Watching the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl was hard for San Francisco 49ers fans for a lot of reasons, primarily because Philadelphia felled the team that has twice bested San Francisco in its run for a sixth Lombardi Trophy, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Worse yet, the Eagles didn't just squeak out a nailbiter in taking home the victory in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Sunday. They absolutely crushed the Chiefs in all phases of the game.
Philadelphia led 7-0 after a slow first quarter where both teams seemed to have trouble getting started, and then added three scores in the second, including a pick-six by rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, to build a 24-0 halftime lead.
They would score 10 more points in the third before Kansas City even sniffed the end zone, as rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy caught the first of his two touchdown passes to make the score 34-6 to end the third.
The game ended with a 40-22 Eagles win, a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate.
The second most obnoxious part about the Eagles win is that Philly, as pointed out by Kyle Posey over at Niners Nation, dominated the game from a defensive standpoint like the 49ers did last year. The biggest difference is that the Niners' offense failed to capitalize on a turnovers and a slow start to the game from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense.
This all leads us back to the question at hand: What lessons can the 49ers' front office and coaching staff learn from what the Eagles did to the Chiefs as San Francisco looks to bounce back from a disappointing 6-11 campaign in 2024?
The short answer is the same lesson that they learned throughout the season: The trenches are often where football games are won and lost.
Eagles gave 49ers a blueprint for 2025 NFL Draft
The Eagles' defensive line was dominant on Sunday and did so without blitzing. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Philadelphia produced a 38.1% pressure rate on Mahomes and became the "fourth team not to blitz in a game in the NGS era," generating 16 pressures on 42 dropbacks and sacking Mahomes six times.
For the 49ers, this tells them something they've known since John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan arrived: A dominant defensive line is the key to a defense that can take away even the best offenses, especially if that unit depends on a makeshift offensive line like Kansas City did on Sunday.
San Francisco's draft strategy has likely been focused on improving a defensive line that was far from dominant in 2024. It featured an All-Pro and former Defensive Player of the Year in Nick Bosa and then some nice players who are good depth pieces, but it lacked another game wrecker as it had with guys like DeForest Bucker, Dee Ford, and Arik Armstead in the past.
And so they need to use the No. 11 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft to find that guy if he's available, but also use their bevy of draft picks throughout the weekend to further fortify the depth.
Consideration also needs to be given to their own offensive line as well, as the 49ers watched not only the Chiefs' offensive line fail on Sunday, but also know first hand what can happen when you have a chance to win the Super Bowl and your own offensive line isn't up to the task.
Left guard Aaron Banks is likely leaving in free agency and center Jake Brendel struggled throughout much of the season with consistency, meaning replacements will be needed there, maybe in the form of free agents or through the draft.
Either way, the lesson learned from the Eagles' win in Super Bowl LIX is clear.
If the 49ers want to play in Super Bowl LX, a game they'll be hosting at Levi's Stadium next February, they need to fix both lines and get back to commanding the trenches in 2025.