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The Kansas City Chiefs celebrated their 2024 Super Bowl victory on February 14 — but there was no love lost for San Francisco 49ers superstar pass rusher Nick Bosa at the Valentine’s Day affair.
“We’re holding that Lombardi, baby!” Chiefs left tackle Donovan Smith proclaimed after being asked about Bosa’s “they hold a lot” comment again at the parade. The quote occurred during an interview with KSHB41 reporter Aaron Ladd.
It was an epic last word on this discussion — which was a bit one-sided ahead of the championship game. When asked about Bosa’s opinion by Ladd on February 6, Smith kept the chatter to a minimum.
“No,” the veteran blocker said with a smile at the time after Ladd wondered if he had “any response” for Bosa voicing that the Chiefs’ starting offensive tackles commit a lot of holding penalties.
Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor also told Ladd that Bosa’s comments were “just part of the game” ahead of the Super Bowl. “I’m just looking forward to the game on Sunday,” he added cheerfully.
49ers’ Nick Bosa Showed Out in Super Bowl, But Chiefs OTs Did Enough to Help Patrick Mahomes Get the Win
For what it’s worth, Bosa was tremendous during the Super Bowl.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Niners defensive end pressured Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II a total of 12 times — which is absurd. Although Bosa never brought down Mahomes himself, that pressure number included three QB hits and nine hurries.
Teammates Chase Young, Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave also sacked the eventual Super Bowl MVP, dropping him three times as a team.
On the flip side, Smith and Taylor didn’t commit any holding penalties. The OT pairing also did enough to get the win, even if they had some trouble containing Bosa and company.
PFF charged Smith with six quarterback pressures and a sack during the championship game, while Taylor allowed five QB pressures of his own. In the end, both tackles finished with pass protection grades below 65.0, and Smith earned a mark of 57.3.
That was the worst-graded performance on the offensive line for KC — if you put any stock in PFF’s analysis.
For the Chiefs, center Creed Humphrey was the star of the unit. On 55 pass-blocking snaps, Humphrey allowed zero QB pressures. He was also credited with a run-blocking score of 78.2 and did not draw any flags.
Will Chiefs Re-Sign Donovan Smith in 2024?
Smith is the key free agent on the offensive line this spring.
It’s hard to argue with the end result of another Super Bowl ring, but Smith left plenty to be desired in 2023. After missing five starts with injury down the stretch, the 30-year-old returned for the playoffs.
Smith held his own from that point on, allowing one sack in the Super Bowl and none during the AFC portion of the postseason. On the entire season, however, he was charged with 53 quarterback pressures over 16 total starts.
Smith was also given a miserable PFF run-blocking grade of 48.0 out of 100 on the year.
Having said that, Smith was serviceable considering his contract. After losing two starting offensive tackles last spring, the Chiefs spent big on Taylor before drafting Wanya Morris.
Following the draft, KC signed Smith as insurance. He was only given a one-year deal that ended up paying out $2.7 million, but it turned into a worthwhile flyer by general manager Brett Veach.
Despite all of that, the Chiefs can certainly do better than Smith in 2024.
If he’s deemed ready, the organization could officially transition over to Morris — who was up-and-down as a starter while Smith was hurt. The alternative is spending more money or draft capital on the position.
Considering the job is to protect the franchise’s most important asset, a long-term upgrade is a worthy price to pay for peace of mind as Mahomes enters his age-29 campaign.
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