Nolan Smith played a hand in helping his Philadelphia Eagles demolish Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Nolan Smith rushed Patrick Mahomes in the 2nd half of Super Bowl LIX with just one hand (Image via NFL/X)
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs had a good chance of becoming the first team to ever win three-straight Lombardi trophies. That was until they met the likes of Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Zack Baun and the vaunted Philadelphia Eagles’ defense in Super Bowl LIX.
From the very first quarter, that unit had Patrick Mahomes running for dear life. That was because Carter, Smith, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, and Josh Sweat swarmed the superstar quarterback. That front line unit accounted for six sacks on the night.
Coupled with the two interceptions by their backfield teammates and the game was already over early in the third quarter. Smith did not have any of those sacks to his name, but he did influence in the game enough to help his teammates.
He and Josh Sweat consistently wound up the pocket. Sweat, with his experience, racked up 2.5 sacks. But that was only possible because his teammate on the opposite side was using his speed and quickness to disrupt the right side of the Chiefs’ offensive line. However, Smith suffered a crucial blow before the first half.
The triceps tear Nolan Smith suffered that Ian Rapoport is referring to happened in the last drive of the 2nd quarter. On a 3rd and 11, he smoked Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor. Just as he was about to reach Patrick Mahomes, he slipped and fell with Taylor’s weight on him. He got up, holding his left arm, indicating something was wrong.
The trio of Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith have already experienced winning championships. If one is a part of championship teams, they know that grit and grind are a part of any winning culture. Perhaps Smith has that in him as Ian Rapoport continued to write.
The Philadelphia Eagles had just got back Brandon Graham from injury. At age 36, he is not an every down player. That meant the 24-year-old had to line up in order to keep that side of the Chiefs line active.
If one watches highlights of Super Bowl LIX, one can see the former Georgia Bulldogs star playing the entire second half with a sleeve on his left arm. He rushed Jawaan Taylor with just his right hand in that half. His effort landed him his first ever Vince Lombardi trophy.
