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Eagles' path to the Super Bowl was paved by the prowess of their offensive line

Super Bowl Eagles Football
February 08, 2025

NEW ORLEANS (AP) โ€” Travis Kelce is an unusual example of an offensive star who has a keen interest in his next opponentโ€™s offensive line.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end wonโ€™t even be on the field at the same time as Philadelphiaโ€™s offensive front during Sundayโ€™s Super Bowl, but itโ€™s personal for Kelce, whose brother, Jason, was the Eaglesโ€™ center for 13 years before retiring after last season.

Kansas Cityโ€™s Kelce became close with some of his brotherโ€™s former teammates and still watches their games.

Eagles' path to the Super Bowl was paved by the prowess of their offensive line
Commanders Eagles Football

โ€œThat offensive line โ€” thatโ€™s the motor over there in Philly,โ€ Travis Kelce said. โ€œItโ€™s going to be a tough job stopping them.โ€

Kelce has paid particular attention to Cam Jurgens, a starting guard for the Eagles in 2023 who this season moved over to fill Jason's old spot.

โ€œHeโ€™s done an unbelievable job this year taking the bull by the horns and really being the middle piece up front,โ€ Travis Kelce said.

The Eagles arguably have the most formidable offensive front in football.

Eagles' path to the Super Bowl was paved by the prowess of their offensive line
Behind the Call Football

All five starters โ€” Jurgens, guards Landon Dickerson and Mekhi Becton, and tackles Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson โ€” received AP All-Pro votes. Mailata and Johnson were named AP second-team All-Pro.

The group gets no small measure of credit for the success of a ground game that ranked second in the NFL this season with 179.3 yards per game and featured AP All-Pro running back and AP offensive player of the year Saquon Barkley.

Johnson has enjoyed the Eagles' emphasis on running the ball.

โ€œFor the offensive line, pass blocking is like youโ€™re dodging punches and run blocking is weโ€™re throwing haymakers,โ€ Johnson said. โ€œI love it.โ€

Eagles' path to the Super Bowl was paved by the prowess of their offensive line
Super Bowl Eagles Football

The unitโ€™s average height is 6-foot-6 and average weight is 338 pounds.

โ€œYou canโ€™t coach size,โ€ Mailata said. โ€œSo, thatโ€™s part of it โ€” DNA ... pure body length and size of arms, size of hands.โ€

But Mailata stressed those attributes would mean less without coaches who can โ€œtranslate that on the field.โ€

โ€œThat can only happen if you have the player and the coach on the same page,โ€ Mailata said.

Eagles' path to the Super Bowl was paved by the prowess of their offensive line
Commanders Eagles Football

In his meeting room, offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland likes to remind his unit that โ€œno man is an island; you must draw your strength from others.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s the epitome of what an offensive lineman goes through,โ€ Stoutland said. โ€œYour job will not be done properly, or effectively, if the people next to you are not performing their job the way itโ€™s been taught. ... You have to constantly depend on the man next to you.

โ€œItโ€™s important to have good talent,โ€ Stoutland added. โ€œBut then, on top of that, thereโ€™s a mindset.โ€

The unitโ€™s ability to work as one is embodied by one of its most effective plays, called either the tush push or โ€œ brotherly shove.โ€ The short-yardage quarterback keeper looks like a rugby scrum, although Mailata, an Australian who grew up playing rugby, says with a grin that in a scrum, โ€œthe other side usually pushes back.โ€

For Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, thatโ€™s the play that separates Philadelphiaโ€™s offensive line from all others.

โ€œFourth-and-1, third-and-1, third-and-2 โ€” theyโ€™re going to get it no matter what,โ€ Nnadi said. โ€œItโ€™s just a big challenge trying to stop that.โ€

The play preceded the arrival of first-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who adopted it enthusiastically.

โ€œI just listened. I didnโ€™t coach one bit," Moore said of that play. "Itโ€™s a tremendous play. Thereโ€™s a lot of details and fundamentals going into it.โ€

When Jurgens moved to center, the void he left at guard was filled by Becton, who until this season was seen as a draft bust. The New York Jets selected him 11th overall in 2020, but he never met expectations as a tackle, missed the 2022 season with an injury and became a free agent after the Jets declined his fifth-year option.

Since Philadelphia signed Becton to a one-year contract, the trajectory of his career has looked a lot better.

Becton said it wasnโ€™t just the Eagles' vision for him as a guard that elevated his game. It was also the way coaches and teammates made him feel about his worth as a person and player.

โ€œIf you get support from people that you feel like they love you and you feel like you love them back, youโ€™re going to do a lot of things great,โ€ Becton said. โ€œI feel like support just goes a long way."

Intangibles like that are often mentioned by Eagles coaches when discussing the offensive line's prowess.

โ€œIt's a really fun group. It's a really cool group, just how connected they are," Moore said. "As the season progresses, you're going to have certain things you lean into as an identity.โ€

Letting the five guys up front pave the way has become a big part of that.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

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