The dust from Championship weekend has finally settled and we now turn our sights to Super Bowl LIX and rematch from two years ago as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are set to square off in New Orleans on February 9.
There are a lot of familiar faces from that classic game in which the Chiefs won 38-35 but plenty of new ones on both sidelines that could dramatically shape the outcome this time around.
Let’s dive in:
HOW DID THE EAGLES GET HERE?
The Philadelphia Eagles magical run to the Super Bowl began in the off-season, a much-needed reprieve from the horrors they faced to close out the 2023 season.
Franchise greats, and fan favorites, DT Fletcher Cox and C Jason Kelce hanging up their cleats seemed like a bad omen for their ability to turn it around, yet here we are.
Fresh faces on the sidelines with OC Kellen Moore and DC Vic Fangio, along with impact acquisitions on the field like RB Saquon Barkley, LB Zack Baun, and the rookie tandem of CB’s Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, have the Eagles soaring high once again.
HC Nick Sirianni is entering his 4th year at the helm and will be coaching in his 2nd Super Bowl, something only Joe Gibbs and Mike Tomlin can ever say they have done in the NFL during that short time span.
To say the Sirianni experience has been polarizing would be underselling the levels of hot takes that flooded the Philly airwaves and water cooler conversations alike over these same four years.
Something that could also be said about QB Jalen Hurts who has earned the distinction of leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl twice in his career, something no other QB in franchise history could say.
While sports will always remain a debatable forum, one thing cannot be argued against and that is the strength of these individuals lies in the results, and last time I checked, we are a results-based industry.
Those results have certainly been helped by those previously mentioned new additions with Barkley becoming the best offensive weapon in the NFL and Fangio putting hand picked pieces like Baun, and rookie defensive backs alike, in a scheme that showcases their best talents.
The Eagles are threats to win games in many ways and finding those ways is a specialty of this group.
The exact type of team you hate to see on the opposing team’s sideline.
HOW DID THE CHIEFS GET HERE?
Shakespeare said “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" but for this group that has the chance to win their NFL record third Super Bowl in a row, they look pretty comfortable.
QB Patrick Mahomes isn’t putting up the gaudy stats that we are used to seeing, but like the QB on the opposing team they’ll be squaring off against, he finds ways to simply just win games.
This was evident by the way they failed to score more than 30 points in any games this season until last week’s AFC Championship game and still only carry one loss on the year, besides a blowout loss in the regular season finale which featured all backups for KC.
10 straight playoff berths, 9 straight AFC West titles, and 7 consecutive AFC Championship game appearances tell the story of a franchise that simply has picked up where the Brady and Belichick led Patriots left off in conference domination.
The story this time around though hasn’t been guided as much by Mahomes and HC Andy Reid’s offensive genius, yet a stout and opportunistic defense helmed by longtime DC Steve Spagnuolo which held opposing teams to 18.3 PPG (minus that Week 18 matchup) but including the playoffs.
All-Pro’s DT Chris Jones and CB Trent McDuffie have been big time playmakers along with MLB Nick Bolton and DE George Karlaftis III, who have all been in KC for the past two SB runs and are hungry for that third.
The dormant offense from the first half of the season seems to be a thing of the past as well as they have turned a corner averaging 26.4 PPG over their last 5 meaningful games including playoffs, getting hot at exactly the right time.
Super Bowl Score Prediction
Eagles 29 – Chiefs 24
Comments