Keys To The Game
So much for long-suffering franchises. The Eagles and Chiefs have both won their most recent Super Bowl fairly recently. Philadelphia beat New England after the 2017 season for its first Super Bowl victory and the Chiefs knocked off the 49ers after the 2019 season. Now both teams are trying for a return to glory in the desert.
The Andy Reid Bowl
Kansas City’s coach will face his former team — which he led to Super Bowl 39 — in Arizona. Reid coached the Eagles for 14 seasons from 1999 to 2012, highlighted by the team's NFC championship win in 2004. Reid then went to Kansas City, where he finally won his first and only Super Bowl after the 2019 season.
The 64-year-old Reid has a 247-138-1 record and has won at least 10 games in 17 of his 24 seasons. He is the winningest coach in Eagles history and only five wins away from becoming the winningest for the Chiefs.
Historic Matchup
Mahomes and Hurts will be the first Black quarterbacks to face off in a Super Bowl. Mahomes can become the first two-time winner if he leads the Chiefs to victory over the Eagles. Hurts aims to become the fourth Black QB to win the Super Bowl, joining Doug Williams with the Washington Redskins,
Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks, and Mahomes. Steve Mcnair, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton and Wilson also started in the Super Bowl and lost.
Brotherly Battle
There will be a brother-against-brother showdown between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia center Jason Kelce. Both are integral to their respective teams. Travis Kelce is one of the league's elite tight ends and is a four-time All-pro selection. Jason Kelce has been a mainstay on the Eagles' line for more than decade and is a five-time All-pro. “Officially done being a Chiefs fan this season!!” Jason Kelce tweeted immediately after the Chiefs won the AFC title.
Sack Masters
Mahomes and Hurts both better keep their heads on a swivel. The Eagles had 70 sacks this season, the most in the NFL. Reddick led the Eagles with 16 sacks this season but Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox can also get to the quarterback. For the Chiefs, Jones had 15 1/2 sacks during the regular season and made two gamechanging sacks in the AFC championship game.
Air It Out
Some of the best players on both teams are the guys who catch the ball. The Eagles have a stellar two-man pass catching crew of Brown and Smith, who both easily topped 1,000 yards receiving this year. The Chiefs counter with Kelce, who caught 12 TDS during the season and one in the AFC championship. Kansas City receiver Marquez Valdes-scantling also had a big game against the Bengals, catching six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.
Tight Odds
The oddsmakers believe this is going to be a good game, with the Eagles opening as a 1 1/2-point favorite, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. Keep in mind that oddsmakers also thought the AFC and NFC championship games were going to be close. Turns out they were half right. The Chiefs beat the Bengals 23-20 in a nail-biter while the Eagles romped to their 31-7 victory over the 49ers.
Facts And Figures At Stake
National Football League Championship for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Chiefs are going for their third trophy and second in four seasons. The Eagles won the their lone Super Bowl five years ago. The franchise also won three NFL championships in the pre-super Bowl era.
KICKOFF
Sunday, Feb. 12, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific
PARTICIPANTS
Kansas City Chiefs (AFC) and Philadelphia Eagles (NFC). This is the fifth appearance for the Chiefs (2-2), who lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl 1 in 1967, then beat Minnesota in Super Bowl 4 in 1970. It took them 50 years to get back but they beat San Francisco in Super Bowl 54 in the 2019 season. They lost to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl 55 the next season. The Eagles (1-2) won Super Bowl 52 against the New England Patriots. They lost Super Bowls 15 and 39.
HALFTIME SHOW
Rihanna will take center stage for the halftime show. She’s one of the most successful female artists of all-time, with sales of more than 250 million records worldwide. Her most recent album was 2016’s “Anti.” Rihanna last performed publicly at the Grammy Awards in 2018.
The singer said she turned down a similar opportunity for the 2019 Super Bowl that was ultimately headlined by Maroon 5. At the time, many artists voiced support for Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who protested police brutality against Black people and minorities by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016.
ANTHEM
Country music star Chris Stapleton will sing the national anthem, while R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.”
VENUE
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, home to the Arizona Cardinals since opening in 2006. In a strange twist, the team that wins the Super Bowl will have more wins (2) in the building this season than the Cardinals, who finished
1-7 in their home venue. The Chiefs and Eagles both beat the Cardinals this season.
SEATING CAPACITY
The stadium has a listed capacity of 63,400 but has the ability to expand to 73,000 for “mega-events.” (Presumably, the Super Bowl qualifies.) The venue has hosted several marquee events in less than two decades: This is the third Super Bowl after also hosting in 2008 and 2015. It has also hosted two NCAA football title games and the 2017 NCAA Final Four.
WHERE TO WATCH
The game will be broadcast on Fox and available for streaming on the Fox Sports website and app.