The stage for Super Bowl 57 is set, Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles. Chiefs coach Andy Reid will face the team he coached from 1999-2012. Brothers Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce will face off against each other. Each of these teams were the best in their conference for the majority of the season.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are playing in their third Super Bowl in four years. The Chiefs have been on a historic stretch since Mahomes became the team’s starting quarterback, hosting the last five AFC Championship games. The Chiefs squared off against the Cincinnati Bengals, who bested the Chiefs last year in overtime of a great AFC Championship game. In the previous round, Mahomes suffered a nasty looking high ankle sprain early on into the game, but adrenaline pushed Mahomes through the rest of the game and helped lead the Chiefs to victory. However, could Mahomes play a week later when all adrenaline ran out? How would the Chiefs look without Mahomes, and how can they play through a whole game with backup Chad Henne? The Cincinnati defense in the round before against Buffalo shutdown superstar quarterback Josh Allen in dominant fashion. What would they do against Kansas City? In the end, all of these questions were answered. The answer? Patrick Mahomes, is once again, the equalizer of all equalizers.
The two teams would go back and forth for the majority of the game. The ankle injury Mahomes had suffered limited his mobility. However, Ried did a great job bolstering the offense around Mahomes’ injury. The Chiefs utilized their quick passing game to limit the amount of time Mahomes would have to stay in the pocket and avoid the pass rush. This game plan worked perfectly, as despite playing on one ankle, Mahomes would only be brought down three times behind the line of scrimmage three times throughout the game. At the start of the 4th quarter, Cincinnati tied the game up 20-20. The ensuing Chiefs drive ended after eight plays, and punted back to Cincinnati. The Bengals couldn’t get anything going, and punted back to the Chiefs with 30 seconds left. Mahomes would drive the Chiefs down the field, and with 17 seconds left on 3rd and 4, Mahomes, sprained ankle and all, rolled out to scramble. Mahomes picked up the first and headed out of bounds, then the worst case scenario happened for Cinicnati. Bengals player Joseph Ossai pushed Mahomes after he ran out of bounds, and got called for unnecessary roughness. This moved Kansas City 15 yards forward, giving them the chance to kick back to the Super Bowl with a game winning field goal. Harrison Butker would drill the field, sending Kansas City to Arizona on the quest for their third Super Bowl. Mahomes threw 326 yards and two touchdowns. Playing dominantly on practically one leg, further adding to the resume of one of the most talented quarterbacks ever.
The other Conference title game was not as close. The Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers would face off in a game that felt like it would come down to a score in a defensive fest. Ater a quick Eagles score, 49ers 3rd string quarterback Brock Purdy, who took the last stretch of the season by storm, would tear his UCL in his right elbow. The 49ers would have to then turn to 4th-stringer Josh Johnson, who then suffered a concussion, bringing the team down to no quarterbacks. The Eagles would run the ball down the 49ers throat for 148 yards, winning 31-7. The Eagles pass rush dominated for the majority of the game, making anyone who took snaps under center for the 49ers uncomfortable. Star edge rusher Hasan Reddick looked unstoppable for stretches. This is the first time the Eagles are going back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2017, when they beat the New England Patriots 41-33. In total, only seven players from that Super Bowl are still playing for the Eagles. Howie Roseman, the Eagles general manager, deserves a ton of credit. Building two entirely different Super Bowl teams in five years is an amazing accomplishment.
Back in November, I wrote an NFL predictions article. In it I predicted this exact super bowl. I feel the exact same way today as I did when I wrote that article. Both offenses are playing great, and both defensive lines are playing great. It feels as if this will be a back and forth game between two very good teams. In the end however, I will never doubt Patrick Mahomes. Anyone who doubts Mahomes has been proved wrong again and again. In the playoffs, Mahomes ranks first all time in Passer Rating, Completion Percentage, Total Yards Per game, Passing Touchdowns Per Game, and Touchdown to Interception Ratio. Mahomes has won every way a quarterback can win. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will play a great game, but in the end, the Chiefs have #15 on their side, the equalizers of all equalizers, the great one. My final prediction, Chiefs 31 Eagles 28.
