PHOENIX − The scouting report on stopping Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, or at least slowing him down, is much easier said than done.
It doesn’t matter if Mahomes may or may not be limited by a sprained ankle when the Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday. He has a knack for throwing the ball from several different arm angles, and before a pass rusher can get to him.
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“You gotta make sure you contain him,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. “You gotta hit him, get him on the ground, create turnovers. Make him make bad throws … and not let him get comfortable back there.”
The Eagles have the defensive line to do that. They came within two sacks of the Chicago Bears’ NFL record of 72, set in 1984.
Haason Reddick led the way with 16 in the regular season, second most in the NFL. Reddick has added 3.5 sacks in two playoff games. Graham, Josh Sweat and Javon Hargrave each had 11 sacks during the regular season.
“It’s the fact we can rotate and still keep the same level of intensity,” Reddick said. “I can come out of the game, Sweat can come out of the game. And we have (Graham), (the defensive tackles), and you’re going to get the same kind of performance.”
And for Reddick, chasing after Mahomes in the Super Bowl culminates a dream growing up in Camden, New Jersey, then walking on at Temple before turning himself into a first-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2017.
It took four seasons before Reddick became a pass rushing force, with 12.5 in 2020, his final season in Arizona, followed by 11 last season in Carolina.
Reddick became the first player with three straight seasons of double-digit sacks while playing for three different teams.
But it’s more than sacks. Reddick led the NFL with five strip-sacks and five forced fumbles.
“It’s crazy to think about how may forced fumbles I have,” Reddick said. “It’s a split-second decision between saying I’m going to get this sack or I’m going to go for the ball.”
Added Graham: “It’s gotta be a great feeling to come back to your home town, (finish second in) the league in sacks, and finally get noticed for what you been doing.”
Mahomes has certainly noticed, when asked about what impresses him about the Eagles’ defense.
“I’d say the defensive line because they’re on an historic sack rate,” Mahomes said. “And the way they’re able to get to the quarterback.
“Everybody knows that everything starts up front. So that’ll be a great challenge for our offensive line.”
And really, it shows how far Reddick has come.
“This thing feels like a movie script,” Reddick said. “One of them stories of how it all started off going wrong and now it’s all working out. Truly, I’m blessed to be in this position, because I remember not knowing if I would be in this position.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
