Bill Belichick appeared on “Inside the NFL” for a final time this week to discuss the shocking outcome at Super Bowl LIX.
The Kansas City Chiefs had their dreams of a three-peat turned to dust in a 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a tough fall off the mountaintop for a Chiefs team that had played in nearly every playoff game since Patrick Mahomes was elevated as the starting quarterback.
“That’s a lot of games,” said Belichick. “If you go back to [2019] when Kansas City played in the Super Bowl to now [2024], that’s six years. It’s seven seasons, really, when you include the postseason.
“So it’s a lot of football. It’s a lot of short offseasons. It’s a lot of short offseason surgery, rehabs—it piles up. These guys have stood up to it, but it was a little too much for them against Philly.”
Belichick knows a thing or two about marathon football considering the Patriots dominated for nearly two decades in the league. It isn’t easy consistently being the team on top.
But there are also times when you have to tip your cap to the opposition. Belichick credited Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and the entire organization as a whole for building an impressive roster to dominate in the fashion that they did.
The defense had six sacks and 11 quarterback hits, along with a pick-six by defensive back Cooper DeJean. They spearheaded the road to victory for Philly. However, the offense also had a major hand in the journey as a whole with multiple additions to the roster.
“I think it was brilliant that Howie, and of course [owner] Jeffrey [Lurie], who is paying the bills, he’s drafted a lot of offensive linemen, and I think, that’s the heart of it,” said Belichick. “And of course, getting [Cam] Jurgens to replace [Jason] Kelce was big—got [Mekhi] Becton as a free agent, got [Saquon] Barkley as a free agent, traded for [Jahan] Dotson, traded for A.J. [Brown], drafted the tight end [Dallas Goedert], drafted the quarterback [Jalen Hurts]. So it’s a good combination of free agents, trades and a lot of draft choices.”