FEB 6, 2025 | SPORTS | By Miles Katzen
This Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles travel to New Orleans, La., for Super Bowl LIX. With it comes a chance for history and a chance for revenge, all wrapped up in the biggest sports media event of the year.
The Super Bowl is the largest media event in the United States. Last year’s game drew over 100 million viewers in the most viewed US event since 1969’s moon landing.
Super Bowl LIX will be the eleventh Super Bowl held in New Orleans, tied with Miami, Fla., for the most of any city. No other city has hosted more than eight.
On Feb. 9, the Chiefs look to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row. In 2024, the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22. In 2023, they bested the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.
They made history on Jan. 26, winning the AFC Championship to become the first team to reach the Super Bowl after winning the past two. Securing the first-ever three-peat would solidify this Chiefs team as one of the NFL’s greatest historical dynasties, joining the 2010’s Patriots, 70’s Steelers and the 80’s 49ers.
To achieve this feat, the Chiefs must defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, a task which has been easier said than done this season. The Eagles faltered early in the season, falling to the Atlanta Falcons 21-22 in Week 2 on a last-second field goal and losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-33 in Week 4. After a Week 5 bye week, they would recover from a 2-2 start, winning ten in a row before falling 33-36 to the Washington Commanders in what would be an NFC Championship preview.
The Eagles, on the other hand, have revenge on the line. Two years ago, the Eagles and the Chiefs matched up in Super Bowl LVII, playing a dramatic back-and-forth game with a fourth-quarter rally by the Chiefs.
This year, both teams have had dominant seasons and playoff runs.
After finishing the regular season 14-3, the Eagles took on the Packers, Rams and Commanders en route to the Super Bowl, winning 22-10, 28-22 and 55-23, respectively. The 55 points against the Commanders represent the most scored in a playoff game in 20 years.
The Eagles are built around the ground game, with an offense that ranks second in rushing yards and points. This rushing attack is led by running back Saquon Barkley, who became the ninth back to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. Barkley led the NFL in all-purpose yards and finished eighth in touchdowns. This attack is supplemented by quarterback Jalen Hurts, who ranked third in the NFL in rushing touchdowns and third among quarterbacks in rushing yards.
A trio of talented pass-catchers supplements this elite run game. The group is headlined by AJ Brown, arguably a top-five receiver in the game, who was acquired from the Tennessee Titans in a blockbuster 2022 trade. His 5,975 receiving yards in the past five years rank fifth in the NFL. In only 13 games this season, Brown accumulated 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Eagles’ second wide receiver is Devonta Smith. His 4,011 career receiving yards are 16th most in the NFL since 2021. In only 13 games this season, Smith has had 833 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
The third pillar of this Philadelphia passing attack is veteran tight end Dallas Goedert. The 30-year-old has spent his entire career with the Eagles and has proven to be a good, if not elite, tight end. This year, Goedert had 496 receiving yards along with two touchdowns and was invaluable blocking for Barkley and Hurts.
Though many have criticized Hurts for being a “system quarterback,” his season has been undeniably strong. In addition to finishing third in rushing yards amongst QBs, he ranked fifth in quarterback rating, throwing 18 touchdowns with five interceptions.
This culminates in an offense that ranks eighth overall in yards and seventh overall in points. For a team to reach the Superbowl, though, they must pair a strong offense with a strong defense.
The Eagles have done just that. Their secondary, led by cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper Dejean, has allowed the fewest passing yards per attempt of any team in the NFL, along with the second fewest yards and the third lowest passer rating against. Further, their rushing defense has allowed the ninth fewest yards per carry as well as the second fewest touchdowns.
The Eagles have the second-best overall point differential as well as the sixth-best turnover differential to go along with the fourth-best record. The Chiefs, though, have weapons of their own.
A discussion of the Chiefs must begin with a discussion of Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes has three Super Bowl wins, winning Super Bowl MVP in each. He compliments this with six Pro Bowl selections and two league MVPs in 2018 and 2022. This season was underwhelming by his standards, throwing for 3,928 yards and rushing for 307 more, with 26 touchdowns in the air and two on the ground, along with 11 interceptions. 3,928 passing yards is good for seventh in the NFL, but also is the fewest for Mahomes in a season since he took over the starting job in 2018.
This lack of greatness is attributed to the lack of elite offensive weapons around Mahomes this season. No Chiefs running back had 1,000 yards this year, with Kareem Hunt accumulating 728 and Isaiah Pacheco racking up 310 more. Both RBs only played partial seasons, with Hunt starting the year unsigned, joining the team following a leg injury to Pacheco in Week 2. The two backs will both play significant time on Sunday, but they have combined to be only the 22nd-best rushing attack in the NFL.
The Chiefs also lack a superstar at wide receiver this year. Rookie Xavier Worthy racked up 638 yards, and veteran Deandre Hopkins had 437 yards in 10 games following a midseason trade.
The receiving corps is led by a superstar at tight end, though — Travis Kelce. Though 35 years old, the veteran tight end totaled 823 receiving yards. This is the lowest in Kelce’s career, but he still ranked fifth in the NFL among TEs. With his help, the Chiefs posted the 14th best passing attack in the NFL this year.
These seemingly lackluster offensive stats are coupled with defensive stats that don’t exactly pop off the page either. The team ranks as the 12th-best passing defense and the sixth-best rushing defense — good, but not great.
This culminates to a team which, despite its NFL leading 15-2 record, is only 11th in point differential. The Chiefs have had ten of their 15 regular season victories decided by only one score, and followed a 23-14 win over the Texans in the divisional round with a nail-biting 32-29 victory over the Bills in the AFC Championship.
The stage is set. These two teams will meet in just two days, and only one will come out victorious. Will Saquon Barkley rush for 30+ yards and become the all-time leader in single-season rushing yards including the postseason? Will the Chiefs string of tight wins continue? Will the lockdown Eagles defense and their ground-and-pound offensive sensibilities prove too much for the Chiefs, or will Kansas City become the first team in history to win three Super Bowls in a row, beating the Eagles for the second time in three years?
Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. MST this Sunday; only time will tell.