What the Eagles have to do to win …
Lower off Travis Kelce. Straightforward, proper? The one Chiefs participant with greater than 1,000 yards receiving within the common season, and the goal for one-third of all passes his group has thrown within the postseason, he’s the individual that an injured Mahomes will wish to search for when the stress is on. NB
The important thing to successful Tremendous Bowls and beating elite quarterbacks is getting stress with 4, permitting a protection to cheat an additional defender into protection. In opposition to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ go-go offense, it’s a should. Excellent news for Philly: They lead the league in sack fee and stress fee with a four-man rush this season. OC
Concentrate on the bottom sport. Whereas the Chiefs’ protection has improved, it’s weaker in opposition to the push than it’s the cross. That is the place having a dual-threat quarterback like Hurts helps them, as he received’t essentially should attempt to beat Mahomes in a shoot-out to guide his group to victory. HF
Swarm the backfield. Philadelphia’s tricked-out cross rush has introduced the quarterback down behind the road of scrimmage in practically one in every of eight performs this 12 months, the best sack fee for any group in additional than three a long time. Mahomes eliminates the ball quick and doesn’t get hauled down typically, however the Eagles will begin 4 gamers on Sunday who racked up double-digit sack totals on the season: one thing not even the 1985 Bears might boast. If they create that menace on Sunday like they’ve all 12 months, it might get late early for Kansas Metropolis. BAG
Easy because it sounds, Philadelphia should management the clock and maintain the ball out of Mahomes’ fingers. Brock Purdy’s damage within the NFC championship sport cleared the way in which for the Eagles, however so did Philly’s offensive line and operating backs. The Eagles don’t wish to should depend on Jalen Hurts airing it out. MJ
What the Chiefs have to do to win …
Preserve the Eagles’ formidable cross rush off Mahomes lengthy sufficient for him to win the sport. Not one of the league’s final 9 Most Invaluable Participant winners have mixed that award with a Lombardi trophy, and there’s a trace there of how harmful it may be to ask an excessive amount of of 1 particular person. However it’s laborious to think about a situation by which Kansas Metropolis win this sport with out the newly minted MVP within the starring position. NB
Stylistically and schematically, the Chiefs don’t have the items to decelerate the Eagles’ overwhelming offense. What they’ll do is trigger all types of chaos up entrance and hope that they’re in a position to idiot Jalen Hurts into making a few pricey errors. To win, the Chiefs might want to steal a possession. OC
The improved offensive line can’t let Mahomes endure any additional damage. There’s no query Mahomes is the most important difference-maker right here, nevertheless it’s additionally unsure how wholesome his ankle is, regardless of how properly he performed in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals within the AFC title sport. Any substantial damage to Mahomes will tilt the sport in favor of Philadelphia. HF
It hasn’t reared itself typically through the Eagles’ charmed season, however we’ve seen what the delicate underbelly of Jonathan Gannon’s protection can appear to be at its worst. If ever a man was constructed to use that weak spot, it’s Kansas Metropolis’s supremely gifted quarterback. Mahomes and Kelce should probe the quick and intermediate areas over the center early and sometimes, placing the query linebackers TJ Edwards and Kyzir White together with safeties Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Reed Blankenship and Marcus Epps. BAG
The Chiefs’ defensive entrance should penetrate that elite Eagles line and pressure Hurts to throw the ball. Whereas Hurts is a confirmed quarterback, the lingering impression of his shoulder damage was evident in opposition to the 49ers. Oh, additionally that Mahomes dude must work his ordinary magic whereas a wideout resembling Kadarius Toney wreaks havoc on Philly’s secondary. MJ
Key participant for the Eagles …
Haason Reddick, edge rusher. The Chiefs won’t repeat the error that San Francisco made, assigning tight ends and receivers to dam Philadelphia’s greatest edge rusher. However he had 16 sacks within the common season, too, his third straight 12 months hitting double figures. You don’t have to be naïve for him to harm you. NB
