Ralph Vacchiano
NFL reporter
Two years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs put on quite a show in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz. They combined for 750 yards of offense and eight touchdowns, and it was decided against a field goal with eight seconds left in the game.
It was exciting and dramatic. It featured big plays and big performances from some of the NFL’s best players.
In fact, it was so good that they decided to do it again.
The rematch will take place at Super Bowl LIX on February 9 at the Superdome in New Orleans (6:30 PM ET on FOX) when the NFC Champion Eagles take on the AFC Champion and two-time defending Super Bowl winners Chiefs. The coaches and quarterbacks are still the same as they were two years ago, and they still have many of the same players.
But there’s no doubt that a lot about both teams has changed, and this could be a very different game. The last time they engage in an offensive shootout.
This time they could be locked in a much more defensive match.
That’s because neither team is built for the same kind of offensive explosion they were capable of two years ago. The Eagles may even be closer to the juggernaut they were back then, but they’re not the same kind of offense. They’re almost all about the run, powered by their newest star running back Saquon Barkley. His near-record season with 2,005 rushing yards powered them all year and turned them into perhaps the most dangerous rushing team in the league.
As a result, they’re leaning a lot more on Barkley than on quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was an MVP candidate two years ago. Hurts showed Sunday he’s still capable of big plays, rushing for 248 yards and a touchdown and running for three touchdowns in a 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. But offensively, at least, the Eagles are Barkley’s team now.
That doesn’t necessarily make them less dangerous. But it sometimes makes them less explosive.
Meanwhile, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the MVP two years ago when the Chiefs beat the Eagles for the championship, but he wasn’t even a Pro Bowler this season as he threw for 3,928 yards and just 26 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Kansas City is much more dependent on their top-10 defense—which, by the way, has been particularly strong against the run all season long. That’s what has kept them in almost every game they’ve played, almost all of which have gone down to the wire.
In fact, the Chiefs have played 12 one-score games this season, leading many to believe they may finally be vulnerable. But they still won them, including their dramatic 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night in the AFC Championship game.
Mahomes had one of his best games of the season against the Bills, throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown and running for 43 yards and two touchdowns. But it was still the Leaders’ defense that was called upon to preserve the victory in the fourth quarter and kept Buffalo’s dangerous quarterback Josh Allen in check most of the time, limiting him to just 237 passing yards and 39 yards rushing.
Even if that defense finds a way to shut down Barkley and the Eagles in Super Bowl Lix, the Chiefs might still need a little more as Mahomes needs to find a way to break through against the No. 1 defense in the NFL. The Eagles don’t have the same historic pass rush they had two years ago when they had 70 sacks in the regular season. But they are a better defense with a better scheme and better tacklers. And they have become dangerous in creating turnovers, like the four they forced against the usually gregarious trading commanders on Sunday.
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Of course, it won’t be that easy for the Eagles in two weeks. The Chiefs are still basically the same core group that has been to seven straight AFC championship games and five Super Bowls over the last six seasons, winning three of them so far. And they’re motivated by trying to become the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl three years in a row.
The Eagles had a chance to stop that run before it started two years ago when they went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, thanks to a brilliant performance from Hurts. The Eagles quarterback threw for 304 yards and a touchdown and ran for 70 yards and three touchdowns. It took a 27-yard field goal by Harrison Butker in the final seconds for the Chiefs to avoid overtime and escape with a 38-35 victory.
But the defenses took a backseat in that game. Both offenses were virtually unstoppable.
These Leaders and Eagles just aren’t built that way this season, so another shootout seems looming. This time, the Super Bowl championship could come down to the best defense, and which of the two battle-tested coaches and quarterbacks can find a way to break through.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL reporter for Fox Sports. He spent the last six years covering the Giants And Bumps for sny tv in New Yorkand before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @Ralphvacchiano.
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