3 Super Bowl x-factors who have to step up for Philadelphia Eagles

2. Miles Sanders

Sanders made headlines with two rushing touchdowns in the NFC Championship game, but his underlying numbers are a cause for concern for Philadelphia heading into the Super Bowl. The 49ers managed to limit him to just 42 rushing yards on 11 carries on the afternoon.

Kenneth Gainwell was actually the Eagles running back who showed more burst in the second half. Part of that was an effort from Philadelphia’s coaching staff to limit Sanders’ workload when the game was no longer in doubt. Some of it can be chalked up to Sanders looking a step slow with the ball in his hands against the Niners.

Nick Sirianni and his offensive staff will hope that a little extra rest ahead of the Super Bowl will allow Sanders to regain some of that explosiveness. One of Philadelphia’s best weapons against Mahomes will be to keep the ball away from him with a productive ground game. Gainwell can sprinkle in big plays to keep the Chiefs off balance but Sanders needs to be the guy who keeps the chains moving with a high volume of productive carries.

It’s not imperative that Sanders run wild against Kansas City, but he needs to be a more efficient rusher to make sure the Eagles’ offense stays on schedule. If Chris Jones and the Kansas City front can keep him bottled up it will put the next player on this list in a tough spot.