The Kansas City Chiefs aim to become the first three-peat Super Bowl champions on Sunday when they face the Philadelphia Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in the sequel to the outstanding game these two produced two seasons ago.
A crushing 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders enabled Philly to claim the NFC title, while the Chiefs made it out of the AFC for a third straight season thanks to a narrow 32-29 triumph over the Buffalo Bills.
Match preview
© Imago
Facing adversity with a mere 2-2 record after four games and a high-priced quarterback struggling with consistency, the Philadelphia Eagles stepped up in a big way down the stretch of 2024.
Nick Sirianni's crew were the hottest team in the NFL for much of this season, going 15-1 since that Week Four defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (33-16), boasting the best defence in the league in the regular season for yards allowed per game (278.4).
Offensively this season, the Eagles resorted almost exclusively to the run game, leading the league in rushing attempts and second in team rushing (179.3) while dead-last in pass attempts.
During the regular season, Philly gave up over 100 rushing yards per game (104.2) and allowed 4.8 yards per carry to opposing quarterbacks.
The Eagles will be facing one of the best tight ends in the game Sunday in Travis Kelce, and during the regular season, they allowed a 93.1 rating to that position, good for seventh-best in the NFL.
Their pass defence overall was stellar against opposing QBs, allowing the third-lowest rating (82.5) while shutting down rookie phenom Jayden Daniels in the conference championship, limiting him to a rating of 72.8.
Over the last six games, this group have been exceptional in the turnover department, with 20 takeaways during that stretch, including 10 in the post-season.
When he has over a week to prepare for a game Sirianni is 5-1 all-time, though that lone defeat came in the Super Bowl against KC two seasons ago.
© Imago
History is within reach for the Kansas City Chiefs, who may go down as the greatest NFL dynasty should they win on Sunday.
Unlike their inconsistent form heading into the 2023 playoffs, the Chiefs looked unbeatable for long stretches of this regular season, winning their opening nine games and becoming the first team in league history to claim 15 victories since the 2015 Carolina Panthers.
Steve Spagnuolo's defensive unit will face their toughest test yet out of the backfield this weekend, and they fared well against running backs in 2024, holding them to just 3.8 yards per carry, the second-lowest rate in the NFL.
Andy Reid is 3-2 in this game, with one of those losses coming when he was with the Eagles, and a victory this weekend would put him into a tie with Pittsburgh Steelers great Chuck Noll for the second-most Super Bowl wins by a head coach (four).
For an offence that have some of the most recognizable names in the NFL, they only put up 30+ points on two occasions in 2024, though one was in the AFC Championship Game against Buffalo.
In that encounter, the Chiefs dialled back their frequent blitz packages, and it helped them in short-yardage situations against Josh Allen, who was only two for five on quarterback sneaks, including one massive fourth down stop by the KC defence in the final quarter.
The Chiefs' pass defence had difficulty containing wide receivers this season, allowing a 97.7 rating against that position (21st in the NFL).
In the playoffs, they have averaged over 290 yards offensively per game and have only turned the ball over once but have not been able to create any themselves.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Imago
While there are a few Eagle players with minor knocks, it is unlikely they will miss Sunday's game, with Dallas Goedert rested at practice on Thursday and DeVonta Smith spared last week because of a recurring hamstring strain from earlier in the season.
Jalen Carter missed the media availability on Wednesday with an unknown illness, Britain Covey has a minor neck issue and Landon Dickerson is recovering from a sore knee, though they all should be available this weekend.
In the NFC Championship Game, the Eagles dominated on the ground with Saquon Barkley rushing for 118 yards and two touchdowns, Jalen Hurts ran for three more, while AJ Brown stepped up with six catches for 96 yards and a score.
Nolan Smith has had a monster post-season for Philly with four sacks, Quinyon Mitchell has two playoff interceptions, while Reed Blankenship and Zack Braun have made 24 and 26 tackles, respectively, good for fourth and second in these playoffs.
Skyy Moore was still on injured reserve for the Chiefs as of Thursday but could be activated before this game, and Kareem Hunt was limited at practice earlier in the week with a sore quad but should be fully fit for the Super Bowl.
Although he was on the team's injury report Thursday, punter Matt Araiza took part in full practice that day, though he is dealing with a minor illness.
In two playoff games this season, Patrick Mahomes has a 105.2 passer rating, averaging 211 passing yards per game, while Xavier Worthy was his top receiver against the Bills with six catches for 85 yards and a TD and Travis Kelce had two grabs for 19 yards.
George Karlaftis has had a strong post-season with three sacks to lead this group, Mike Danna got to Allen once in their previous game, while Pro Bowler Chris Jones was quiet with just one assisted tackle in the conference championship.
Head To Head
© Imago
Overall, these teams have met 11 times before, with the Kansas City Chiefs holding a narrow 6-5 edge during that time span.
Philly won the last head-to-head battle between the two in the 2023 regular season in a game where Hurts ran for three touchdowns and D'Andre Swift also found the end zone on the ground.
By far, the most memorable showdown between these two teams came in Super Bowl LVII, when Hurts set a Super Bowl record for rushing yards (70) and rushing scores (three) for a quarterback.
On the opposite side, though, Mahomes had a 131.9 passer rating with three touchdown passes on a sore ankle, with Kadarius Toney setting a Super Bowl record for the longest punt return (65 yards).
The back-and-forth contest came down to the leg of Harrison Butker, who nailed a 27-yard field goals with seconds remaining to secure the victory.
We say: Philadelphia Eagles 28-31 Kansas City Chiefs
Hurts has been exceptional all season, but against pressure, his passer rating is much lower, and Spagnuolo always seems to run the perfect schemes in the biggest games.
Mahomes has usually been stellar in these games, and while the Eagles may have more overall depth, there always seems to be an unsung hero stepping up for KC in these encounters.
Joel Lefevre
