Andy Reid aims to lead Chiefs past former team in Super Bowl
PHOENIX — Andy Reid already proved he can win the big game in Kansas City after coming up short several times throughout his 14 seasons in Philadelphia.
Leading the Chiefs to a victory over the Eagles in the Super Bowl on Sunday would further cement his Hall of Fame credentials and add to his legacy.
“Listen, I had 14 great years there,” Reid said about Philadelphia, where he won more games than any coach in franchise history. “I loved every minute of it. It’s a great organization. I still am close with the people there. It was great to see the kids that we had drafted that are now these veteran players — All-Pro players — on that team. I had the chance to give them a hug, and now we go our separate ways and get ready to play.”
Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (16-3) are aiming to win their second Super Bowl championship in four seasons. They beat the San Francisco 49ers three years ago and lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2020 season.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles (16-3) present a tough challenge. They have a dynamic offense and a stingy defense with both units being powered by dominant lines.
The matchup is filled with intriguing storylines beyond Reid facing his former team. Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce will become the first brothers to play each other in the Super Bowl. It’ll be the first Super Bowl with two Black starting QBs. Also, Reid didn’t retain now-Eagles coach Nick Sirianni when he was an assistant in Kansas City in 2013.
All that filled stories, created content and increased the hype leading into the game.
But, on the field, this is a true matchup of heavyweights. It’s the first time the NFL’s two No. 1 seeds are here since the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 to capture their first Lombardi Trophy five years ago.
The teams are evenly matched. The Chiefs led the NFL in scoring offense and total yards. The Eagles were third overall in both categories. The Eagles have an edge on defense with the No. 2 ranked unit while the Chiefs are 11th.
Philly’s defense is so nasty Mahomes couldn’t even point to one standout area.
“They’re great everywhere,” Mahomes said. “It’s hard to pick one. I’d probably say the defensive line because they’re on an historic sack rate, and the way they’re able to get to the quarterback. Everybody knows that everything starts up front. So that’ll be a great challenge for our offensive line to try to do what they can in the run game and pass game of protecting and run-blocking. But they got great DBs, great linebackers.”
Mahomes and Hurts finished 1-2 in voting for the AP NFL MVP. Both have been dealing with injuries. Mahomes played the AFC championship game with a badly
sprained ankle. Hurts missed two games late in the season with a shoulder injury.
They’ll go all-out one more time and have plenty of time to rest in the offseason. Whichever QB gets better protection will likely determine the winner.
“If you slip up, he can make you pay with his legs, his arm, anyway he can,” Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay said. “We just have to approach it as he’s a weapon. This week we know he’s a big key for us. We have to slow him down.”
Mahomes can do it all, too. He won his second MVP award by a landslide, taking 48 of 50 first-place votes. The extra week off has helped his ankle heal so the Eagles will have to be wary of his ability to create plays with his legs.
“He’s one of the quarterbacks in the league that I haven’t been able to sack yet or haven’t gotten to yet,” said Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick, who was a one-man wrecking crew in the NFC title game against the 49ers. “If I’m able to get to him and I get him in the Super Bowl, that’s going to be historic for me.”
PHILADELPHIA (16-3) vs KANSAS CITY (16-3) at Glendale, Arizona Sunday, 5:30 p.m. CST, Fox FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Eagles by 1 1/2.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Eagles 10-9, Chiefs 7-11-1.
SERIES RECORD: Chiefs lead 5-4.
LAST MEETING: Chiefs defeated the Eagles 42-30 on Oct. 3, 2021, in Philadelphia.
LAST GAME: Eagles defeated 49ers 31-7; Chiefs beat Bengals, 23-20.
EAGLES OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (5), PASS (9), SCORING (3).
EAGLES DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (T16), PASS (1), SCORING (8).
CHIEFS OFFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (20), PASS (1), SCORING (1)
CHIEFS DEFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (8), PASS (18), SCORING (16)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Eagles plus-8; Chiefs minus-3.
EAGLES PLAYER TO
WATCH: QB Jalen Hurts, 24, will try to become the fourth starting QB younger than 25 to win the Super Bowl. The Eagles went 16-1 when Hurts started, losing two games when he was sidelined by a injured shoulder late in the season. Hurts set an NFL record for QBs with 15 TD runs in the regular season and playoffs, while also ranking tied for first in the NFL this season with 11 TD passes on throws at least 20 yards downfield.
