Chiefs’ 3-peat or Eagles’ revenge?

For the second time in three years, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will meet in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are playing in hopes of capturing their consecutive NFL title. The Eagles are looking for a bit of revenge from two years ago. What will it take for either team to lift the Lombardi Trophy after the game? Chiefs’ offense vs. Eagles’ defense The Eagles’ defense helped lead them to the Super Bowl during the 2022 season. Their pass rush was vicious, as they set the team record for sacks that year. The current team is not as good as they were two years ago, but Philadelphia’s pass rush is still a weapon for them with Vic Fangio at the controls. Josh Sweat is their leading man with eight sacks on the year. Nolan Smith has had a sack in each of the first three playoff games, including two against Green Bay in the Wild Card round. The interior of Philadelphia’s pass rush is where the money is made. Milton Williams has had a breakout season, and Jalen Carter might be the best defensive tackle in all of football. In the secondary, general manager Howie Roseman was active in addressing a weakness and turning it into a legitimate strength. Quinyon Mitchell was a first-round pick and has emerged as the team’s best cornerback. Across from him is Darius Slay, who has been excellent in a complementary role this season. Cooper DeJean has been excellent as a nickelback and had a big pass breakup early in the team’s NFC championship win over the Commanders. Perhaps the biggest change the Eagles made on defense was at defensive coordinator. Jonathan Gannon left the Eagles after their Super Bowl appearance to be the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles replaced him with Sean Desai, who was eventually replaced by Matt Patricia during the season. Neither of those options worked well, and the Eagles hired former Packers’ nemesis, Vic Fangio. Fangio facing off against Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid is one of the better matchups in the Super Bowl. On the other side of the field, it’s familiar territory at this point. Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six years. This time around, they’re playing for history. No team in the Super Bowl era has won three consecutive Super Bowls. Others have come close, but none have accomplished it. Mahomes is also playing for legacy purposes. A win in this Super Bowl would be his fourth championship, tying him with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana for second among quarterbacks behind only Tom Brady. This Chiefs’ offense is solid, if unspectacular. It’s not like the days where Tyreek Hill ran deep through the secondary or Travis Kelce made one big play after another. They’re methodical, and they execute. In fact, they’re similar to the New England Patriots of old in that they are chasing individual and team legacies. Kelce is still around and is the team’s leading receiver. Xavier Worthy and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown are their two best receivers and give juice to the passing game for plays down the field. JuJu Smith-Schuster is a potential red zone target, while their ground game is led by Isaiah Pacheco and old friend Kareem Hunt. Ultimately, the Chiefs’ offense remains dangerous because of the two men that are at the controls. Reid and Mahomes. Chiefs’ defense vs. Eagles’ offense Philadelphia’s offense is led by Jalen Hurts. Hurts had a down year last year after a near MVP season in 2022. He’s had a better season in the 2024 regular season and had not played after the first quarter of a late December game against Washington thanks to a concussion. After some subpar play in the first two games of the postseason, Hurts lit up the Washington Commanders for four touchdowns in a 55-23 romp over their division rival. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith combine for one of the best receiver combinations in all of football. Dallas Goedart has had a big postseason and was the leading receiver in the NFC Championship Game. The big addition to the Eagles’ offense this offseason was running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley’s talent alone was tantalizing in this offense, but he has run all over any opposing defense that has been in his way this year. Barkley ran for more than 2,000 yards on the season and may have broken the rushing record for a single season had he played in the season finale. Barkley scored three touchdowns in the NFC title game, including two on his first two carries of the game. He is the most important player on the Eagles’ offense, which is unheard of in the modern NFL. The offensive line remains relatively intact, but they did struggle with health in their most recent game. Cam Jurgens was active but only was going to be asked to play in an emergency situation. That situation arose when Landon Dickerson exited the game with a knee injury. With the layoff, both players should be able to play. Special teams Philadelphia’s special teams has enjoyed a big postseason. They forced a fumble in two of their three playoff games and recovered both of them. Both fumble recoveries led to touchdowns in the Wild Card and Conference Championship rounds. Will Shipley is likely to be the kickoff returner if Kenneth Gainwell is unable to play due to an injury suffered in the NFC Championship Game. The big question mark for the Eagles is at kicker. Jake Elliott had been rock solid for the duration of his career, until this season. He struggled during the regular season and missed the first postseason field goal of his career in the conference championship game. He’s 1-for-8 on the year in kicks that are longer than 50 yards. In a game where points are going to be at a premium, the Eagles cannot afford to give points away in the kicking game. Their punt return team will need to be shaken up as well, after getting hit up for a fake punt in their previous game. Overall, the Eagles’ special teams is solid if unspectacular. The goal here will just to be sure that the kicker makes his kicks. The Chiefs’ special teams had a big night against the Buffalo Bills in the conference championship round. Nikko Remigio had a nice night that included a 41-yard punt return. Harrison Butker has not been as good this year as he’s been in recent years but has been nails in the postseason. In a game of this magnitude, the kicking game can be a deciding factor. Something else that plays into special teams is how aggressive both teams are on fourth down. The Eagles and Chiefs both were in the top four of conversions on fourth downs during the season. A failed fourth-down conversion is similar to a turnover in these big games. Whatever team is better in situational football could be the one that is raising the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the night. Super Bowl LIX Time and date: 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9 Location: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans TV: Fox 2024 Records: Eagles 14-3; Chiefs (15-2). History: The Eagles and Chiefs are meeting in their second Super Bowl in three seasons. The last time these two teams met, a short field goal by Harrison Butker with little time left on the clock gave the Chiefs their first of what they hope to be three consecutive Super Bowl titles. The last regular season meeting between these two teams was a 21-17 Eagles victory at GEHA Field in Kansas City. Coaches: Eagles – Nick Sirianni (second Super Bowl appearance 0-1). Chiefs – Andy Reid (sixth Super Bowl appearance 3-2).