By The brass bands in New Orleans are playing. The barbecue in Kansas City is smoking. The Yuengling in Philadelphia is flowing.
It’s finally time for Super Bowl LIX.
With kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. Sunday on FOX, the showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is chock full of storylines. The Chiefs are aiming to pull off something that’s never been done before in the NFL by winning three straight Super Bowl championships, while the Eagles are looking for revenge for defeat against KC two years ago.
Here are five things to watch in the final game of the 2024-25 NFL season:
The word that has been said the most in New Orleans this week is trademarked by NBA legend Pat Riley: Three-peat.
The Chiefs are aiming to pull off something that’s never been done in the NFL and only done a few times in the other major American sports by winning three straight Super Bowl championships. There’s been no shortage of questions to both teams about the feat, especially to the Chiefs about how they stay motivated after so much success.
The team’s star tight end, Travis Kelce, said it’s about winning it for the guys who haven’t got a ring on their fingers just yet.
“Obviously, what we’ve done over the course of three years is fun, man, but this team is more special than any team I’ve ever been on,” Kelce said this week. “We have a lot of unique individuals, a lot of guys that haven’t tasted the mountain top yet and I want it for them just as bad as I want it for myself. “
Kansas City has projected an air of calmness throughout the week, using their familiarity with the Super Bowl week hoopla to compartmentalize the off-field hype and their on-field duties.
“There’s a calmness, you know,” said cornerback Trent McDuffie. “I think everybody right now understands everything we’re doing, it comes with the territory, and it’s all about how you handle it. … When it comes time to football, everybody locks in.”
On the opposite side of the field, the Eagles bring one of the most talented and complete teams in the NFL this season to The Big Easy.
Led by Jalen Hurts, the quarterback who is just as much of a threat with his legs as he is with his arm, and NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley, the Eagles proved in the NFC Championship Game that they have one of the most explosive offenses in the league. With the sport’s best offensive line and talented players at wide receiver and tight end, the Eagles have the ability to put up a ton of points and keep Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense off the field.
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles defense was the best in the league this year and features disruptors like Jalen Carter on the defensive line, Zack Baun at linebacker, Darius Slay at cornerback and CJ Gardner-Johnson at safety.
All together, they make for one of the most well-rounded squads in the league – and one that is looking for revenge after the Chiefs defeated the Eagles in this big game two years ago to start their historic run. Head coach Nick Sirianni said it’s part of what has shaped key players on the team, even though it’s a much different group than played in that contest two years ago.
“One thing we’ve talked a lot about is embracing adversity, and how adversity shapes you personally,” he said. “So all our setbacks, including 2022 – end of the season there – we use to help shape who we are.”
The Chiefs’ three-peat is not exactly on the minds of the Eagles this week, said offensive tackle Jordan Mailata.
“I have plenty of motivation. That’s not one of my intents to play for just to stop the three-peat,” he told reporters. “I have plenty motivation enough to play for the and win the Super Bowl.”
One of the key matchups to watch on Sunday is the showdown between the already-legendary Mahomes and the top-ranked Eagles pass defense.
Mahomes will be playing in his fifth Super Bowl, having won three already. In each of those wins, he’s taken home the Super Bowl MVP award and has used some of his Mahomes Magic to help guide the Chiefs back to the grandest stage in the game.
While he didn’t get selected ot the Pro Bowl for the first time in many years this season, the Chiefs’ leader still passed for almost 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns during the regular season, ending up with a quarterback rating of 93.5.
He’s stepped his game up further in the postseason, passing for 422 yards in two games. Mahomes passed for one touchdowns and rushed for two more to help win the AFC Championship Game. His QB rating is now at 105.2, near his career postseason quarterback rating of 105.8.
But he’ll be facing off against a defense that ranked No. 1 in the league this year, only giving up an average of 17.4 yards per game and allowing just 22 passing touchdowns. The Eagles’ defense only gave up an average of 17.8 points per game.
One area that the Philly defense did not excel at this season was getting pressure on the quarterback. The Eagles ranked dead last in the league in quarterback hurries and 15th in sacks. If the Chiefs offensive line is able to give Mahomes some time, then the eighth-year quarterback could be able to pick apart that talented secondary.
The goal for Barkley and the Eagles’ offensive line will be to make sure Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs offense stays on the sideline as much as possible.
Barkley had a career season this year, becoming the ninth running back in history to go over 2,000 yards. He’s followed that up by continuing his dominance in the postseason, rushing for 442 yards in the Eagles’ three games that got them to this point, scoring five touchdowns – including multiple long runs that have set the tone for the team.
In his first season in Philly, Barkley has taken his superstardom to another level behind one of the game’s best offensive lines. Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Mekhi Becton, Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens have provided massive holes for Barkley to run through and have earned themselves Rolexes. Barkley followed through on a preseason promise to buy them all an expensive watch if he won the rushing title, which he did with his 2,005 yards.
That talented offensive line will have their work cut out for them against the Chiefs.
Chris Jones and the rest of the Kansas City defensive line led the league’s eighth best rushing defense this season, allowing 101.8 yards per game. They’ve been gashed a bit more in the playoffs, allowing 148 yards on the ground in the previous two games, but with two weeks of rest and game-planning behind them, the Chiefs defense will be looking to put a stopper in the rushing attack that has led the Eagles to New Orleans.
Inevitably, the officials will be under the microscope on Sunday.
Social media has been alight throughout the season with accusations that the NFL’s officials are helping the Chiefs with big calls in critical moments. Dean Blandino, the former vice president of officiating for the NFL and current rules analysts for FOX Sports, says that’s nonsense.
“The reality is they are just trying to get it right and teams get breaks from time to time. It happens. These officials are going to be – there’s 100 and however many millions of people watching, and they just want to get it right,” Blandino told CNN this week. “And they’re not going to, because it’s Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce or whoever, … call the game differently.”
But that doesn’t mean that the referees working Sunday’s Super Bowl are going to be immune from the conversation. Blandino said they’re certainly aware of the talk that has gone on all week, but they will block it out.
“I think it makes it into their worlds. These officials, they don’t get the Super Bowl assignment and hand in their cell phone, right? They don’t not go on the internet,” he said. “I think the good officials will kind of block that out and this crew, they’re going to go out and officiate the game, regardless of what the narrative is. But, yeah, sure, it enters into the conversation, because everybody’s talking about it.”
Veteran Ron Torbert will be the referee, taking his second Super Bowl assignment. Side judge Boris Cheek will be in his fourth Super Bowl. The other officials – umpire Mike Morton, down judge Max Causey, line judge Mark Stewart, field judge Mearl Robinson, back judge Jonah Monroe and replay official Kevin Brown – are all in their first Super Bowl.
Still, if the Super Bowl comes down to one big decision by the refs – as the AFC Championship Game arguably did, when the referees determined Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen did not pick up a first down on a fourth-down play late in the game – the storyline will once again be a focus in the postgame discussions.
