For the second time in three seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will meet in the Super Bowl, with the showcase event taking place on Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
It will be the 12th time the two teams face each other in an NFL clash, with the Chiefs seeking to become the first franchise to win three consecutive championships.
The Chiefs lead the all-time series between the two at 6-5, though the last matchup went the way of Philly in the 2023 regular season (21-17).
That was the first time Andy Reid lost to his former team as the Chiefs head coach in what was his second game back to the City of Brotherly Love.
Historically, that 2023 regular season triumph by the Eagles is the only time that Reid wound up on the losing end of a head-to-head matchup between those two teams as an NFL head coach, with the California native beating KC three times as the Eagles boss.
Philly will be the home team for Sunday's big game, though historically, they have not fared well against the Chiefs in that scenario.
The Eagles' only victory against KC as the home team occurred in a 2009 regular season fixture when Reid was their head coach.
When these teams met in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona just over two year ago, the game lived up to the hype and arguably far exceeded it.
It was the first time that two black starting quarterbacks would meet in the Super Bowl (Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts) and the first time two brothers competed for the Lombardi Trophy on different teams, with the Chiefs' Travis Kelce taking on the now-retired Jason Kelce of Philly.
On the Eagles' side, Jalen Hurts threw for 304 yards and a touchdown while setting two Super Bowl records for most rushing yards by a quarterback (70) and rushing scores by a QB (three).
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Mahomes was only a few weeks removed from sustaining a high ankle sprain in the Divisional Round against the Jacksonville Jaguars but showed his brilliance in the biggest spot once again.
He went 21/27 for 182 on the day, to go along with three scores, putting up a 131.8 passer rating throughout the encounter in Arizona.
A Super Bowl record 65-yard punt return from Kadarius Toney in the fourth quarter set the Chiefs up for another major score when Mahomes found Skyy Moore in the end zone, putting them up by eight points.
The Eagles fought back, though, going eight plays on the ensuing drive, which was capped off by a Hurts two-yard TD run before the Eagles pivot tied the game by running in the two-point conversion.
Ultimately, the game came down to a controversial pass interference call against Eagles cornerback James Bradberry on Juju Smith-Schuster, giving KC a new set of downs.
The Chiefs offence eventually took the ball down to the two-yard line, setting up a chip-shot 27-yard field goal from Harrison Butker, who drilled it with eight seconds remaining.
There was no last miracle for Philly, as Hurts' final hail-mary pass fell incomplete, giving the Chiefs a thrilling 38-35 victory with Mahomes named Super Bowl MVP.
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Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs head-to-head record
Previous meetings:
November 20, 2023: Philadelphia Eagles 21-20 Kansas City Chiefs
February 12, 2023 (Super Bowl): Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 Philadelphia Eagles
October 3, 2021: Kansas City Chiefs 42-30 Philadelphia Eagles
September 17, 2017: Philadelphia Eagles 20-27 Kansas City Chiefs
September 19, 2013: Kansas City Chiefs 26-16 Philadelphia Eagles
September 27, 2009: Kansas City Chiefs 14-34 Philadelphia Eagles
October 2, 2005: Philadelphia Eagles 37-31 Kansas City Chiefs
November 29, 2001: Philadelphia Eagles 23-10 Kansas City Chiefs
September 27, 1998: Kansas City Chiefs 24-21 Philadelphia Eagles
October 11, 1992: Philadelphia Eagles 17-24 Kansas City Chiefs
October 22, 1972: Philadelphia Eagles 21-20 Kansas City Chiefs
Joel Lefevre
