When Cooper DeJean and the Philadelphia Eagles took the field in the Super Bowl versus the Kansas City Chiefs, it seemed like a pretty good matchup between two of the top teams in the NFL.
In actuality, the game was a borderline blowout, with the Eagles giving Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs offense so much trouble that Vic Fangio didn’t call a single blitz in the game.
Discussing the game and Fangio’s defensive gameplan, DeJean noted on The Pivot podcast that technically, the Eagles did have a few blitzes practiced for the game but didn’t end up having to call any of them, as the Chiefs just couldn’t seem to slow the team down.
“If you watch the game, we didn’t really have to [blitz], like those guys up front, they were doing their work,” DeJean explained via Bleeding Green Nation. “Those guys — Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, [Josh] Sweat, [Brandon Graham] was in there running around, Jalen Carter, I mean, those guys are monsters. Makes it easy for us on the backend when you’ve got guys like that up front. We don’t have to rush, we can play zone or match coverage, and let those guys go to work.”
Gosh, that certainly isn’t what Chiefs fans still licking their wounds over the Super Bowl loss want to hear, as they actually thought they had a pretty solid offensive line, save maybe Joe Thuney playing out of position before Carter and company dominated in the trenches. If the Chiefs are going to fight back to the Super Bowl, they are going to need to address the trenches in a major way.
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean (33) returns a punt against Kansas City Chiefs safety Nazeeh Johnson (13) during the second quarter in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Cooper DeJean credits Jalen Hurts for hyping the Eagles
Elsewhere on his media tour, this time at 94 WIP’s Midday Show, DeJean noted how much Jalen Hurts’ pre-game speech meant to the Eagles, as he got the team on the right page.
“Really inspired by what those guys had to say because them being here before, two years ago and losing that game—you can tell how much that game meant to them and how they felt after that loss,” DeJean explained via WIP. “Hearing Jalen talk about how that game changed his soul and how it’s changed kind of the way he looks at it and just wanting to win, was really inspiring. I mean, I was ready to play right then and there after those speeches. It was cool to hear from those guys, especially being a first year guy hearing what that loss meant to them.”
After taking a loss in 2023 at the game’s grandest stage, it’s clear Hurts took his last loss to KC personally, going so far as to make his phone screensaver his own reaction to the loss for two years. Back at the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, Hurts clearly didn’t take his experience for granted, and he helped newcomers like DeJean to get on that same page, too.
