SUPER BOWL
Patrick Mahomes is back for his third Super Bowl and the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has some advice for enjoying the day. “Winning it is a lot better than losing it,” Mahomes said. Super Bowl 57 will be a matchup of heavyweights: The Chiefs (16-3) will face the Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) in Glendale, Arizona. Both teams were top seeds in their respective conferences during the playoffs and lived up to expectations. Kansas City beat Cincinnati 23-20 in the AFC championship game while Philadelphia advanced with a lopsided 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC title.
This year’s NFL showcase has no shortage of storylines. Kansas City coach Andy Reid goes against his former team — which he led to Super Bowl 39 — in a game that’s also the first matchup of starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl who are both Black, with Mahomes and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts.
“Yeah, I had a great time there,” Reid said of his stint in Philadelphia from 1999 to 2012. “Fourteen years, long time, huh? I’m happy for them, I’m happy for the city. They’re passionate. They love football. I can’t wait (until) when Kansas City and Philly clash, it is going to be awesome. What a great Super Bowl it will be.”
There’s even some brother-against-brother drama — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will go against Philadelphia center Jason Kelce.
“My mom can’t lose,” Travis Kelce said. “I’ll just leave it at that. It’s going to be an amazing feeling, playing against him.”
Eagles Rise With Hurts, Sirianni
There are still plenty of newcomers to the Super Bowl stage, particuarly for Philadelphia. A new generation of Eagles — including secondyear coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Hurts — have been dominant during their playoff run. “I don’t really know how to feel to be honest,” Hurts said. “You work really hard to put yourself in this position and I’m forever grateful.”
The Eagles won the Super Bowl after the 2017 season in the last matchup of No. 1 seeds, by beating the New England Patriots. However, that was with quarterback Nick Foles under center and coach Doug Pederson calling the shots. Now it’s Hurts and Sirianni who have deftly led the Eagles back to the title game.
Hurts, a former Alabama standout, has improved in all three of his NFL seasons and finished this year with 3,701 yards passing, 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also ran for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“I said early in the week that this is not a time for reflection,” Hurts said. “It’s really hard for me to do that. I try to enjoy the moment, but my joy comes in winning. I know the job isn’t done.”
The Eagles have a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. They’ve also got a stellar defense that’s led by Haason Reddick, who paced the team with 16 sacks over the regular season. He also had two sacks and a crucial forced fumble against the 49ers.
“I can’t even get my thoughts right, right now,”
Reddick said.
“I’m just excited for the team, myself and I can’t wait.”
Chiefs Dynasty Continues
The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons. They beat the San Francisco 49ers for the Super Bowl 54 title after the 2019 season before losing to Tampa Bay in the championship game one year later.
Mahomes returns after arguably the best season of his career. The 27-year-old threw for 5,250 yards, 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to earn his second All-pro selection.
Mahomes fought through a badly sprained right ankle to claim the AFC title. He has some time to heal before facing an Eagles defense that led the NFL with 70 sacks this season. “The job’s not finished for us,” Mahomes said after beating the Bengals.
Mahomes is Kansas City’s marquee player, but he’s got help. Travis Kelce earned his fourth All-pro selection at tight end after totaling more than 1,000 yards receiving for a seventh straight season. Defensive tackle Chris Jones had 15 1/2 sacks during the regular season — earning his first All-pro nod — and was impressive in a two-sack performance against the Bengals. The biggest issue for the Chiefs is health. Besides Mahomes nursing his sore ankle, Kelce fought through back spasms to play against the Bengals. Cornerback L’jarius Sneed (concussion), linebacker Willie Gay Jr. (shoulder) and receivers Kadarius Toney (ankle),
Juju Smith-schuster (knee) and Mecole Hardman
(pelvis) all watched the dramatic conclusion of the AFC championship from the sidelines.