GLENDALE, Ariz. — Monsters during the regular season. 

Monsters during the first two games of the playoffs. 

Teddy Bears in the Super Bowl. 

What the heck happened to the Eagles’ supposedly ferocious pass rush is one of the great mysteries of Super Bowl 2023. It never showed up. Giving Patrick Mahomes time in the pocket is going to get you beat every time and the inability to get him on the ground was the downfall for the Eagles in their tough-to-take 38-35 loss to the Chiefs at State Farm Stadium on Sunday. 

What became evident as the game wore on is that the feared Eagles pass rush that produced an NFL-high 70 sacks in the regular season was not able to inflict its will on Mahomes. There were 27 passes thrown by Mahomes and he was not sacked once, even though Mahomes was dealing with a right ankle that still is not fully healthy. 

“They had a good game plan,’’ outside linebacker Haason Reddick said. “All the chipping and for the most part getting the ball out fast. Their game plan worked. Credit to them.’’ 

Reddick led the Eagles with 16 sacks this season but he ended the Super Bowl with two of the five quarterback hits for his team. The Chiefs’ offensive line did a remarkable job and it is reasonable to wonder if defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon needed to call for more blitzes to test Mahomes’ ability to move and escape. 

“Sure, we talk about everything on the sideline,’’ Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “I got a ton of trust in our defensive staff. Give the Chiefs credit. They had some completions that they got the ball out quick to mitigate our pass rush. They were chipping, they were thumping on the edge on our pass rushers, helping the guys out, they did a good job of just knowing what our strength was and trying their best to mitigate it.’’ 

It was more than a paltry pass rush that did the Eagles in. The Eagles succeeded in making the Chiefs one-dimensional in the first half, limiting them to 39 rushing yards. The Chiefs were able to come back from a 24-14 halftime deficit thanks to a ground game that produced 119 rushing yards in the second half. 

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“They did good in the run game,’’ Sirianni said. “You’re playing the run a little bit, there’s some things we had the pass game on, we had some rushes on that they ended up running the ball. They did a good job of getting the ball out quick and running the football. Hey, they got one of the best players on the planet on their team, he’s gonna make some plays.’’ 

Were the Eagles mesmerized by peeking out of their locker room to get a glimpse of Rihanna elevating into the air during the halftime show? Did they think the Chiefs and Mahomes were going to lay down and die, as the Eagles dominated the first half, even though their 10-point lead did not fully reflect that dominance? 

There was no defensive presence from the Eagles as the Chiefs got the ball to start the third quarter. The Chiefs ran it three straight plays and picked up 23 yards and this was not supposed to happen to the rugged Philly defensive front. There was nothing fancy about the way the Chiefs marched down the field with a methodical 10-play, 75-yard drive to pull within 24-21. 

There was no defensive presence. Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster caught one pass for 5 yards in the first half and ended up with seven receptions for 52 yards. Kadarius Toney, the former Giants 2021 first-round draft pick, zigged and zagged while going in motion to completely lose cornerback Darius Slay for an uncontested 5-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter to give the Chiefs their first lead, 28-27. The Eagles’ defense was unable to get off the field after the Chiefs got the ball with 5:15 remaining in a tie game. 

It was a brutal way for the Eagles defense to go down, and out.