CHIEFS PLAYER TO WATCH: TE Travis Kelce is healthy after playing through the aftermath of back spasms against Cincinnati in the AFC title game. He still had seven catches for 78 yards and a score. The Chiefs lost three wide receivers in that game to injuries, and while JuJu SmithSchuster (knee) and Kadarius Toney (ankle) will be available, Kelce is still the Chiefs’ best pass-catching option. He caught a career-best 110 passes for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season. The only player with more playoff TD catches than Kelce’s 15 is Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
KEY MATCHUP: Eagles DE Haason Reddick vs. Chiefs RT Andrew Wylie. Reddick had 16 sacks in the regular season and 3 1/2 more so far in the playoffs as the dominant force on a strong defensive line for Philadelphia. He will mostly be matched up with Wylie, whose nine sacks allowed in the regular season were tied for fourth most in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
KEY INJURIES: Both teams are relatively healthy. Eagles CB Avonte Maddox (toe) returned in a limited role in the NFC title game and should be full go in the Super Bowl. … Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed left the AFC championship game with a concussion but has cleared protocol and is set to play Sunday.
SERIES NOTES: The Chiefs have won all three meetings against the Eagles under Andy Reid, who also went 3-0 against Kansas City during his tenure as Philadelphia coach. … Patrick Mahomes threw five TD passes with only six incomplete passes against the Eagles last season. Jalen Hurts threw for a careerhigh 387 yards that game for Philadelphia.
STATS AND STUFF: This marks the sixth time since the 1970 merger that the two teams with sole possession of the top two records in the regular season played in the Super Bowl. … The Eagles are playing in their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history. They lost their first two trips and won it all in the 2017 season against New England. … The Chiefs are playing in their third Super Bowl in four seasons. They beat the 49ers in 2020 before losing to the Buccaneers the following year. Kansas City also won the 1970 Super Bowl. … Philadelphia will become the fifth franchise to reach the Super Bowl under at least four coaches. … The Eagles became the fifth team to win their divisional round and conference championship games by at least 20 points. The other four teams all followed it up with a Super Bowl victory, with San Francisco doing it in 1988 and ‘89, Chicago in 1985 and Pittsburgh in 1978. … Philadelphia had a franchise-record 70 sacks in the regular season and eight more in the playoffs. The only teams with more in the regular season and playoffs combined in the Super Bowl era are the 1984 and 1985 Bears with 82 and 80, respectively. … The Eagles were the first team with four players who had double-digit sacks: Reddick (16), Brandon Graham (11), Javon Hargrave (11) and Josh Sweat (11). … Philadelphia had a pair of WRs with at least 1,000 yards receiving for the first time ever with A.J. Brown getting 1,496 yards and DeVonta Smith adding 1,196. … The Eagles set franchise marks for points (477), total touchdowns (59) and rushing touchdowns (32) in the regular season. … Philadelphia’s 39 TD runs in the regular season and playoffs are the most in the NFL in at least 90 seasons. … Hurts’ 15 TD runs are the most ever for a QB. … Andy Reid is the only NFL coach with at least 10 playoff wins with two teams. He had 10 in Philadelphia and has 11 in Kansas City. The only coach with more playoff wins total is Bill Belichick with 31. … Mahomes has 32 TD passes in the playoffs, tied with Hall of Famer Dan Marino for eighth in NFL history. Ben Roethlisberger is seventh with 36 and Drew Brees sixth with 37. … Kelce has 1,467 yards receiving in the postseason, second only to Rice (2,245) in NFL history. … Kelce has 15 TD catches in the playoffs, tying Rob Gronkowski for second in NFL history behind Rice with 22. … Chiefs DE Frank Clark has 13 1/2 sacks in the postseason. He needs one to tie Bruce Smith for second and 2 1/2 to tie Willie McGinest for the most since sacks became an official stat in 1982. … The Chiefs are 55-3 in their past 58 games when holding opponents to fewer than than 27 points, including the postseason.