Super Bowl - Game Preview

February 10, 2023 by Joseph Santoliquito, MaxwellFootballClub.org

On Sunday, February 12, the Kansas City Chiefs (16-3) and the Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) will meet in Super Bowl LVII (6:30 PM ET, FOX) at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. It marks the sixth time since 2000 that the two No. 1 seeds will meet in the Super Bowl.

On Friday, the line at FanDuel Sportsbook had Philadelphia favored by -3.5. They are offering a "No Sweat First Bet" promo with up to $3,000 back in bonus bets.

Kansas City and Philadelphia combined for 28 regular-season victories and 32 wins, including the postseason, this year, both tied for the second-most among Super Bowl opponents. The Chiefs became the third team with at least 12 regular-season wins in five consecutive regular seasons, joining New England (eight straight seasons from 2010-17) and Indianapolis (seven straight seasons from 2003-09).

The Eagles, who led the NFL with 70 sacks, and Chiefs, who ranked second with 55, combined for 125 regular-season sacks, the most-ever by Super Bowl opponents. Philadelphia is looking to become the sixth team to lead the league in sacks and win the Super Bowl in the same season. The Eagles, who enter Super Bowl LVII with a single-season NFL record 39 rushing touchdowns, can become the fourth team since 1990 to lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns and win the Super Bowl in the same season, joining Dallas (Super Bowl XXX), Denver (Super Bowl XXXIII) and Washington (Super Bowl XXVI).

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid has 21 career postseason victories, trailing only Bill Belichick (31) for the most playoff wins by a head coach all-time. Including the postseason, he has the fifth-most total wins (268), by a head coach in NFL history, trailing only Belichick (329) as well as Pro Football Hall of Famers Don Shula (347), George Halas (324) and Tom Landry (270).

Reid, at 64 years and 330 days old on Sunday, can become the fourth-oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni, who will be 41 years and 242 days old on Sunday, can become the fifth-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl. He would also become the ninth individual to win a Super Bowl within his first two seasons as a head coach and the first since 2017 (Doug Pederson).

On Sunday, with starts by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (27 years and 148 days old) and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (24 years and 189 days old), it would mark the youngest combined age (51 years and 337 days) by starting quarterbacks in a Super Bowl.

Mahomes can become the fifth quarterback under the age of 30 to start three Super Bowls in a four-season span, joining Tom Brady (three starts from 2001-04) and Pro Football Hall of Famers Troy Aikman (three from 1992-95), John Elway (three from 1986-89) and Bob Griese (three from 1971-73). He can also surpass Brady (27 years and 187 days old in Super Bowl XXXIX) as the youngest quarterback ever to start three career Super Bowls.

Mahomes, who led the NFL with 5,250 passing yards, is looking to become the first player to throw for at least 5,000 yards and win the Super Bowl in the same season. He is set to face the league's top pass defense in Philadelphia, who allowed 179.8 passing yards per game. There have been two previous instances of the passing yards leader and the top passing defense meeting in a Super Bowl, each won by the team with the top-ranked pass defense [Super Bowl XLVIII (Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning vs. Seattle) and Super Bowl XXXVII (Rich Gannon vs. Tampa Bay)].

Hurts can become the fourth starting quarterback under the age of 25 to win a Super Bowl, joining Ben Roethlisberger (23 years and 340 days old in Super Bowl XL), Patrick Mahomes (24 years and 138 days old in Super Bowl LIV) and Tom Brady (24 years and 184 days old in Super Bowl XXXVI). Hurts is 16-1 as a starting quarterback this season, including the playoffs, the sixth-highest winning percentage by a quarterback in a single season in the Super Bowl era (minimum 10 starts).

