It feels like only yesterday that I wrote my preview of the 2022-23 NFL season, yet, here we are, with only two teams left standing and the Super Bowl a week away. Looking back, the majority of my predictions in that article aged embarrassingly poorly, such as my hot takes that the Rams and Buccaneers would be championship contenders and that the Colts would win their division. Of course, my preview wasn’t all that bad, as other predictions, such as that the Chiefs and Eagles would win their divisions, turned out to be accurate.
Setting aside my questionable pre-season predictions, let’s take a look at next week’s much-anticipated Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
How the Chiefs Got Here
Many doubted the mighty Kansas City Chiefs going into the season, myself included, following the blockbuster trade of their superstar wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, to the Miami Dolphins. Last weekend, the Chiefs emphatically silenced doubters by hosting their fifth straight AFC Championship and coming out with a win.
The Chiefs’ path to the Super Bowl was somewhat unconventional. They were controversially awarded the AFC’s top seed after the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game due to Damar Hamlin’s injury, which, had the Bills won, would have given the Bills the seed instead. This unprecedented complication led many to argue that the Chiefs didn’t deserve the top seed. Nevertheless, ignoring the noise and the hate, the Chiefs entered their divisional round matchup unphased and locked in.
The Chiefs’ narrow victory against the up-and-coming Jaguars came with a scare, as their superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is likely to win MVP, went down with a sprained ankle. Furthermore, it was announced soon afterwards that Travis Kelce, their top receiver, was suffering from back pains. These sudden injuries — plus the overwhelming amount of trash talk by the Bengals fans and players, who had hitherto been undefeated to Mahomes’s Chiefs — led to the Chiefs entering the championship game as underdogs.
In the AFC Championship, dubbed the “arrowhead invitational” by sports commentator and notorious Chiefs fan Nick Wright, the Chiefs solidified their place as the kings of the AFC. They quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead over Joe Burrow’s Bengals and never looked back, clinching their Super Bowl berth with a game-winning field goal.
How the Eagles Got Here
Going into the season, the Eagles were considered by many to be dark-horse contenders. They possessed the roster necessary to make a deep playoff run and certainly to win their division, but many wondered if Jalen Hurts was the right quarterback to lead them. With a phenomenal season that earned him a spot as an MVP finalist, Hurts proved that he is the Eagles’ franchise quarterback for good.
The Eagles, like the Chiefs, were their conference’s top seed. They were incredibly consistent throughout the season, dominating opponents with their league-best offensive and defensive lines, elite pass rush and secondary, and superb quarterback play. The only bump along the otherwise unblemished path that has been the Eagles’ season was Jalen Hurts’s injury towards the end of the regular season. Given the extent to which the Eagles rely on Hurts’s strength and running ability, it is essential to their Super Bowl chances that he is fully healthy and able to maximize his impact.
The Eagles’ road to the Super Bowl was relatively easy, with a blowout over the Giants in the divisional round and a demolition of the injured 49ers in the NFC Championship. The question is: are Jalen Hurts and the Eagles capable of coming up clutch in tight games?
How the Teams Match Up
This year’s Super Bowl is a strikingly even contest. One statistic that stood out to me is that the Chiefs and Eagles are both 16-3 going into the Super Bowl, and have each scored exactly 546 points on the season. Going into the big game, the primary differentiator between the two teams is that the Eagles have a more talented and complete roster, but the Chiefs have the better coach-quarterback duo. Only time will tell which of the two is more important.
Both teams have dynamic offenses, led by pristine offensive coaches, MVP-caliber quarterbacks, and amazing receivers. What sets the Eagles apart is their run game. The Eagles have been one of the NFL’s best rushing teams, a credit to their star-studded offensive line. This is an important advantage over the Chiefs, who have struggled to run the ball throughout the season. The middle-of-the-pack Chiefs defense will likely struggle to cope with the Eagles unstoppable run game and multidimensional offensive scheme. Contrarily, the Eagles defense, from their league-best defensive line to their world class secondary, is well-equipped to slow down the Chiefs passing game.
The factors that even out this matchup are Patrick Mahomes and offensive mastermind Andy Reid. In order to overcome Mahomes’s clutchness and Reid’s unpredictability, the Eagles will have to dominate early, and, with tough defense and a consistent run game, try to put the game away in the first half.
Form IV student Santo Raggiri, a diehard Chiefs fan, made a bold prediction for the game. “Mahomes is a once-in-a-generation talent,” he said. “I predict that he will show up in the big moments and lead us to a hard fought victory. I think the Chiefs will win 31-27.”
In my opinion, while the Eagles may not have the better quarterback and coach, their dominant skill-position players, who outmatch the Chiefs’, should be enough to bring it home.
My prediction: Eagles 31, Chiefs 24