Jason Kelce, middle. The offensive line fuels the Eagles’ run sport, and has persistently pitched shutouts in cross safety (Lane Johnson hasn’t conceded a stress in six weeks). If the run sport is rolling early, the Chiefs will likely be in hassle – and the Eagles’ floor assault is constructed round Kelce’s distinctive skillset, which permits them to run issues different groups can solely think about. OC
Miles Sanders, operating again. Whereas Kenneth Gainwell has been the best operating again for Philadelphia within the postseason, Sanders stays their premier speeding menace (at the very least amongst non-quarterbacks). He ended the common season with the fourth-most speeding touchdowns within the league, plus the fifth-most speeding yards. Anticipate some game-changing carries from him. HF
Jalen Hurts, quarterback. The Eagles have received 19 of their previous 21 video games when Hurts is beneath middle, however the Tremendous Bowl is a unique animal – particularly for a younger signal-caller. Of the seven quarterbacks to begin a Tremendous Bowl earlier than their twenty fifth birthday, solely two have completed with a passer score above 66: Tom Brady on the finish of the 2001 season (86.2) and Mahomes on the finish of 2019 (78.1). The 24-year-old Hurts’ even-keeled temperament appears tailored to satisfy the second, however we received’t know for certain till the rubber hits the street. BAG
Nick Sirianni. OK, he’s not a participant, however this would be the greatest check but for Philadelphia’s 41-year-old head coach. Up to now, he has proven poise, self-discipline and a wholesome quantity of guts. (The Eagles have gone for it on fourth down a whopping 35 occasions this season.) However the Tremendous Bowl is a singular beast and plenty of extra skilled coaches have crumbled beneath the highlight. MJ
Key participant for the Chiefs …
Chris Jones, defensive deal with. Mahomes, after all, however to be rather less apparent I feel Jones might have an enormous position on the opposite aspect of the ball. The Eagles’ offensive line are bullies, however a participant who piled up 15.5 sacks and 46 quarterback pressures, greatest within the league at his place, would possibly simply have the moxie to present them a bloody nostril. NB
Patrick Mahomes, quarterback. You could possibly level to rookie nook Trent McDuffie, whose entry into the lineup has remodeled the Chiefs’ protection. However KC’s hopes for a championship experience on Mahomes’ proper shoulder. Throughout the board, the Eagles have a greater roster. It’ll take an all-time efficiency to push the Chiefs excessive. And who can be prepared to guess in opposition to Mahomes to ship? OC
JuJu Smith-Schuster, broad receiver. With Mecole Hardman injured, Smith-Schuster – who had 78 catches for 933 yards within the common season – goes to be much more essential for the Chiefs, notably if the Eagles’ protection efficiently covers Mahomes’s prime goal, Kelce. HF
Andrew Wylie, proper deal with. The undrafted free agent from Jap Michigan, whose 9 sacks allowed within the common season have been joint-third most within the NFL, might want to step up his sport after drawing the unenviable task of containing Haason Reddick, the sting rusher extraordinaire who’s incomes straight-faced comparisons to Reggie White. BAG
Trent McDuffie, cornerback (and the Chiefs’ different rookie DBs). The Chiefs hit the jackpot with this group of rookies and notably with McDuffie, who can play on the skin and within the slot. The Eagles will sling it to AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith when there’s a juicy one-on-matchup. How McDuffie and Co maintain up in these moments will go a good distance in figuring out the result. MJ
One daring prediction …
Hurts units a brand new report for many speeding yards by a quarterback in a Tremendous Bowl. The goal is decrease than you would possibly assume: simply 64 yards by Steve McNair in a dropping effort for Tennessee in opposition to St Louis on the finish of the 1999 season. NB
Rihanna delays the second half. The league has type for delaying the second half of the Tremendous Bowl. I’m undecided when you’ve seen the prop bets, however Vegas appears to know stuff. Rihanna to Affirm That Her Lyrics Had been Censored by the NFL is a -105 favourite to happen through the half-time efficiency. What if that censorship causes the league to panic and delay? Or, I don’t know, somebody slips on RiRi’s fake rain throughout Umbrella. OC
