After a wild NFL Championship Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will meet head-to-head at Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans this Sunday, February 9th.
The Chiefs possessed the No.1 spot in the AFC conference with a strong 15-2 record, while the Eagles claimed the No. 2 seed in the NFC conference with a record of 14-3. With Kansas City returning to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season–which has never been accomplished by any team–they have the chance to win three Super Bowls in a row.
Coming off yet another playoff victory over the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs have left some NFL fans questioning whether Buffalo will ever get over the hump and defeat Kansas City. Chiefs quarterback and former MVP Patrick Mahomes has now sent home Bills quarterback Josh Allen four consecutive times in the playoffs since 2021.
As for the Super Bowl, Mahomes is currently 3-1 in his four Super Bowl appearances, all coming in the last five years under Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Mahomes and the Chiefs had the opportunity to face a similarly constructed Eagles squad back in Super Bowl 57, where the Chiefs came out victorious in a shootout, a comeback victory for the Chiefs.
For both the regular and postseason this year, the Chiefs have yet to put over 30 points on the board, excluding this past AFC matchup with the Buffalo Bills (winning 32-29). With fewer touchdown completions by Mahomes, they’ve been ranked No. 22 in red zone efficiency this year.
Additionally, the Chiefs haven’t allowed any team to score over 30 points against them since Super Bowl 57 with the Eagles (disregarding the last game of the season against the Denver Broncos).
The Chiefs defense has allowed the sixth-fewest offensive points during the regular season, propelling them to some of their key victories throughout the season. In last week’s matchup against the Bills, the defense came up with many big-time stops, one being with two minutes to go in the 4th quarter that sent Josh Allen and the Bills home.
The Eagles defense ended the regular season with the fewest yards allowed per game (278.4), staying similar in the postseason, with defensive tackle Jalen Carter being one of the biggest threats for quarterbacks this year.
Despite the decreasing pass connections between Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce this season, first-rounder wide receiver Xavier Worthy has stepped up to the plate with a remarkable rookie year, finishing second among all rookies in terms of touchdowns this year, hauling in ten. In the AFC Championship game with the Bills, Worthy secured six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.
As for the Eagles this year, their electrifying offense during the regular season has continued to excel in the playoffs. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has yet to throw an interception this postseason and completed 71% of his passes against the Washington Commanders in last week’s NFC Championship.
In the matchup against Washington, the Eagles converted on four of their five “Tush Push” attempts, with two being touchdowns. The Chiefs, on the other hand, were able to stop Josh Allen several times on the Bills “Tush Push” tries, one that stirred up controversy among the league as the refs missed a first down call for the Bills. One of the big questions going into Sunday is whether Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni continues with the “Tush Push” method against Kansas City on Super Bowl Sunday, given that it’s worked the majority of the time all season long.
The Eagles best wideout, A.J. Brown, has been one of the team’s best downfield threats in the postseason despite how teams have tried to cover him. He secured six of eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown in last week’s NFC Championship game against the Commanders.
In the Eagles backfield, newly added running back Saquon Barkley has become one of the organization’s best decisions of all time, despite it only being one season. With Barkley logging 2,447 total yards of offense this year, he’s become a favored candidate for league MVP. Barkley is 30 rushing yards away from surpassing former NFL running back Terrell Davis on the most yards in a single season. In the playoffs, Barkley has had three rushing touchdowns, each being 60 yards or more (seven total this year).
That said, we’ll find out if the game plan for the Chiefs and Eagles stays the same or changes on Super Bowl Sunday.
Until kickoff.