Top takeaways from this year’s championship game that could help Baltimore finally get over the hump.
The Philadelphia Eagles just did what no team in the AFC was able to do in 2024, thwart the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest for a three-peat. Not only did they prevent Patrick Mahomes and company from making history by becoming the first team to ever win three straight Super Bowls, they did so in dominating fashion with a 40-22 victory on Sunday night.
As sweet as it probably was for the Baltimore Ravens and their fans to get to bask in the Chiefs’ demise in a big game for the first time in a while, they also probably couldn’t have helped but feel like a Lamar Jackson-led team would’ve fared. After all, the Ravens played the Eagles tougher in their regular season matchup than the Chiefs did in the ultimate game.
Nevertheless, there are still a handful of valuable lessons to glean from the result a lot of the world wanted to see that the Ravens could apply to help them get past the Chiefs and make it to the Super Bowl themselves. Here are the biggest takeaways they can learn from:
Continue to build through trenches
The Eagles won this game thanks in large part to their ability to dominate up front on both sides of the ball. They continuously pour resources into ensuring they are stout in the trenches and overwhelmingly deep.
While their offensive line wasn’t able to gain much traction on the ground with running back Saquon Barkley, they protected quarterback Jalen Hurts and allowed him to get loose with his legs. He accounted for 293 yards of total offense.
Their defensive front ultimately won them the game with the way they constantly harassed Mahomes, forced negative plays that didn’t allow the dink-and-dunk Chiefs offense to get into a rhythm and stuffed the run. As was the case in the Chiefs’ last Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, they are at their most vulnerable when their offensive line is compromised. It was both in 2024 with All-Pro guard being forced to play left tackle, inconsistent play from right tackle Jawaan Taylor and turnstile at left guard in Mike Caliendo.
The only true star power the Eagles have on their defensive line is 2024 Pro Bowler and Second Team All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Other than that, they have a deep depth chart filled with a blend of young ascending players and seasoned veterans who come with a wealth of experience and enough left in the tank to make a difference.
Investing resources to build through the trenches is nothing new to the Ravens, it’s a core organizational philosophy. Both the Eagles and Ravens front offices spend high-to-mid picks in the draft on edge defenders and or interior defensive linemen annually. Where they differ is Philadelphia is willing to open up their checkbooks more to bring in a high-end proven pass rushers from other teams who are either in their prime. Some recent examples have include Bryce Huff and Hasaan Riddick who contributed to teams that at least made it to the Super Bowl.
The Ravens, on the other hand, have elected to shop in the aging veteran bargain bin when it comes to seeking interior and edge pass rush help. The only notable contract they’ve given out to a young player on the rise was two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike who is a homegrown star. Even though they’ve gotten resurgent and career-best seasons out of the likes of Kyle Van Noy, Jadeveon Clowney and Justin Houston in recent years, none have been the kind of game-wreckers who come up clutch in the postseason. Thankfully, this year’s edge defender and interior defensive line class in the 2025 NFL Draft are very deep but that shouldn’t stop the general manager Eric DeCosta from trying to bring in some veteran reinforcements.
As for the offensive line, the Ravens are heading into the second year of their offensive line rebuild. In 2024, they made a similar bet to the Eagles by moving Daniel Faalele inside to play right guard in the same way Philadelphia did with former top 10 pick Mekhi Becton. The Eagles’ elite offensive line features just one other former first-round pick in right tackle Lane Johnson but is otherwise comprised of second-round picks and developmental projects. Baltimore is currently following a similar path and already began to see identical results in 2024.
Win with a four-man rush
It’s one thing to finish second in the league in sacks during the regular season like the Ravens did with 54. It’s another thing to consistently generate pass rush and finish at the quarterback without compromising coverage at the second or third level by blitzing. Against a coverage-reading savant such as Mahomes, adding more bodies to the rush could lead to a defense getting picked apart because he’s seen and can carve up every coverage.
What makes what the Eagles’ pass rush did against the Chiefs so exceptional was the fact they were able to sack Mahomes six times and hit him another 10 times on his 42 drop-backs by just rushing four players. According to ESPN research, it marked the sixth time in Super Bowl history that a quarterback was not blitzed a single time. All of the previous five occasions resulted in losses for those signal callers as well.
ESPN Research: The Eagles blitzed Patrick Mahomes on zero of his 42 dropbacks.
Mahomes is the 6th QB in Super Bowl history to not be blitzed a single time. All six QBs lost.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) February 10, 2025
The Ravens did a good job of rushing four in 2024 better than they have in years past with the combination of Van Noy, Madubuike, Travis Jones and Odafe Oweh. However, they need to be able to consistently do the same against the best competition in their conference to give themselves the best shot to come out on top in the biggest games.
Don’t let turnovers snowball
As was the case in every playoff game this year except the AFC championship game, the team that won the turnover battle prevailed in the end. The Eagles forced three turnovers compared to just one by the Chiefs who came up with the first of the game by intercepting Hurts on an ill-advised and underthrown pass. It came on the second play of the second quarter with Philadelphia driving to and already in field goal range, threatening to go up by two scores.
That was the only blemish on what was an otherwise sterling performance by Hurts but unlike the Ravens in their divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Eagles didn’t compound that early mistake by making any others. They took care of the ball the rest of the way while their defense intercepted Mahomes twice including for a pick-six and forced a fumble on one of their half a dozen sacks.
Keep composure at all times in all phases
The Eagles didn’t fall victim to the trap so many other teams do when facing the Chiefs and let their emotions or calls that didn’t go their way stop them from playing their game in a disciplined manner. The personification of this was after the officials called Pro Bowl wide receiver AJ Brown for a controversial offensive pass interference penalty on Philadelphia’s first drive of the game. It negated a big play for a 32-yard gain on fourth and short, forcing the Eagles to punt instead. When the team went back to the sideline, Barkley went up and down the sideline ensuring his teammates that everything was okay and would be alright. On their next possession, they marched down the field in nine plays, scored the first touchdown of the game and never trailed at any point.
Stay multidimensional on offense
The Chiefs’ defense diverted their best efforts to stopping Barkley and the Eagles rushing attack outside of quarterback scrambles which were often a result of good coverage and lanes that opened up late in the play. Barkley was held to his lowest rushing totals of the season among games where he carried the ball 20-plus times with just 54 yards on 25 carries for an abysmal 2.3 yards per carry. Part of the reason he wasn’t able to get loose was because the Eagles were insistent on running him out of condensed formations which played right into the Chiefs’ strengths on defense.
After being much-maligned for most of the season for their inconsistency and ineptitude at times in the passing game, Hurts’ ability to throw the ball and deliver perfectly placed passes allowed the Eagles to stay balanced on offense. Even though the running game wasn’t producing at its usual high-efficiency rate, they found a way to stay on schedule, move the ball, make big plays and put together eight scoring drives—half of which resulted in touchdowns.
The Ravens were one of the most balanced offenses in the league in 2024, and this was reflected in their leading the NFL yards per rushing and passing attempt. Jackson proved he could rally his team back from multiple double-digit deficits and carry them to victory with his arm this past season. He will need to continue to exhibit that ability every year moving forward to get over the hump.