Looking for the Lombardi: A Super Bowl LVII Preview
Photo via NFL
Srikar Kalapala
An incredible season culminates on February 12, when the two teams left standing, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, will battle it out for the chance to raise the Lombardi Trophy and be crowned champions of the 2022-2023 NFL season. Many fans predicted the greatness of both these teams before the season commenced, yet the path to get to Super Bowl LVII for either has been anything but easy. Through their unique journeys, the Chiefs and Eagles have had to prove themselves throughout the season to be considered heavyweight teams in the NFL. But now, they have both cemented their status as conference representatives for the AFC and the NFC. With an abundance of storylines between two teams like these two have, it's important to gain insight into the background of how these teams were built for this moment. Let’s get into it.
Kansas City Chiefs
Background
For the third time in the last four years, the Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl. A one-year absence hasn’t derailed what looks to be a potential dynasty in Kansas City. Led by MVP frontrunner Patrick Mahomes, this team has enjoyed a Super Bowl victory along with a total of three Super Bowl appearances and five AFC Championship appearances in the past five years. There are a multitude of teams that haven’t had these types of appearances in their franchise histories. This story began back in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Chiefs had just made a trade with the Buffalo Bills to move up from the 27th pick to the 10th pick. With that pick, Mahomes became a Chief. Many were puzzled by that selection considering how well Alex Smith, their starter at the time, was playing. Mahomes ended up being relegated to the bench for the 2017 season but learning how to be a pro from one of the most consummate professionals in the league ended up being the right decision for Kansas City. Why? Well after Smith got traded to Washington in the 2017 offseason, Mahomes was handed the keys to the Andy Reid offense and showed out, throwing for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns, and ended up being the MVP of the NFL in his first season as a starter. Although they lost to Tom Brady in the AFC Championship game that year, they bounced back the next year and beat the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV.
Talent Acquisition
Even with a prodigy throwing the football like Mahomes, the front office has to add talent around him and on the defensive side of the ball. Since Brett Veach became the GM of the Chiefs, he has done just that. Already having Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill in the receiving corps, Veach invested heavily in the defense. He brought in players like Justin Reid and Frank Clark through free agency and trades and drafted heavily on the defensive side with young players like L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie. But Veach’s biggest obstacle came this past offseason when Hill demanded a trade. He wanted nearly 30 million dollars a year, something the Chiefs could not afford. Hill gave the Chiefs a great deep threat that was nearly unstoppable with Mahomes throwing the football to him. But they had no choice and traded him to the Dolphins, who proceeded to give him the contract he wanted. But this trade created a bunch of questions for the Chiefs. If teams double-teamed Kelce, who could Mahomes throw the ball to? Veach answered those questions by bringing in JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Kadarius Toney, as well as drafting Skyy Moore. He also drafted RB Isiah Pacheco and made moves along the offensive line, and in response, the Chiefs’ offense became more well-rounded with Mahomes still doing Mahomes-type things and becoming the MVP frontrunner. None of this could be possible without Veach making the moves he did to keep the caliber of this team at a high level.
Playoffs
As the #1 seed in the AFC, the Chiefs had to win two games to get to the Super Bowl, and both were one-possession games. In the Divisional, they faced off against the Jaguars at home. The Jaguars were no easy out. They had won their game in the Wild Card against the Chargers where they were down 27-0, before coming back to win the game 31-30 on a last-second field-goal attempt. The Chiefs scored first in this game, with a Mahomes touchdown pass to Kelce from eight yards out. The Jaguars answered quickly, marching down the field with a drive that ended with a Trevor Lawrence touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. But on the ensuing drive for the Chiefs, Mahomes got taken down awkwardly and looked to have injured his ankle. The Chiefs ended up getting a field goal on that drive to put them up 10-7, but it didn’t look good for the Chiefs if Mahomes was out for too long. The defense gave the ball back to the offense backed up, and Chiefs fans were nervous as backup quarterback Chad Henne had to come onto the field to replace Mahomes. But what a job he did. Completions on key downs and a Pacheco run to the three yard-line, set up a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to finish off a 98-yard drive with Mahomes in the picture. Henne had his number called and delivered. Mahomes ended up coming back into the game and it turned into a little bit of a defensive game in the third quarter. But in the 4th quarter, the Jaguars were driving, and with just under 12 minutes left in the game, a Travis Etienne touchdown made the score 20-17, putting pressure on Mahomes to score. But this is Patrick Mahomes, and even on one leg, he will perform to the best of his abilities. He hobbled his way to a jump pass touchdown to Valdes-Scantling to make the score 27-17 and didn’t look back from that point. The Jags added a field goal at the end to make it 27-20, but that was it, the Chiefs were moving on to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
