Sunday, February 12th, 5:30 PM CT
Kansas City Chiefs @ Philadelphia Eagles
Playoff Record:10-2
The time has finally come for the biggest game in North American sports to go down Sunday, as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles play for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 57. Both these teams have won Super Bowls recently. Philadelphia won in 2018 while the Chiefs went on to win in 2020. This is one of the more exciting Super Bowls in some time because both these teams are absolutely fantastic and this game has storylines galore. Everything from Andy Reid coaching against his former team, to the Kelce brothers Jason and Travis representing both teams, to Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes being the first black quarterback matchup in a Super Bowl. I could go on and on with storylines in this game.
A key matchup for this game will be the Eagles pass rush vs the Chiefs offensive line. In In February 2021 the Chiefs made the Super Bowl but had an absolutely horrible offensive line due to injuries. Kansas City suffered a 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Mahomes faced immense pressure from the Tampa pass rush. This sent GM Brett Veach to completely retool the offensive line and in a quick time KC has one of the three best offensive lines in football led by Creed Humphrey, Joe Thuney, and Trey Smith, all in the interior. Veach’s investment was made for games like this against a Philadelphia pass rush that totaled 70 team sacks this season, which is the third most in NFL history. If Kansas City can give Mahomes time in the pocket I believe Philly will be in trouble. Mahomes is amazing against the blitz so if Philly can’t get home with just four, their secondary will get picked apart.
Another key matchup: Jalen Hurts vs Steve Spagnuolo. Hurts finished second in MVP voting
behind Patrick Mahomes ironically, but that shouldn’t take away from the amazing season Hurts had. Hurts came into the season doubted and overlooked yet led Philly to a very dominant season. If he has struggled, though it’s against the blitz, and not many like to blitz more than Chiefs defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo. Hurts also has a beat-up shoulder and hasn't looked as good as a passer during the postseason thus far. If Kansas City can jam the Eagles receivers and blitz Hurts, they can create turnovers. The Eagles however, also run the ball very well, and if Kansas City can’t stop that, it will be a long day for the Chiefs defense. I do think Hurts must have one of his better games as a passer in this game in order for Philly to win. Philadelphia has essentially been amazing from start to finish and they have so much talent from top to bottom at every position group. Philly has been so efficient offensively, from not turning the ball over to running the ball effectively, to what many thought would be a concern but they’ve been great in the passing game. Philly will need their best game going against a team that has been to three of the past four Super Bowls.
My last key matchup is Patrick Mahomes vs the Eagles secondary. Philadelphia has the #1 pass defense in football, and quarterbacks who have faced the #1 pass defense are 0-2 and have lost by a combined 61 points. Mahomes could very well be the exception to that. We’ve seen
Philly struggles against the better quarterbacks they’ve played. The two best quarterbacks
they've played are Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott, and they both picked Philly apart. Mahomes is in another world from those guys this season and I could see him having one of those games where you see Patrick just go into another stratosphere. Mahomes and the Chiefs traded All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill last off-season, and it seemed to many, as KC might take a stepback but instead, Mahomes has shown people the Chiefs are here to stay. This game is going to be so much fun and don’t sleep on the Kansas City defense, which was
second behind Philly in sacks with 55. Chris Jones vs the interior of the Eagles offensive line specifically, Jason Kelce, should be a fun matchup. Philadelphia has more depth and they have been dominant throughout the playoffs. I’ve been back and forth all week because I truly think this will be one of the best Super Bowls in recent memory. However, in the end, I think in the end, Kansas City is more experienced in their coaching staff and with their players in Super Bowls, and this to me is the Mahomes era and Sunday will be a new chapter in his already great career.
Chiefs 30 - Eagles 27
Confidence Level:2.5
Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes completes the trifecta, MVP, Super Bowl, Super Bowl
MVP
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