Glendale, Arizona plays host to Super Bowl LVII, where the NFL's top two teams from the 2022-23 season will pit wits and skills to determine the best team in the league.
Two talented, exciting quarterbacks are the talk of the town heading into the Super Bowl LVII meeting between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Surrounded by plenty of star power, both franchises have the tools to lock down a victory.
Toss in storylines, among others, like Kansas City head coach Andy Reid being the winningest coach in Eagles franchise history and the Kelce brothers (Travis for Kansas City. Jason for Philadelphia) and there's plenty of in-game drama to go around.
While all of this is nice, the true fun usually belongs to the under-the-radar or unexpected player that makes a name for themselves in Super Bowl lore.
For Kansas City, that player may very well be a wide receiver. The unit is hobbled, as JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney are both dealing with injuries. Mecole Hardman is also out after re-aggravating a pelvis injury in the AFC title game.
Smith-Schuster (78 receptions, 933 yards) and Toney both got hurt in the AFC Championship victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
This gives a chance to Marquez Valdes-Scantling (42 receptions, 687 yards, 2 TD) to make an impact. Valdes-Scantling was about the only option left at wide receiver against the Bengals and he rose to the occasion, hauling in six receptions for 116 yards and a score.
Skyy Moore could also see more usage and given the opportunity to shine to become a Super Bowl hero.
For the Eagles, that player could be on the defensive side of the ball, where the Eagles have had one of the top defenses this season. Though not necessarily under-the-radar, keep an eye on names like Reed Blankenship and Josh Sweat to rise above and make an impact.
Whoever walks away with that game ball MVP when the clock hits zero, expect this game to be a good one.
Kansas City Chiefs
The fate of a Kansas City result on Sunday is tied to Patrick Mahomes. Voted to his second MVP award earlier this week, Mahomes has been nothing short of spectacular ever since becoming starting quarterback in his second season.
Mahomes and Kansas City's offense were supposed to suffer a setback this year with the loss of Tyreek Hill. Instead, the sixth-year quarterback enjoyed the best season of his career. Mahomes finished the regular season with career-highs in completion percentage (67.1) and passing yards (5250) while throwing 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Despite the all-worldly talents of Mahomes, this is not to say the Chiefs are completely helpless without him having his best game. Or, like in the AFC Divisional round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, leaves with an injury. Backup Chad Henne can conservatively control the offense, and make a big throw when needed.
Plus, a rejuvenated ground game has helped the Chiefs succeed in '22-23, led by rookie Isiah Pacheco.
In two playoff games, Pacheco's numbers read more like a one-game stat but he's been efficient with 121 yards on 22 carries. In the regular season, Pacheco led the team with 830 yards and five touchdowns.
He'll have help in the Super Bowl and it might be a committee that gets things done on the ground game. Jerick McKinnon is primarily a receiving threat (56 receptions, 512 yards, 9 TDs) but did have 291 rushing yards. And Clyde Edwards-Helaire makes his return, though he wasn't exactly making waves (302 rushing yards) before his injury in week 11.
All of that might not matter, if Mahomes and Travis Kelce are making their special connection even more vibrant.
Kelce delivered a career season, hauling in 110 receptions for 1338 yards and 12 touchdowns. And he's been even more focused in the postseason, catching 21 passes for 176 yards and three scores.
Overall, Kansas City was tops in the league with 413.6 yards and 29.2 points per game.
On defense, it was a mixed bag with stellar individual players making up for some lapses. Kansas City allowed 21.7 points per game and were 11th in yards allowed per game (328.2). They were 8th in rushing yards allowed at 107.2 but some of that can be attributed to opponents playing catch up.
Nick Bolton tallied 180 tackles in the regular season, with two sacks and two interceptions. Behind him, a talented secondary saw L'Jarius Sneed tally 108 tackles and have 11 passes defended, with three interceptions. Sneed has been hobbled much of the second-half of the season but continues to produce.
It is Chris Jones, however, who the Eagles need to focus on. Jones had 15.5 sacks and will play an important part in helping keep the Eagles offense at bay.
Philadelphia Eagles
In looking to secure their second-ever Super Bowl win, the Eagles will turn to Jalen Hurts and a ground game that is one of the best in the NFL.
The main focus will be on Hurts, of course, who can control the action through the air and on the ground. Despite missing a couple of games with a shoulder injury, Hurts threw for 3701 yards with a 66.5 completion percentage. Hurts tossed only six interceptions with 22 touchdown passes.
The numbers aren't huge in the passing game but that's because it was balanced nicely with a ground game from Hurts. He had 760 rushing yards and found the end zone 13 times.
Running has been tempered a bit in the playoffs for Hurts (20 carries, 73 yards) but that's slightly attributed to keeping him healthy. Large leads have helped, too, and Hurts is 31-49 for 275 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
Hurts is part of ground attack that averaged 147.6 rushing yards per game. Quietly, it seems, running back Miles Sanders put together his best season as a pro. Sometimes, Sanders can get lost in the shuffle, but he steadily delivered in '22-23.
Despite only three games of 100+ yards, Sanders finished with 1269 on the ground. He added 11 rushing touchdowns and averaged just under five yards per carry.
Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott complete the backfield rotation, allowing the Eagles to stay fresh in the ground game.
Depth at receiver can be an issue for the Eagles but they do have two top receivers in the game, plus a solid player at tight end.
A.J. Brown clearly was on a mission this season after being traded from the Titans last offseason. Not that he wasn't a star before. Brown simply delivered at another high-caliber level, with 88 receptions for 1496 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The second part of the receiving duo, but by no means secondary, is DeVonta Smith. Smith followed up a great rookie season by snatching 95 passes for 1196 yards and seven touchdowns.
The two produced most of the passing game offense in the regular season, with tight end Dallas Goedert catching 55 passes for 702 yards and three touchdowns.
All told, Philly averaged 28.1 points and 389.1 yards per game, both good for third in the league. And on defense, they quietly went about business. In many ways, with all the focus on the team's offense, not much was said about the defense. But they certainly deserve recognition, holding opponents to 20.2 points per game.
And they could present a problem to Mahomes and the Chiefs, as the Eagles defense held opponents to 301.5 total yards and 179.8 passing yards, both tops in the league.
Philadelphia has standouts at all three positional groups, starting up front where Haason Reddick (16.5), Javon Hargrave (11), and Sweat (11) led the way on a unit that had 70 sacks.
Reddick has not slowed down in the postseason, collecting 3.5 of Philly's eight playoff sacks.
T.J. Edwards had 159 tackles and C.J. Gardner-Johnson had six interceptions.
Prediction
A tough call but I believe Bud Light will defeat Budweiser.
Oh, wait. Wrong game.
Both Kansas City and Philadelphia had 14-3 regular seasons. The Eagles have had an easier go of things in the playoffs, winning by an average of 34.5 to 7 (compared with the Chiefs 25-20 average).
Kansas City has won the last three meetings between these two teams, last defeating the Eagles 42-30 in October of 2021. Mahomes tossed five touchdowns in that game while Hurts threw for 387 yards.
My predictions for these "big games" have been off as of late. I went 0-2 in this season's Conference Championship games. And narrowly missed on last year's Super Bowl. But, I had about a 70 percent success rate in the pick 'em league I played in. So, take that as you will but...
Kansas City Chiefs 24 Philadelphia Eagles 22
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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