It’s that time of the year once again, it time for Super Bowl 59, and it is a rematch of Super Bowl 57 two years ago between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. I went perfect two weeks ago in predicting the Conference Championship winners and now we got the Super Bowl that literally no one wanted other than the Chiefs and Eagles fans obviously. Like a lot of fans, I am also rooting for the meteor (LOL!). Regardless, this may be a more intriguing matchup than what people are expecting it to be. The Chiefs are going for a three-peat, which no professional sports team has done since the Kobe and Shaq Lakers during the early 2000s in the NBA, which is a completely different sport. They will be facing an different Eagles squad than the ones who they had two years ago, with key new additions in RB Saquon Barkley and LB Zach Baun, both of whom were amazing this season, especially Saquon who just won OPOY and should’ve won MVP as well in my opinion. We also have to consider that the Chiefs are also somewhat of a different team than they were two years ago as well as they now have three new wide receivers in Xavier Worthy, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and Deandre Hopkins. Basically, a lot has changed for both teams since Super Bowl 57, and let’s not waste any time and get to my analysis and predictions.
Starting off, the Philadelphia Eagles, who really have relied on their run game all of these playoffs, and they will be going up against a really good Chiefs defense led by Chris Jones who can slow down opposing offenses. Since we have two really good offenses that can catch fire any time and put up points in a hurry, this game is going to come down whichever team has the better defense. Throughout these entire playoffs, the Eagles have been excellent in protecting the ball and not making any crucial mistakes, as they have had zero turnovers these entire playoffs, while forcing ten on the defense side. This alongside them having one of the best defenses in the league is a huge reason as to why they ran through the NFC pretty easily. In Super Bowl 57, the Eagles did not have this good of a defense and on top of that, they did not have Saquon Barkley (Giants LOL!). No seriously, this was a generational fumble by the Giants. First, they not only paid their star RB, which may have been granted as the RB position had been dying the past couple of seasons. Then, they selected Daniel Jones over him, and then, you let Saquon go to a divisional rival in the Eagles, and the rest is history. The minimum rushing yard that Saquon has had in these playoffs is 118 yards, which came in the Wild Card game against the Packers, a game that he didn’t even score a touchdown. However, the following week in the Divisional round, Saquon absolutely torched the Rams, rushing for over 200 yards in the process. After that game in the NFC Championship round, he scored on the Eagles first two possessions. Yes, two possessions, two touchdowns. Since Saquon has been carrying most of the load on offense, the Eagles really didn’t need to rely on Jalen Hurts, who hasn’t turned the ball over and has been effective in getting the ball to receivers A.J. Brown and Devontae Smith. The Eagles will face their toughest opponent on the defensive side in the Chiefs, and they can make things hard for Saquon. If that happens, Jalen Hurts needs to step up and have a similar performance he had in Super Bowl 57. In that game, he had a total of four touchdowns and gave it all he had, including two 2-point conversions as well. After losing Jason Kelce to retirement after last season, the Eagles OL have had a tough time protecting Jalen Hurts as they have allowed 11 sacks in their three playoff games. Even though the Chiefs defense may not be as good as the Rams defense this Eagles team faced in the divisional round, if they can limit Saquon to not get any big gains and get to Jalen Hurts, pressuring him and potentially causing turnovers, they can dominate this game.
On the other side, we have the Kansas City Chiefs, who are headed to their fifth Super Bowl in the last six years. They have mostly been clean with the ball, not having any turnovers, except for than one fumble against the Bills last week. The Chiefs defense has been really good this season and they are a huge reason why they have reached this point. They have had ten sacks so far in these playoffs, and eight of those sacks came against the Texans in the divisional round. Last week in the AFC Championship against the Bills, the Chiefs were able to press Josh Allen on 46% of his drop backs, which is the most pressure he has faced all season. Of his 14 pass attempts, Josh Allen was only able to convert five passes as he barely had any time to get the ball to his receivers. This definitely made it tough for Josh Allen to be productive against the Chiefs, who this season in particular, are here because of their defense rather than their explosive offense. This will be the toughest defense that the Eagles will have faced this entire postseason as in the Divisional round, they only allowed 5.1 yards per carry, while in the Conference Championship, they only allowed 4.6 yards per carry. However, due to the Eagles run game led by Saquon Barkley, they might be able to control the time of possession, which as a matter of fact, they are the best in the league when it comes to that statistic. However, back on the other side, the Chiefs have not really been out-gaining their opponents in any statistic when it comes to either the offensive side of the ball, yet they are still finding ways to win games. Like a lot of people are saying, the Chiefs are the luckiest and the worst 15-win team in NFL history. If the Chiefs want to win this game, Mahomes must be on point with his receivers in Xavier Worthy, Deandre Hopkins, and Hollywood Brown. He has to effectively move the ball down the field if they want to have a chance to win.
Ultimately, I feel like the x-factor of this game for both teams will be the defense and whether or not they can pressure the opposing quarterbacks and generate turnovers. This game may not be as high scoring as Super Bowl 57, but I still think it will be a close game. Even though the Eagles just went off for 55 points against the Commanders and the Chiefs offense, who we know can catch fire any time any where, I just feel like this game will be a defensive battle this time around. However at the end, the Eagles have Saquon Barkley and a better defense. Due to their explosive run game, the Eagles will be able to control the time of possession. Once again, they also have one of the best defenses in the league. Even though the Chiefs have more experience when it comes to the Super Bowl, this is by far Patrick Mahomes’s worst season of his career. Also, I have to acknowledge that Travis Kelce has stepped up his game in these playoffs. However, this was by far one of his worst seasons as well, and we all know who he’s been dating for the past year now. However, I believe that the Eagles just have the better overall team and just for this year, I feel like they have more weapons on both sides of the ball. Due to that, the Chiefs will not be the first sports team to have a three-peat since the Lakers in the early 2000s. Yep, the Philadelphia Eagles will lift their second Super Bowl in franchise history and take down the mighty Chiefs. I also have Saquon Barkley winning Super Bowl MVP as he will definitely be motivated after not winning the actual MVP this season. As a Cardinals fan, I am rooting for the meteor (LOL!). Let’s just hope we get another good game of football.
(Winner Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles)
Point Spread: Eagles -1.5
Before I sign off, the last time the Super Bowl happened in this exact same stadium in New Orleans, a blackout occurred in the third quarter, delaying the game for 34 minutes. The Ravens ended up defeating the 49ers as Joe Flacco had 287 passing yards alongside three touchdowns. He was also the Super Bowl MVP that year. It was quite a memorable Super Bowl the last time the NFL hosted a super bowl in New Orleans. What do we have next? Will this Super Bowl also go down in the history books as one of the most memorable Super Bowls or just another boring blowout? Also, I can’t wait for Kendrick to light up the SuperDome in his halftime show!