Both Mahomes and Hurts are finalists for the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award. There have been six previous instances of players winning both the NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same season: Pro Football Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw (1978), Joe Montana (1989), Emmitt Smith (1993), Bart Starr (1966), Kurt Warner (1999) and Steve Young (1994).
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia center Jason Kelce are set to become the first pair of brothers to face off in a Super Bowl and the fourth set of brothers to appear in the same Super Bowl, joining Glenn and Lyle Blackwood (Super Bowls XVII and XIX), Archie and Ray Griffin (Super Bowl XVI) and Devin and Jason McCourty (Super Bowl LIII). The Kelce's have combined for nine First-Team All-Pro selections, the most of any brother duo in NFL history.

Travis Kelce enters Super Bowl LVII ranked second in receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,467) and tied for second in touchdown receptions (15) in postseason history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in all three categories.

Mahomes has thrown 13 postseason touchdown passes to Kelce, trailing only the pair of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski (15) for the most postseason touchdowns between a quarterback-receiver pairing in NFL history. The Chiefs duo have also connected for 1,129 yards in their postseason careers, the fourth-most yards in postseason history by a quarterback-receiver pairing, trailing only Brady and Julian Edelman (1,442 yards), Brady and Gronkowski (1,389) and the Pro Football Hall of Famer duo of Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin (1,169).
Hurts, who has 15 rushing touchdowns including the postseason – the most in a single season by a quarterback in NFL history – and running back Miles Sanders (13 rushing touchdowns, including playoffs) are the first teammate duo each with at least 13 rushing touchdowns in a single season in NFL history, including the postseason. During the regular season, wide receivers A.J. Brown (88 receptions for 1,496 yards) and Devonta Smith (95 receptions for 1,196 yards) became the first duo in Philadelphia franchise history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. The Eagles look to join the 2006 Indianapolis Colts (Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne) as the only teams with two players each with at least 80 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in the regular season and win the Super Bowl in the same year.

Kansas City defensive end Frank Clark recorded 1.5 sacks in the AFC Championship game and has 13.5 career postseason sacks, trailing only Willie McGinest (16) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith (14.5) for the most postseason sacks by a player since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick each recorded two sacks on Championship weekend and have a chance to join Von Miller (2015) and LaMarr Woodley (2008) as the only players since 1982 to have at least two sacks in both a conference championship game and Super Bowl in the same postseason.

Reddick enters Super Bowl LVII with 19.5 sacks, including the postseason, tied for the fourth-most sacks by a player entering the Super Bowl since 1982. With Reddick (16 regular-season sacks), defensive end Brandon Graham (11), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (11) and defensive end Josh Sweat (11), the Eagles became the first team since 1982 with four players each recording at least 10 sacks in the same season.

A Comparison

Kansas City makes its third Super Bowl appearance in past four years and fifth in franchise history. Philadelphia advanced to its fourth Super Bowl in team history. Andy Reid has 21 career postseason wins, the second-most ever by a head coach. The Chiefs led the NFL in total offense (413.6 yards per game) for third-consecutive season and led in scoring offense (29.2 points per game). Nick Sirianni has led the Eagles to the postseason in each of his first two seasons. The Eagles have 39 rushing touchdowns TDs in 2022 (including postseason), the most rushing TDs ever in a single season, including playoffs. Philadelphia has 78 sacks in 2022 (including the postseason), the third-most ever by a team in a single season, including playoffs. The Chiefs lead the all-time series, 5-4, including the past three, winning last year at Philadelphia, 42-30, on Oct. 3, 2021. This the sixth Super Bowl since 2000 to feature both No. 1 seeds, and the 32 combined wins between the Chiefs and Eagles are tied the second-most in a Super Bowl matchup ever. When Mahomes and Hurts play on Sunday, they’ll be a combined age of 51 years and 337 days, the youngest ever by starting quarterbacks in a Super Bowl.

