by Noah Bair ’24

This year’s Super Bowl between the Eagles and Chiefs will feature a number of firsts for the NFL. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce will be the first set of brothers to play against each other in a Super Bowl. Also, this will be the first Super Bowl where the top scoring offenses and teams with the most regular season yards will face off. With these high powered offenses bound to have a shootout in the NFL’s championship game, fans expect this to be one of the highest scoring Super Bowls in recent memory.

While the Eagles dominated their opponent in the NFC championship game, beating the 49ers by 24 points, the Chiefs had a rougher battle with the Bengals. The two were tied for more than thirteen minutes in the fourth quarter, with the tie broken by the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker making the game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining. This breaks the Bengals three-game winning streak over the Chiefs, including last year’s AFC Championship game, which featured the Bengals kicker making a game-winning field goal. 

Both the Chiefs and the Eagles are familiar with the big game, with the Chiefs playing in their third Super Bowl in the last four years. Five years ago, the Eagles beat the Patriots to win their first championship in team history. Similarly, Andy Reid, the Chiefs’ head coach, is one of the most seasoned coaches in the league when it comes to playoff experience. Before becoming the coach of the Chiefs in 2013, he was the coach of the Eagles for thirteen years. Reid is second all time in playoff wins, winning 21 out of his 37 games played in his 24 year coaching career thus far.

Each team finished the regular season with the best record in their conference, which earned them a first round bye in the playoffs. Both had high expectations entering the playoffs, and are now one game away from their ultimate goal. While the Chiefs have had more recent playoff success, all signs point to the Eagles having the advantage in this matchup. They’ve had seven rushing touchdowns in their last two games, and will work to expose a short-handed  Chiefs defense. They had two defensive players get hurt against the Bengals, and now have three rookies starting in the Super Bowl.. Quarterback Jalen Hurts will utilize his dual-threat playstyle to expose the shaky Chiefs defense and create a lead that not even the superb Chiefs offense can come back from. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ sprained ankle from the divisional round game will limit his mobility, and injuries to each of the Chiefs’ top three wide receivers will hinder their ability to make big plays if they find themselves in a hole early. 

Score Prediction: Eagles 31, Chiefs 23