Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
NEW ORLEANS — After several months of football, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles claimed their respective league championships and will rematch in this year's Super Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Chiefs will be looking for the leagues first ever three-peat, while the Eagles will look for revenge from two years ago and claim its second championship in seven years.
Need some help deciding who to take in the Super Bowl? We've got you covered. Make sure you get your Pro Football Pick'em pick in before the game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. MST on FOX.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs had the best regular season record with just two losses to 15 wins, with one of the losses coming in Week 18 when the Chiefs elected to sit its starters to prepare for the playoffs.
The other loss was to the Buffalo Bills earlier in the season. But the Kansas City got its revenge in the AFC Championship game, defeating the Bills 32-29.
Even in a down year, quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns; however, the key to the Chiefs' success was the defense, ranking in the top 10 in yards allowed and points per game.
Kansas City showed insecurities on offense, failing to effectively run the ball after Isaiah Pacheco broke his leg in Week 2, but still failed to be effective after returning from his injury.
The Chiefs made a trade for Deandre Hopkins midseason, which gave Mahomes another weapon. But no Chiefs player reached the 1,000-yard mark in back-to-back years, where even star tight end Travis Kelce was held under 850 yards.
Despite the offensive issues, it's still the Chiefs; it's still Patrick Mahomes and Kelce.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles did not have an ideal start to the year, starting out 2-2 and narrowly getting a win over New Orleans and Green Bay before escaping disaster against Cleveland in Week 6.
Following the game against the Browns, the Eagles went on a tear, winning 10 straight games before losing to the Washington Commanders after Jalen Hurts suffered an injury in the first quarter. The Eagles got their revenge in the NFC Championship game, winning 55-23 to book their ticket to the Super Bowl.
The epitome of the Eagles this year has been Saquon Barkley. He's made himself a strong candidate for offensive player of the year, and capped off the best year of his career with a three-touchdown performance against the Commanders in the NFC Championship game.
Barkley's 2,000 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns nearly put him at the top of the NFL for most rushing yards in a season, falling just short of Eric Dickerson (2,105 yards).
While the Chiefs defense has been good, the Eagles ranked No. 1 in yards allowed, points per game, and sixth in turnovers forced. Rookie defensive back Quinyon Mitchell has put himself into defensive rookie of the year talks with his other rookie defensive back counterpart Cooper DeJean finishing fifth on the team in tackles.
Why the Chiefs will win
Mahomes will be going for his third Super Bowl in a row and fourth in his seven-year career. The Chiefs find ways to win, whether NFL fans like it or not.
Kansas City has won 17 straight one-score games, which is an NFL record. They showed it off by winning 11 this year. Despite being 17-2 on the year, it feels like the Chiefs still have something to prove.
It also feels eerily similar to the Chiefs' 2022 run, where they defeated Jacksonville with relative ease — similar to the Houston Texans in the divisional round — and needed a last-second field goal to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, which similar to the Bills in the AFC title game.
The Chiefs, of course, went on to defeat the Eagles on a field goal with eight seconds left in the Super Bowl.
Why the Eagles will win
Back to the original statement, Saquon Barkley.
It cannot be stated how impactful Barkley has been this year, all while making just a little over $12 million a year. On top of Barkley, Hurts' ability to run the ball puts teams on edge as they decide who to go after on option plays.
With a solid run game, that sets up a successful pass attack that has great options. AJ Brown put up over 1,000 yards in 13 games, and former Heisman winner Devonta Smith has 833 in 13 games and leads the team in touchdowns with eight.
While it feels like the Eagles could use another receiving option, there are still plenty for Hurts to choose from.
The Eagles are also out for revenge. After its Super Bowl loss two years ago, the Eagles looked to be on their way to another Super Bowl appearance last year before losing five of their last six regular season games, and then were blown out by Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round.
The Eagles still have something to prove, and Barkley's historic year will be a key role in any success against the Chiefs.