The sport will activate a security. In a contest between the 2 greatest groups within the league, you count on one thing near a superbly executed sport. Perfection, nonetheless, not often occurs in skilled sports activities. HF
The Chiefs will strive an onside kick on their first kickoff. The fearless Andy Reid as soon as opened a season with an onside kick (and watched the identical gambit backfire spectacularly a couple of years later) throughout his time with the Eagles, so there’s a monitor report right here that Philadelphia ought to concentrate on. Don’t be shocked if he tries to catch his keyed-up opponents off guard earlier than they’ve gotten their legs beneath them, whether or not it’s to begin the sport or after Kansas Metropolis’s first rating. (Additionally, Rihanna busts out Pon de Replay for the primary time in 12 years.) BAG
Disclaimer: I 100% hope this doesn’t occur. Hurts re-injures his shoulder within the first quarter. Gardner Minshew enters the sport, revs up the aerial assault and is topped Tremendous Bowl MVP. A wide range of hair product firms struggle for his advertising companies, all contingent on Minshew rising again his mullet. MJ
The ultimate rating will likely be …
Chiefs 23-20 Eagles. On paper, Philly are the higher group. That offensive line is simply so sturdy, and they’ll have success establishing the run to regulate the clock early on. However shut video games are determined by the moments when every part goes off script, and who manages these higher than Mahomes? It’s not nearly him, both. Are we but able to put Sirianni above Reid, who has given Kansas Metropolis probably the greatest a long time of any group in NFL historical past? NB
Eagles 34-28 Chiefs. Philadelphia prime Kansas Metropolis in nearly each division. They’ve one of the best offensive line within the NFL by a long way. They’ve one of the best, simplest defensive entrance. Entrance to again, they’ve one of the best protection within the league. Mahomes remains to be battling a excessive ankle sprain. The Chiefs receiving corps is depleted. They usually’re taking part in a historic variety of rookies on protection. All indicators level to the Eagles operating over an undermanned KC aspect. However the Chiefs have one of the best quarterback within the sport, taking part in on the apex of his powers. The Eagles ought to win, however Mahomes, Kelce and Jones will maintain it shut. OC
Eagles 29-24 Chiefs. The Chiefs are going to attain touchdowns on this sport, that’s the one prediction right here that this author is 100% assured about. The Eagles, nonetheless, have been probably the most full group all common season and have plowed their means by way of the competitors within the postseason. If this sport hinges on a handful of errors, it feels just like the Eagles are the group greatest certified to show these into factors. That could be the distinction in a Tremendous Bowl that ought to go right down to the wire. HF
Eagles 33-16 Chiefs. Philadelphia have the NFL’s greatest offensive line and one of the best line of defense. They’ve been the deepest and most full group throughout the board all season they usually’re the more healthy aspect getting into Sunday’s sport. And but someway the specialists are nonetheless underestimating them: the Chiefs have been put in as two-and-a-half-point favorites earlier than the general public spoke with their wallets, swinging the road within the Eagles’ path inside quarter-hour. So long as the ankle holds up, Mahomes’ routine incandescence paired with one of many sport’s greatest ever game-planners in Reid will maintain the result doubtful till the championship rounds, the place the physique blows will mount and the Eagles’ class will inform. BAG
Eagles 31-22 Chiefs. The Eagles are higher and deeper throughout nearly each unit. Offensive line? Test. Receiving corps? Operating sport? Secondary? Test. Test. Test. The Chiefs, after all, boast one of the best quarterback within the sport, to not point out one of the best tight finish. However with Mahomes three weeks faraway from a excessive ankle sprain, his receivers banged up and an inexperienced nook group, the Eagles have extra viable lanes the place they’ll prevail. MJ
