All roads point towards State Farm Stadium as the Philadelphia Eagles host the Kansas City Chiefs for Super Bowl LVII this Sunday, Feb 12. As football’s two best teams are gearing up for the big game, let’s look at how each one got here.

Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles finished the regular season atop the NFC with a 14-3 record and have carried their dominance into the postseason thus far. Following two blow-out playoff wins, 38-7 over the Giants in the divisional round and 31-7 over the 49ers in the NFC Championship, it’s safe to say that the Eagles aren’t messing around.

Throughout the season, Philadelphia has dominated teams all season with its multifaceted ground game. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is one of the best rushers at his position, if you combine that with a talented running back room headlined by Miles Sanders and put them all behind the best offensive line in football, good things will happen.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles’ pass rush is their biggest strength. Their defense overall has been great this season but when you’re the first team in NFL history to have four players record double digit sack counts in a season, that deserves to get mentioned off the bat.

Kansas City Chiefs
This may sound familiar, as the Chiefs finished the regular season atop the AFC with a 14-3 record. However, their postseason story has been a bit different from Philly’s. During their divisional match-up against the Jaguars, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain and had to exit the game momentarily. While the Chiefs were able to pick up the win and later beat the Bengals in the AFC Championship game, the QB’s injury status has been a concern.

The 2022-2023 Chiefs have excelled at doing the thing they’ve done best in years past, scoring points. Kansas City’s offense averaged the most points and yards per regular season game, with a lot of damage coming from star tight end Travis Kelce. At the helm of it all has been Mahomes, who just won the 2023 NFL MVP award and is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL.

Defensively, the Chiefs tend to get more hate than they deserve. While their defense isn’t amazing, they’re starting to turn it around at the right time with two strong performances this postseason. Veteran defensive tackle Chris Jones is a game-breaker amidst a group full of young talent.

Predictions
I’m expecting a very back-and-forth game, with a good amount of scoring. At least that’s what I hope to see as a fan.

It’ll be key for the Chiefs to get out to an early lead if they want to win this game because if they don’t, the Eagles’ run game will run down the clock.

In order for Philly to win, Hurts needs to be able to exploit a Chiefs secondary that runs a lot of man coverage. Look for the Eagles’ pass-catching duo Devonta Smith and AJ Brown to haul in deep passes downfield.

Ultimately while the Eagles have the more complete team, I think Patrick Mahomes will be a hero in this game (as long as he can stay healthy) and lead the Chiefs to their second Super Bowl victory in the past four years. I hope head coach Andy Reid enjoys his blue Gatorade shower.

Chiefs 27, Eagles 24.

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