All Chiefs fans held their breath to see the results of tests on Mahomes’ ankle. He ended up having a high ankle sprain and his availability for the AFC Championship was questioned. Mahomes maintained his position that he was going to play in the game, and after eight days of rest on an ankle that usually requires 3-6 weeks, Mahomes suited up against the Bengals. The Bengals sent the Chiefs home in this exact same spot last year in a three-point overtime affair, and Mahomes was 0-3 against Joe Burrow. The Chiefs had to prove a point in this “rivalry.” The first half was sluggish for both teams. The score was 6-3 Chiefs with four minutes to go in the second quarter. Then on 4th & 1, the Chiefs decided to go for it, and Mahomes found Kelce for the touchdown to put them up 13-3. Burrow then led a drive for an Evan McPherson field goal to make the score 13-6 at half-time and then found Tee Higgins for a 27-yard touchdown. Just like that, the game was tied, and it looked like the Chiefs might relinquish a double-digit lead against the Bengals for the second straight year. Then Mahomes found Valdes-Scantling for a 19-yard touchdown to retake the lead. But it seemed like the Bengals had an answer yet again. Burrow led a drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Samaje Perine, and the score was tied at 20 apiece with 13 minutes left in the game. The game turned into a defensive battle from that point, and with 30 seconds left in the game, the Bengals punted the ball, giving the Chiefs a chance for a drive to win the game. And then on 3rd & 4, the play of the game: Mahomes, moving in the pocket, unable to find an open receiver, scrambles out to his right on a sprained ankle and wills his way to get the first down at the 42-yard line with eight seconds left in the game. From that point in those conditions, a field goal is improbable. But the refs had called an unnecessary roughness penalty on rookie linebacker Joseph Ossai, who had pushed Mahomes while he was out of bounds, and with those 15 yards tacked on, a field goal was possible. K Harrison Butker trotted out onto the field, and with the entire league watching him, drilled a 45 yd field goal to send the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.
Controversy surrounded this game with officiating, but who knows, maybe the Chiefs still get enough yards with eight seconds left to get the field goal off. Either way, the results stand, and the Chiefs prove the Cincinnati mayor wrong and will have their shot at their second Super Bowl in the Mahomes era. The Chiefs have been at this stage before and will look to prove why they deserved to be here again.
Philadelphia Eagles
Background
For the second time in the past five years, the Philadelphia Eagles are back at the biggest stage in football. In their previous Super Bowl run, their starting quarterback Carson Wentz got injured late in the season, and backup Nick Foles had to take over. Foles helped the team clinch the #1 seed, beat the Falcons in the divisional round, and routed the Vikings 38-7 in the NFC Championship game. This set up a matchup in the Super Bowl where not many gave Philly a chance. They were up against the G.O.A.T. and the New England Patriots, who had given the Philly fan base nightmares in the past. But Foles and the Eagles never backed down. In a game including the famous “Philly Special,” the Eagles were able to defeat the Patriots in a high-scoring affair, 41-33.
Since that moment, the turnover on the team has been incredible. Carson Wentz, whom many thought would be a rising superstar after being MVP-caliber for that year, fell off a cliff due to injuries and bad play. In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Eagles selected Jalen Hurts in the second round to give Wentz some competition. Many fans questioned spending a second-round pick on a quarterback after Wentz played at an extraordinary level the year they won the Super Bowl. But general manager Howie Roseman had other plans. After another season of Wentz, Philly traded him away to the Colts for draft picks, making Hurts the starter. The first year of being the starter, Hurts and newly-hired head coach Nick Sirianni started the season 2-5, before making a surprise run to become 9-8. Many fans still didn’t believe in Hurts in this process, believing that the Eagles might draft another quarterback in future drafts. But for all the slack he has been given, general manager Howie Roseman stuck with Hurts, who has made that decision pay off. This season, Hurts threw for nearly 4000 yards with 22 touchdowns through the air. Coupled with his rushing game that added another 760 yards and 13 touchdowns, Hurts has been playing at an extraordinary level that many thought would earn him his 1st MVP before he got hurt late in the season. Although Roseman deserves credit for sticking with Hurts, he also deserves a ton of credit for the job he has done surrounding Hurts with talent.
Talent Acquisition
After going 9-8 in Hurts and Sirianni’s first season, Roseman decided to bet on the potential of Hurts and make moves to surround him with the most talent possible. They traded their first-round pick and a third to get Titans’ A.J. Brown, who complemented with Devonta Smith, made one of the best wide receiver tandems in the entire league. He also signed Panthers’ Haason Reddick in free agency, adding him to a pass rush that featured four players that had 10+ sacks, an NFL record. He didn’t stop there. He traded for S C.J. Gardner-Johnson from the Saints and picked up CB James Bradberry in free agency, adding to a secondary that already featured former Pro Bowler Darius Slay. Great GMs of contender teams also make moves inside the season. Roseman added veteran d-line pieces mid-season with Linval Joseph, Ndamukong Suh, and Robert Quinn. These moves that Roseman made proved to make a huge difference. Philly boasted one of the best defenses in the entire league this year, crushing teams that were otherwise thought to be playoff-caliber teams. Their offense started to gel together with Hurts playing at a high level, Miles Sanders taking a step into becoming one of the best running backs in the league, and the receiving corps showing off the talent they possess. The Eagles nearly went undefeated when Jalen Hurts started this season, and without the moves that Howie Roseman made, none of this would be possible.
