Philadelphia's defensive front -- a group that flirted with the all-time record for most sacks as a team -- was supposed to help them win a Super Bowl.
Instead, they came up empty-handed, failing to sack Patrick Mahomes even once in their 38-35 loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII. The Chiefs didn't shy from rubbing this fact in their face, wearing T-shirts with "0 sacks" printed across them during the team's parade.
Given months to process the defeat, Brandon Graham has admitted the footing -- not just the Chiefs' offense -- was to blame.
“You need that traction to be able to get off the block and we were slipping a lot,” Graham said in a recent interview on Sports Take with Derrick Gunn & Rob Ellis. “I don’t make excuses. I just know that that’s what was being talked about, us trying to get out of our own head a little bit, too.
... “I’m telling you that O-line, they got blessed, I’ll say that.”
Graham has never been one to avoid speaking his mind, but he had a legitimate point. The playing surface at State Farm Stadium didn't exactly help players remain upright, and was a topic of discussion following the game.
“When we looked at the film, man, it was a couple of times where it was if Sweaty don’t slip, boy, (there would’ve been a) strip sack,” Graham said. “Oh my God, especially that first drive when he threw it across the middle to Kelce. He was right there. He slipped. We could not believe it."
Buffalo can make a similar claim about their Divisional Round loss to Cincinnati, a game played on a snowy, turf field in Orchard Park, New York, in which the Bills recorded just one sack against a banged-up Bengals offensive line.
Above all, though, both teams are playing on the same surface. The game is as much about being able to adjust on the fly as it is relying on strengths to deliver success.
Simply put, the Eagles didn't do quite enough to prevent Mahomes from authoring a memorable second-half comeback and sending them back to Philadelphia empty-handed.
“When we finally looked at the film, I finally looked at it (and) was just like, ‘Man, oh man,’" Graham said. ... "But you know, like I said, credit to Kansas City. It’s all love, you know what I’m saying. Them boys played too, they played on that surface too.”
The Eagles will give it another go in 2023, and Graham will be on board for the next journey. They'll hope to return to the game's biggest stage, and if and when it comes time to lace up their cleats, they just might choose the longer spikes next time around.