The Chiefs are 19-21 all-time in the postseason, with three championships 1962 (AFL as the Dallas Texans), 1969 (SB IV) and 2019 (SB LIV). They are 6-1 against common opponents (AZ (1-0), HOU (1-0), JAX (2-0), IND (0-1), SF (1-0), TEN (1-0)). The Eagles are 25-24 all-time in the postseason with four championships 1948, 1949, 1960, 2017 (SB LII). Philadelphia is 6-0 against common opponents (AZ (1-0), HOU (1-0), JAX (1-0), IND (1-0), SF (1-0), TEN (1-0)). The Eagles are 4-3 all-time in NFL championship games, winning NFL championships in 1948, 1949, 1960 and Super Bowl LII in 2017, and losing in 1947, 1980 (Super Bowl XV) and 2004 (Super Bowl XXXIX). The Chiefs are 2-2 all-time in NFL championship games, winning Super Bowl IV in 1969 and Super Bowl LIV in 2019, and losing Super Bowl I in 1966 and Super Bowl LV in 2020. The Chiefs won three AFL championships in 1962 (as the Dallas Texans), 1966 and 1969, before the NFL merger.

By The Numbers

Chiefs / Eagles
Record 14-3 / 14-3
Division Standing 1st (AFCW) / 1st (NFCE)
Turnover Margin (NFL Rank) -3 / (T-22nd) +8 (3rd)

Offense (NFL Rank)
Chiefs / Eagles
Net Yards Per Game 413.6 (1st) / 389.1 (3rd)
Yards Per Play 6.4 (1st) / 5.9 (6th)
Points Per Game 29.2 (1st) / 28.1 (3rd)
Possession Average 29:56 (12th) / 30:33 (8th)
Net Rushing Yards Per Game 115.9 / (20th) / 147.6 (5th)
Net Passing Yards Per Game  297.8 / (1st) / 241.5 (9th)
Had Intercepted / Yards 12 / 70 / 9 / 110
Sacks Allowed / Yards 26 / -188 (3rd) / 44 / -259 (T-20th)
Fumbles / Lost  21 / 11 / 23 / 10
Third Down Pct. 48.7% (2nd) / 45.9% (4th)
Red Zone TD Pct. 69.4% (2nd) / 67.8% (3rd)
Giveaways 23 (T-17th) / 19 (T-5th)

Defense (NFL Rank)
Chiefs / Eagles
Net Yards Per Game 328.2 (11th) / 301.5 (2nd)
Yards Per Play 5.1 (8th) / 4.8 (1st)
Points Per Game 21.7 (16th) / 20.2 (8th)
Net Rushing Yards Per Game 107.2 (8th) / 121.6 (T-16th)
Net Passing Yards Per Game 220.9 (18th) / 179.8 (1st)
Intercepted By / Yards 11 / 225 / 17 / 186
Sacks For / Yards 55 / -388 (2nd) / 70 / -491 (1st)
Opponent Fumbles / Lost 16 / 9 / 22 / 10
Third Down Pct. 38.3% (13th) / 38.6% (14th)
Red Zone TD Pct. 67.3% (31st) / 52.7% (11th)
Takeaways 20 (T-20th) / 27 (T-4th)

KC / PHI
PASSING YARDS
Mahomes 5,250 / Hurts 3,701

KC / PHI
RUSHING YARDS
Pacheco 830 / Sanders 1,269
Mahomes 358 / Hurts 760
Edwards-Helaire 302 / Gainwell 240

KC / PHI
RECEIVING YARDS
Kelce 1,338 / Brown 1,496
Smith-Schuster 933 / Smith 1,196
Valdes-Scantling 687 / Goedert 702

KC / PHI
POINTS SCORED
Butker 92 / Elliott 111
Kelce 74 / Hurts 82
McKinnon 62 / Two Tied 66

KC / PHI
INTERCEPTIONS
Sneed 3 / Gardner-Johnson 6
Thornhill 3 / Bradberry 3
Bolton 2 / Slay 2

KC / PHI
SACKS
Jones 15.5 / Reddick 16.0
Karlaftis 6.0 / Hargrave 11.0
Clark 5.0 / Sweat 11.0
Danna 5.0 / Graham 11.0

KC / PHI
DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Bolton 180 / Edwards 159
Sneed 108 / White 110
Gay 88 / Epps 92

Joseph Santoliquito can be followed on twitter @JSantoliquito.

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