Playoffs
Just like the Chiefs, as the #1 seed in the NFC, the Eagles had to win two games to get to the Super Bowl. Unlike the Chiefs, neither game was particularly close. Their first game was in the Divisional round against the New York Giants. As division rivals, the Eagles had seen the Giants twice already during the regular season, making this their third matchup of the season. The first meeting was the Eagles demolishing the Giants 48-22, and the second matchup was a closer game, but still, the Eagles won 22-16 in a game where many starters rested. In this third matchup, the Giants had just come off an upset over the #3 seeded Minnesota Vikings, but despite this, no one gave the Giants a chance to win this game. They were right. The Eagles started the game on a rampage, scoring 28 unanswered points through touchdowns by Dallas Goedert, Devonta Smith, Boston Scott, and Jalen Hurts to lead 28-0 before the first half was even over. The Giants had visions of a potential comeback reminiscent of the Jaguars' 27-0 comeback over the Chargers and even started the second half with a Matt Breida touchdown to cut into the lead 28-7. But that vision of a comeback stopped right there. The Philly defense said no more, and with another 10 points on the board in the second half, Philly ended up winning this game 38-7. Their matchup in the NFC Championship game looked to be a harder matchup for them. They were facing off against the #2 seeded San Francisco 49ers, a team that featured the best defense in the league, and featured third-string quarterback legend, Brock Purdy. The Eagles started hot, as a “completion” to Devonta Smith along the left sideline set up a walk-in touchdown for Miles Sanders to make the game 7-0. The game turned into a little bit of a defensive battle after that, until Purdy injured his UCL on a strip-sack play by Haason Reddick. The Niners made it interesting when a Christian McCaffery touchdown tied the game up at 7 apiece, but from that point onwards it was all Eagles. Sanders, Scott, and Hurts all added rushing touchdowns after that point to make the score 28-7, and there was no coming back from that for the Niners, as the Eagles eventually won the game 31-7.
Storylines
A matchup between two teams of this caliber always has storylines, but it seems this colossal matchup has more than the usual amount of storylines. Here is a list of some of them:
Crazy Stats. These two offenses are statistically incredibly similar. Both the Chiefs and the Eagles have these four things in common: 16-3 overall record, 546 points scored, 6 All-Pros, including a Kelce brother and their QB, and the #1 seed in their respective conferences.
The Battle of the Trenches. The saying goes that the game is won or lost in the trenches. So will the Chiefs’ o-line and d-line hold their own, or will the Philly lineman dominate from start to finish?
Injuries. There are many injuries for the Chiefs and Eagles, none more notable than Patrick Mahomes’ ankle. Will he be 100% for this game, or without his mobility, will the Eagles’ dominant pass rush get to him? Travis Kelce and some of the other members of the Chiefs’ receiving corps have also dealt with injuries, and Jalen Hurts has not looked 100% either since coming back. These injuries will be key in this game.
Former Teams. Both head coaches have been coaches for the other team. So will it be Kansas City’s Andy Reid or Philly’s Nick Sirianni that gets revenge over their former teams? Reid has led both the Eagles and Chiefs to playoff success in the past, but will now look to defeat his former team in the Super Bowl.
The Kelce Bowl. The Kelce brothers, Travis and Jason, are the first brothers (players) to face off against each other in Super Bowl history. Both were drafted by Andy Reid, are future Hall of Famers, and both have one Super Bowl ring. So which brother will have bragging rights after this one?
Analysis
This should be a great game. Both teams have been the best in the league for their respective conferences the entire year. Both feature MVP-caliber quarterbacks with talent spread across the team. Both of these teams deserve to be here, and the storylines make it a great one to follow. As mentioned above, it will be interesting to see how dominant the Eagles will be in the trenches, and it will also be interesting to see how well the Eagles' receivers perform against an inexperienced secondary that the Chiefs have. Any game that Patrick Mahomes is starting in will give the Chiefs a shot to win, but perhaps the Eagles' defense is just too good. These two teams were heavily touted to be the best in the league before the season started, and now they meet at the peak of the mountain for a battle to see who will hoist the Lombardi Trophy. So will it be the transformed Philadelphia Eagles or the annual contender known as the Kansas City Chiefs?
