Although obviously thrilled with the end result, Steve Spagnuolo was hoping his unit would have gotten a chance to stymie a would-be game-winning drive.
After the infamous James Bradberry hold on JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Chiefs ran one offensive play before taking a multiple knees to burn clock and set up the winning field goal. It was a rush to the left for Jerick McKinnon, who the Eagles seemed content to let waltz into the end zone.
Instead, McKinnon slid just shy of the end zone. That allowed the Chiefs to run out the clock and set up Harrison Butker’s 27-yarder to secure the 38-35 win.
Had McKinnon just continued on, the Chiefs would have gone up 42-35 (assuming Butker hit the extra point) and given the ball back to the Eagles with about 1:42 left to play. With the way Jalen Hurts was playing, that very well might have been enough time for Philly to get down the field and score.
The Chiefs left nothing to chance though. Spagnuolo, their defensive coordinator, admitted on “The Zach Gelb Show” he wouldn’t have minded the chance for the defense to lock things down.
“To be honest with you, I had mixed feelings (about McKinnon sliding),” Spagnuolo said. “He’s intelligent, I love that kid and it was an intelligent play, but part of me, after giving up that touchdown, part of me wanted to go back out and close it somehow. I knew we were going to score or get a field goal, something in there, and the pride in you as a defensive coach or a defensive player is you want to go out and help close it for your team.
“But an exceptional move by Jet, as we call him, just a real smart football player. Team guy, right? I mean, he got a chance to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl and he doesn’t do it because he realizes the most important thing is to win the game. My hat goes off to him.”
Ultimately, it was a wise move. Though the margin of victory was only three points instead of seven, the Eagles only got to run one more offensive play because of how little time was left.
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