Nick Sirianni and Andy Reid were two of the best coaches in the NFL during the 2022 NFL season and 2023 playoffs, but a key difference was established between the two in Super Bowl 57.
Sirianni is willing to go for it on fourth down. Reid isn't.
Sirianni showed his willingness late in the first half when the Eagles were facing a fourth-and-5 at the Kansas City 45-yard line. The second-year coach left his offense on the field after a one-yard run by Boston Scott and decided to see if his team could pick up a key first down in the 14-all game.
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The result? Jalen Hurts delivered a 28-yard run on a perfectly-timed quarterback draw. The play call was a brilliant one by Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, as it caught the Chiefs napping and put the Eagles well within scoring range.
Five plays later, Hurts was able to punch it in on another quarterback draw. That score came immediately after Sirianni had the Eagles line up to go for it on a fourth-and-2 and managed to draw the Chiefs offside.
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Indeed, Sirianni's aggressiveness helped the Eagles add seven points to their total and played a large part in their 24-14 halftime lead.
Conversely, a conservative decision by Reid cost the Chiefs in the first quarter. That came when Reid settled for a 42-yard field goal attempt in a 7-all game while facing a fourth-and-3 at the Philadelphia 24-yard line.
ESPN's Seth Walder computed that the Chiefs' win probability decreased from 60.4 percent to 59.3 percent by choosing to kick. So, the decision was already an inefficient one even before Harrison Butker missed the kick.
The Chiefs' miss caused a big swing in the game, as Kansas City generated just 11 yards on eight plays on its two drives after the missed kick. Meanwhile, the Eagles' touchdown gave them momentum going into halftime and allowed them to build a double-digit lead.
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It will be interesting to see if the Eagles continue to be aggressive as the game goes along. Odds are they will be considering that Sirianni chose to go for it on fourth down 32 times in 2022, good for the fourth-most in the NFL.
As for Reid's Chiefs, they may have to go for it more often than usual if they continue to trail. Kansas City went for it on fourth down just 12 times in 2022, good for the second-fewest in the league behind only the Saints (11).
