Advertisement Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures Behind the Lines Sportswriters discuss their careers and the work that inspires them. Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Top: Patrick Mahomes fumbles under pressure. Bottom: Caelan Doris celebrates Ireland's win over Scotland.Alamy/Inpho Not Like Us The Eagles, like Ireland, remind us that a good big man will always beat a good small man The Super Bowl champions resembled the Springboks in how they prioritised ‘the trenches’ to destroy Mahomes and the Chiefs. 9.30pm, 10 Feb 2025 Share options Gavan Casey THE BOXING ADAGE insists that a good Big Man will always beat a good Little Man. That line of thinking rang true on either side of the Atlantic on Sunday. In Edinburgh, Ireland rolled over Scotland for the 11th meeting on the spin to keep alive their bid for a Six Nations three-in-a-row, a feat unmatched since the competition began as the Home Nations championship 142 years ago. A few hours later in New Orleans, the Kansas City Chiefs’ own attempt at a championship three-peat, unprecedented in the 58-year Super Bowl era, was reduced to folly by the Philadelphia Eagles. But whereas success for Simon Easterby’s physically superior side only reinforced the prevailing opinions of Ireland and the Scots, the Eagles’ triumph over the Chiefs was emphatic to the point that it will warp the NFL conversation beyond even September. They subjected Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to such a public humiliation that even Drake might have felt like he got off easy at half-time. Mahomes — the Lionel Messi, the Antoine Dupont, the Kendrick Lamar of his own craft — was beaten unrecognisable by the Eagles defensive line, dropping a log on the biggest night of his career. It will materially change how he is perceived — maybe more of a Kylian Mbappé, an Ardie Savea, a Drake arguably; in the great tier but not the GOAT tier. As three-time Super Bowl winner Mahomes squirmed around the collapsing pocket during the Chiefs’ scoreless first quarter, Tom Brady extended his support from his role as co-commentator with Fox Sports. Brady, the consensus greatest quarterback to ever do it, ever-so-humbly revealed that it took until “my 9th Super Bowl” before he produced a first-quarter touchdown himself. Brady lost in only two of those showpiece appearances, both to the New York Giants. He won his seventh ring against Mahomes directly. And Brady never endured a night like Mahomes did against the Eagles on Sunday, or indeed like he did against Brady’s Buccaneers in 2021. Those are the sticks with which Mahomes will be beaten should somebody dare invoke his name in the same breath as Brady’s, which until Sunday evening didn’t feel like a particularly outrageous thing to do. In a sport that so hyper-fixates on one position, them’s the breaks. Rugby’s quarterback equivalents will tell you the same. But to view the Eagles’ annihilation of the Chiefs through the prism of QB play alone would be to miss the point entirely. Advertisement The vastly underappreciated Jalen Hurts wound up balling out for the Birds, yes, but he could have tipped away at the Philadelphia Inquirer crossword during most of his snaps and still steered his team to the 40-point mark such was the thinking time he was afforded by the biggest offensive line in the league. Mahomes, by contrast, spent most of his game trying to keep his name out of the death notices in the Kansas City Star. His O-line got obliterated. He was sacked a career-high six times and pressured 16 more (those stats would have become even more stark had the Eagles not raced into an unassailable 31-0 lead by the third quarter). His head went. His legs often went the other way. He never had a prayer. The all-conquering, three-peat-chasing Chiefs ground their way to 17 wins from 19 games this season including the playoffs. The one-point underdog Eagles, steered by a genius defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio, ground their bones to dust. Of all the pre-match material consumed by this writer, only one member of the American football media saw the wood from the trees. Kyle Brandt, host of Good Morning Football on the NFL Network, said earlier in the week that the Eagles are “the most talented team in the league, and I’m not sure it’s close.” Brandt continued: “That talent advantage, especially with offensive and defensive lines, will prove out in the Super Bowl. And, yes, I don’t think the game will be close. “I predict Mahomes will have one of the worst games of his career. It won’t just be a subpar game; it will be a downright poor game. I’m not sure he’s seen a defensive line like the one the Eagles have, and they will wreak havoc on the Chiefs’ line.” Brandt identified it in the Eagles during the playoffs but the truth is that the Philadelphia front office have been ahead of the curve for a long time in their recognition that what wins you championships above all else is Big Men up front. The Eagles prioritise accordingly. Broadly speaking, there are two ways to attack the NFL draft: a needs-based approach or a best-player-available approach. A franchise whose ship is taking on water will use a needs-based approach to plug those holes in its roster — i.e, if they need a cornerback, they’ll draft the cornerback that impressed them most during the extensive scouting and evaluation process. If that player has already been taken off the board, they’ll draft their second-choice cornerback, and so on. Increasingly, the franchises who reach the playoffs with the most consistency are those who instead use the best-player-available approach, in which they simply take the highest-quality remaining player off the board irrespective of their stocks in his position. More often than not, and particularly during the precious early rounds of the draft, the best player available is an absolute unit of an offensive or defensive lineman. And if drafting that additional lineman leaves that team thin in one of their ‘skill positions’ — running back, wide receiver, etc — then so be it. That can be addressed in free agency, where there are always a handful of 27- or 28-year-old vets available to add explosivity and experience at a discount, much like MVP contender Saquon Barkley did for the Eagles this season. Philadelphia’s first three picks in both the 2022 and 2023 drafts were linemen. Five of those six young players featured in Sunday night’s Super Bowl success. The other missed out through injury. That’s an extraordinary hit rate in a process in which you’re more likely to miss. The Eagles have found significant success, too, on the open market. One of the aforementioned draftees, Tyler Steen, a six-foot-six/321lb offensive lineman who started Philly’s NFC Championship victory over the Washington Commanders a fortnight ago, came off the bench to replace free-agent reclamation project Mekhi Becton (6’7/363lbs), who nursed an injury for a series. The gigantic Becton, originally a tackle, was a draft bust for the New York Jets but has thrived since shifting to guard for the Eagles this season. It all tracks: the American sports journalist Kevin Clark on Sunday night told a story in which he recalled travelling to Philadelphia following their first ever Super Bowl win in 2018 to explore the role of analytics in their maiden success. Clark met with an Eagles higher-up who had a grá for ‘the science’, but this front-office member laughed when Clark explained to him the angle of his prospective story. “We’re always good because of our trenches,” Clark was told. “Everything else comes after.” Rugby’s Springboks have banked back-to-back World Cups by leaning into a very similar principle. South Africa’s backs — much like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and AJ Brown in the Eagles’ skill positions — have the capacity to electrify but they are supplemental to the Big Men, accessories as opposed to essentials. (See also: the 7-1 split). Ireland haven’t yet taken things to such an extreme but their bench is gradually filling out with units. It’s been a long time since there were doubts about the athletic profile of their pack. It wouldn’t have taken Kyle Brandt to recognise that Simon Easterby’s forwards, and the tight five in particular, were going to batter their less physical Scottish equivalents in the trenches. Indeed, if the battle up front was jarring at all, it was only for Scotland’s inability to subvert that expectation to any degree. A good Big Man will always beat a good Little Man. As the Chiefs’ kingdom crumbles, Ireland still have their crown within their grasp and a historic hat-trick within sight. Mind you, those French lads don’t look all that small, either. Gavan Casey View 3 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “The Eagles, like Ireland, remind us that a good big man will always beat a good small man”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “The Eagles, like Ireland, remind us that a good big man will always beat a good small man”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. 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