Super Bowl 2025: Eagles' best chance at beating Chiefs comes from a roster strategy heavily influenced by Andy Reid

NEW ORLEANS — The Kansas City Chiefs hear Andy Reid’s message on repeat.

Reid knows he’s the head coach of the entire football team and he knows his roster includes quarterbacks and running backs as well as linebackers and secondary defenders.

But his beliefs nonetheless stem directly from his background as a college offensive tackle.

So he doesn’t try to protect other players’ emotions or self-worth when he tells offensive and defensive linemen in full-team meetings: “It’s going to be you.”

Win in the trenches, and Reid expects to win the game. Lose in the trenches, and the path to victory gets dicey.

“It’s a good reminder for them Saturday night to know: Hey, the offensive line and defensive line set the tempo,” Chiefs assistant quarterbacks coach Dan Williams told Yahoo Sports. “We're counting on you guys, in front of the entire team, we're holding you accountable.

“It’s a reminder every week that those guys are the most important.”

The Chiefs have invested their assets and structured their game plans accordingly, with general manager Brett Veach knowing Reid won’t rest until he has quality players at the position even as the salary cap era of a league aiming for parity complicates investing across the board.

But the Chiefs' line investments will face quite literal obstacles on Sunday in a Super Bowl LIX matchup against the dominant trench play the Philadelphia Eagles have built and embraced. Some talent, like Philadelphia offensive tackle Lane Johnson in 2013 and defensive tackle Jalen Carter in 2023, has come through allocations of precious first-round picks. Other times, the Eagles have found players in later rounds that they've committed to developing, including seventh-round draft pick Jordan Mailata, who became a star left tackle after training in Australian rugby rather than college football.

“We’re very fortunate to have the talent we have in the offensive line,” Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland told Yahoo Sports. “And it’s every year. It’s not just, ‘Let’s take care of you this year.’”

If the Eagles win Sunday, expect that investment to haunt the Chiefs — and perhaps Reid, whose fingerprints are all over his opponent’s roster strategy.

Reid’s Eagles tenure charted a course that now collides with his Chiefs

It’s no secret in Philadelphia that Reid shaped the franchise’s history as the Eagles’ 14-year head coach from 1999 through 2012.

But as Reid’s time away from the team begins to match the tenure of his time with it, some Eagles and Chiefs fans alike may not realize how deeply he continues to shape their present and future.

Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman’s commitment to the offensive and defensive lines didn’t only arrive organically. Reid guided that philosophy during their time together — and Roseman maintained it after seeing its correlation with success.

"It was an obsessiveness about it, and we won," Roseman said Monday night. "So to me it was very clear that that's where it starts. Most people will say when they want to build a team, it's O-line, D-line. But sometimes you have to show it in your actions. So it always felt like if our O-line could be better than their D-line and our D-line could be better than their O-line, we had a chance to win a lot of games.

“I learned that from him, and I'm very fortunate to be able to have spent the first 13 years of my career with Coach Reid and learn from him and him take the time to watch tape with me and explain why he was doing things.

“I would definitely not be in this position if it wasn't from him, and that's where it started.”

Reid’s influence encouraged the Eagles to draft current starting center Cam Jurgens in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft despite All-Pro Jason Kelce commanding the position at the time. Most teams wouldn’t settle for drafting a backup in the second round; but the foresight allowed the Eagles to transition into the post-Kelce era this year without notable dropoff.

In Kansas City, the Chiefs responded dramatically after losing Super Bowl LV by signing All-Pro New England Patriots left tackle Joe Thuney.

Each team’s linemen represent a mix of free agency, high draft picks and lower-floor players who have been well-developed. But their success correlates closely with their Super Bowl berths.

The Eagles' defense ranked eighth this season in pass-rush win rate and third in run-stuff win rate, their offensive line slotting sixth in pass-block win rate and ninth in run-block win rate. The Chiefs' offensive line ranks ninth and seventh. Their defensive line slots below average (19th and 21st in pass rush and run stop, respectively) but All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones leads the league in pass-run wins from the interior, routinely blowing up quarterback pockets and run lanes alike.

“It kind of goes back to Football 101: You have to have a quarterback that's a difference maker, and then after that, the game plan is to protect them on one end and then get after them on the other end,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told Yahoo Sports. “You’ll probably always see the bulk of our investments on both sides of the line because it's so important.”

Like Roseman, Veach doesn’t think the goal is original or groundbreaking. But believing in the philosophy is easier than following through with it.

“I thought everybody would want a left tackle and a disruptive defensive end, but the game really becomes how do you get guys, how do you afford them and how do you make it all work?” Veach said. “We’re always trying to reinvent ourselves.”

In Super Bowl and each year, trench play doesn’t go out of style

NFL trends shift, from pass-heavy offenses to run-first attacks. Some teams run to set up the pass while other teams pass to set up the run. Defensively, units across the league must decide whether to stuff the box or drop back in shell coverage, or perhaps the myriad of options on the spectrum in between.

But the Eagles and Chiefs both believe: Building through the line of scrimmage is NFL era- and scheme-agnostic. Great passers need protectors. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley thanked his offensive line profusely for powering his 2,000-yard season. Even receivers need their quarterback protected long enough for their routes to develop.

And members of the back seven of a defense know that rush and coverage work best in tandem.

The more endurance, the better.

“We preach you block to the echo of the whistle. Most throws are off in 2.5 seconds, under 3 seconds, so if you can hold your guy, and stay between him and the quarterback for 3 seconds, you're going to be able to make a million dollars,” Chiefs offensive line coach Andy Heck said. “But we'll always say: ‘Well, don't let that egg timer go off.’ Because our guy does extend plays. And they learn that quickly.”

Carter and an Eagles defensive line coordinated by Vic Fangio will aim to speed up that clock, knowing that Mahomes’ lone Super Bowl loss came in large part due to a breakdown in protection.

If Kansas City’s Jones can blow up the pocket, he can likely not only thwart Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts but also disrupt the rhythm of run-pass options that Barkley would seek.

Reid’s team might win. His ethos already has.

As he tells his linemen Saturday night that the game will be won or lost based on them, his opponent will preach a similar message from the same original source.

“I think that’s why we’re here, right?” Veach said of Reid. “He’s done a lot of great things and he has a lasting footprint on wherever he goes.

And again, it’s probably no [coincidence] that both of us who have learned from him and value the same things have put together two amazing football teams.”