiver like Tyreek Hill, whom they traded last summer. But that makes Slay and Bradberry all the more important because it’s likely that the Eagles will rely on the duo to cover Chiefs receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and either Kadarius Toney or JuJu Smith-Schuster without getting much help. It’s expected that Mecole Hardman won’t play because of a pelvis injury. With Slay and Bradberry, it’s possible the Eagles will leave them in man coverage and thus focus more coverage on star tight end Travis Kelce.
5. A.J. Brown, wide reciever
Brown has had 22 and 28 yards receiving in the two playoff games. He only had one regular-season game with fewer yards. Sure, it’s easy to wonder what’s wrong with Brown, who set a franchise record with 1,496 yards receiving. But the Eagles have had such big leads that they ran the ball 44 times in each playoff game. The Chiefs, of course, can score with the Eagles, so they’ll have to re-establish the passing game in order to win.
“I’ve been having people coming at me sideways about me not putting up numbers,” Brown said. “But you have to watch the game to see how our O-line and running backs have been dominating. We’re just doing whatever it takes right now.”
4. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, safety
Gardner-Johnson will no doubt spend much of the game following Travis Kelce around. After all, Kelce had 1,338 yards receiving, by far Mahomes’ favorite target. Gardner-Johnson will likely get help underneath from linebacker Kyzir White. But if the Eagles are going to slow the Chiefs’ offense down, that will have to start with slowing down Kelce.
3. Lane Johnson, right tackle
It is truly remarkable how Johnson has been able to make it through two playoff games, as his usual dominant self, despite playing with a torn adductor in his groin area. Johnson hasn’t allowed a sack in 30 consecutive games, spanning more than 1,000 pass attempts. What makes that stat even more important is that Hurts is still playing on an injured shoulder. If Johnson can hold up for one more game and extend his sack streak, then Hurts can thrive, too.
2. Haason Reddick, pass rusher
Reddick finished second in the NFL with 16 sacks and was the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for December. But Reddick has taken his game to a new level, with 3.5 sacks in the two playoff games. And the best way to slow Mahomes is to keep him from throwing. And that’s especially true now that Mahomes has a gimpy ankle that seemed to bother him in the AFC Championship game. But Mahomes is a magician in getting the ball off at weird arm angles, which means Reddick and the Eagles pass rushers will have to get to Mahomes quickly.
1. Jalen Hurts, quarterback
This is a no-brainer. The Eagles go as Hurts goes. And despite the ailing shoulder, Hurts has shown that he can and will take a hit on it. But the Eagles took big leads against both the Giants and 49ers by halftime, so Hurts could hand the ball off for much of the second half. The Chiefs’ offense is much more powerful, so Hurts will have to be at his best for the Eagles to win.
Hurts seemed confident that will happen. When asked his best play of this season, he replied with a sly smile: “The season’s not over.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
