By Buck Coquillette
It has finally come. The big day where all of America watches. Millions of dollars will be bet. Millions of chicken wings will be eaten. Thousands of people will call in sick to work on Monday. Super Bowl Sunday is here.
This year, we have the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Kansas City Chiefs. Here are the team breakdowns and keys to winning:
Eagles:
Offensively, the Eagles are the best at what they do. Dual-threat QB Jalen Hurts has proved the haters wrong by having an MVP-caliber season. He utilizes the RPO (run-pass option) and zone read schemes to perfection with his legs and arm. With a phenomenal offensive line anchored by five-time all-pro center Jason Kelce and two-time all-pro tackle Lane Johnson, the pass protection and run game are both very dangerous. Wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are both very speedy and will challenge the Chief’s secondary. On the ground, Hurts and running back Miles Sanders are both solid run options.
On defense, the Eagles are very well-rounded. They have a great defensive line with Josh Sweat, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Brandon Graham. At linebacker, they have TJ Edwards and Haason Reddick. In the regular season, the Eagles lead the league in sacks with 70. This defense just keeps getting better. In the secondary, they have two lockdown corners in Darius Slay and James Bradberry, as well as interception co-leader of the regular season safety CJ Gardner-Johnson. This will be a great matchup seeing how this powerhouse defense plays against Andy Reid’s offense.
Chiefs:
Patrick Mahomes is back to the big game. Now, the two-time MVP looks to get his second Super Bowl ring. After a phenomenal MVP season with 5,250 passing yards and 45 total touchdowns, he looks to break the streak of 24 years of regular season MVPs not winning the Super Bowl. Four-time first-team all-pro tight end Travis Kelce looks to beat his brother Jason Kelce for this year’s ring. This year’s Super Bowl is being called the “Kelce Bowl” because these are the first two brothers to ever play against each other in the Super Bowl. Arguably one of the best pass-catching tight ends of all time, Travis Kelce is a dangerous threat to any defense. On the ground, the chiefs are dangerous with running back Isiah Pacheco. Look out for receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kadarius Toney. Head Coach Andy Reid is one of the best offensive minds in the game right now and it will be very interesting to see how he gameplans for the Eagle’s defense.
Defensively, the Chiefs are not as dominant as the Eagles are. They are all around solid with some standouts. They have a good front and a young secondary. Chris Jones, the defensive tackle, has been tremendous and will need to play a big part in Sunday’s game if they want to stop the lethal Eagle’s run game. Defensive end Frank Clark will play a big role on Sunday as well to pressure Hurts. Linebackers Willie Gay and Nick Bolton are solid as well, with a combined 268 tackles in the regular season. After exiting the AFC championship with a concussion, cornerback L’Jarious Sneed cleared concussion protocol and will be good to go Sunday. The Chiefs have favored a Nickel and Dime set (5 and 6 defensive backs) and will probably need to adjust to stop the Eagle’s run game.
Keys to Win
Eagles:
- Contain Mahomes (scrambling and passing)
- Lock up Kelce
- Dominate the run game
Chiefs :
- Stop the run
- Protect Mahomes
- No turnovers
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