By Ross Jackson
NEW ORLEANS — Fans of the New Orleans Saints were watching Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup intently. While their favorite team was not competing in its home stadium, the assumed future head coach of the franchise was. Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is expected to accept the position in the days after traveling back to Philadelphia to celebrate his Super Bowl victory. His trip to New Orleans was fruitful in more ways than one, as he did not waste the chance to impress in his soon-to-be home stadium.
Moore came out firing with a pair of outside zone runs to start the game and a nicely called perimeter multi-level attack on a second and medium. He immediately showed some aggression on fourth and two when everyone in the building was expecting the ball to be handed off to running back Saquon Barkley. Instead, quarterback Jalen Hurts dropped back to take a shot down the right sideline to his big-bodied wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown made the catch for a big gain, but was called for offensive pass interference, after making contact with the Chiefs’ defender’s facemark.
It’s not hard to envision deep shots like that to speedsters like Saints wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. A 50-50 ball like that, however, highlights how New Orleans could benefit from a physical wide receiver in Brown’s mold. At 6-foot and 226 pounds, this year’s draft class should have some options.
During the second possession, Moore started with a run call directly up the middle and followed it up with a great level concept that left Hurts with two open options. Tight end Dallas Goedert ran free across the field and picked up a big gain. If that option wasn’t there, Hurts had an easy dump-off to Barkley in an area cleared out by a complementary vertical route. He continued to call a diverse rushing plan with a mix of inside and outside points of attack.
Moore and the Eagles struck first with an excellent 27-yard go ball to wide receiver Jahan Dotson. He took an outside release on the line of scrimmage, winning the leverage down the right sideline after fighting through press coverage. The team, of course, finished the drive with the famed tush push.
The go route and fight through contact by Dotson is reminiscent of Olave, who handles press coverage very well and has come up with some impressive catches downfield throughout his young career.
Philadelphia started to change things up late in the first quarter with an early under-center play action rollout. Moving the pocket for Hurts and allowing him to buy time. Doing so forced a defender to crash down, uncovering a crossing tight end. While the ball was dropped, the play call was effective. The third and long play call to follow just a matter of plays later was a great example of dropping the bells and whistles of motion and play action and simply making a play. In the NFL, all of the easy buttons are nice, but the ability to drop back and pass on third and long is a necessity.
Seeing the team continue to mix and match, not only running backs, but rushing concepts is promising. The Saints looked to have some trouble last year finding a way to complement their outside rushing attack with a between-the-tackles gameplay. Moore showed some signs of making a concerted effort to do exactly that. In addition, he mixed in quarterback rushes throughout. Both quarterback draws and read options, the rushing gameplay was diverse early.
This raises the question: How much does Moore’s game plan benefit or suffer from having—or not having—a mobile quarterback? Hurts’ mobility is a core part of his game. With questions still lingering around the future of Saints quarterback Derek Carr, the pursuit of a mobile passer may be of interest for Moore. That could make second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler an appealing option in 2025, should the team decide to move on from Carr. It also puts a focus on the 2026 NFL Draft class depending on how this upcoming year goes at the position.
After facing some heavy pressure early that eventually forced an errant throw and interception by Hurts, an adjustment was needed in terms of how the Eagles would handle the pressure dialed up by Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. One of the ways the team looked to adjust was by dedicating additional protection in the backfield, quick passes and taking advantage of one-on-one coverages to the outside. Kansas City looked to leave its corners outside on an island early in the game, which Moore and Hurts attacked without hesitation. A beautiful back shoulder throw to Brown on a second quarter third and seven was a perfect example.
Soon, a defensive touchdown and great red zone call against man coverage that included multiple crossing routes helped to extend the first half blowout to 24-0.
As the Eagles came out of halftime, Moore turned to what has helped to get Philadelphia to the big game in the first place: the run game. A punishing combination of Hurts’ runs and Barkley’s punishing physicality was a welcome shift against a Chiefs defense that could not keep up.
The second-half game plan was a stark contrast to the air-it-out approach of the first half, signaling both the ability to adjust and an expansive offensive attack. That second gear is something New Orleans has lacked in recent years. Of course, the Eagles’ performance was heavily supported by a strong defensive game plan from defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
The ability to limit one of the best quarterbacks and offensive play callers in the league emphasizes the need for a solid and smart defensive coordinator as a part of Moore’s staff. The hire for that coordinator may be the most important decision, outside of quarterback, that Moore makes when he takes the reins for the Saints.
Just when it looked like Philadelphia might throttle down and focus on bleeding the clock, they flipped the script again. The strongest punctuation of the night came with 2:40 left in the third quarter. Already up 27-0, Moore and the Eagles took a deep shot downfield coming out of the television timeout. The result: a 46-yard strike from Hurts to Amite High School graduate Devonta Smith. One thing New Orleans Saints fans love is a team that doesn’t take its foot off of the gas.
The one-play touchdown drive was on the heels of a Chiefs turnover on downs. It was a perfectly timed shot by Moore and head coach Nick Sirianni.
That may well have been the last moment that any Saints fan needed to talk themselves into the Moore hire. Now, the 36 year old play caller will carry a Super Bowl ring and relentless momentum to New Orleans.
