In 2022, the Eagles suffered a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and just two seasons later, here we are, getting ready to watch the Eagles take on the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. We'll get into logic and stats later, but first, I'll tell you why the Eagles could win the Super Bowl regardless. The last time the Eagles won the Bowl was against the Patriots, who had beaten Philadelphia in their previous Super Bowl appearance, with the win breaking up a three-peat. Now the Eagles are playing the Chiefs, who beat the Eagles in their last Super Bowl appearance and are trying to three-peat.
Saquon Barkley and Cooper DeJean both celebrate their birthday on February 9th, the same day as the Super Bowl. If you add up their jersey numbers, 26 and 33, it equals 59, and it's Super Bowl 59. DeVonta Smith is from New Orleans, where the game is being held, and the Birds have two former Saints, CJ Gardner-Johnson and Zack Baun. The Eagles played in New Orleans in Week 3 and won.
Game Info
Date: February 9th, 2025
Start Time: 6:30 PM ET
Location: New Orleans, LA
Stadium: Caesars Super Dome
TV Info: FOX (Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt the call)
Eagles Uniform Info: Green helmet, green jersey, white pants
Chiefs Statistical Rankings
Points Per Game: 23.2 (12th)
Points Allowed Per Game: 19.4 (4th)
Offensive Yards Per Game: 324.5 (19th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Per Game: 220.5 (15th) | 103.9 (23rd)
Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game: 327.3 (10th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 220.6 (19th) | 106.7 (9th)
Third Down Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 48.2% (3rd) | 43.9% (28th)
Red Zone Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 53.9% (22nd) | 53.3% (10th)
Penalties: 94 (4th)
Penalty Yardage: 829 (11th)
Players Already Ruled Out
Chiefs: DE BJ Thompson
Eagles: LB Nakobe Dean
Kansas City Chiefs
Defense
The Chiefs have held the Texans to just 14 points in the divisional round, but the Bills put up 29 in the AFC Championship. In the regular season, they allowed the fourth fewest points per game, allowing 19.4. They give up the tenth most total yards and have a top-ten run defense, which is good heading into a matchup against the league's leading rusher. They allow 107 rush yards per game and have gone 18 straight games without allowing a single rusher to go for over 100 yards. However, Saquon Barkley rushed for 125 yards per game and has rushed for 100+ yards 14 times this season. Kansas City faced the run the 8th least of every team, whereas the Eagles ran the ball more than any other team. The Chiefs need to be ready for AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith because their regular season pass defense wasn't the greatest.
Kansas City faced 33 pass attempts per game, allowing 66% of them to be completed for 220 yards per game. They had 13 interceptions and 71 pass deflections in the regular season, and they've had eight deflections and zero interceptions in the playoffs. Jalen Hurts has not thrown an interception in his three playoff games. Kansas City has the fourth-worst defensive third-down conversion percentage at 43.9%. They have a ton of red zone defense, allowing a touchdown inside the 20 just 53% of the time.
Offense
The Chiefs' offense is nothing crazy; they put up the 12th most points and 19th most yards, and they rank 23rd in rushing yards per game and 15th in pass yards per game. Patrick Mahomes was sacked 36 times, the 12th most of any QB. Mahomes had the least passing yards in a single season in his career, with 3,928. He did have the highest completion percentage of his career at 67.5%, though he finished with 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His 26 touchdowns are also tied for the least of his career. In the playoffs, he'd throw for 211 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions per game. It's nothing super flashy, but it's enough to get the job done and make it back to the big game.
Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy have seen the majority of the workload through the air in the playoffs. Of Mahomes' 51 attempts, 25 went to one of the two mentioned players. They have a combined 20 receptions for 266 yards and two touchdowns in the postseason, and they also have 14 of the team's 21 first downs. No other Chief has more than three receptions of 60 yards. The run game hasn't done much; as a team, Kansas City has 185 yards on the ground on 57 carries, averaging just 3.2 yards per carry. Mahomes and Kareem Hunt have two rushing touchdowns each, and four of Kansas City's six offensive playoff touchdowns came on the ground. The defense they're facing is much tougher than any that they've faced this year, but nobody has ever really been able to fully stop Mahomes.
Philadelphia Eagles
Defense
The Eagles have the No. 1 defense in the NFL; starting QBs are 3-11 all-time in the Super Bowl when facing the No. 1 defense. Defensive Player of the Year finalist, two Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists, and DC Vic Fangio was an Assistant Coach of the Year finalist. However, no Eagle walked away with an award. They give up the fewest points and total yards per game in the NFL, allowing just 18 points and 218 yards per game. They give up the second-fewest pass yards per game, which is good heading into a matchup against the best QB in the league. They allow the third-lowest completion percentage at 61.8%. They give up 104.4 rushing yards per game, the eighth lowest in the league. Philly held Green Bay to just 10 points in their first playoff game, but in their two other games, they've given up 22 and 23 points. In the playoffs, the Birds give up 263 pass yards per game, but a big part of that is from them playing from ahead in the Rams and Commanders games.
Zack Baun leads the Eagles in playoff tackles with 26; he also has two TFLs, two PDs, one interception, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Nolan Smith has four sacks in the postseason, the most by an Eagles in a single postseason in team history. He has four TFLs and a FF. Jalen Carter has been an animal for Philly this year and hasn't slowed down in the playoffs. He has two sacks, two TFLs, three PDs, and a forced fumble. Oren Burks stepped in for an injured Nakobe Dean and has done an outstanding job. Burks has put up 20 tackles, one sack, three TFLs, one PD, and two forced fumbles. CB one and two Darius Slay and Quinyon Mitchell have a combined nine PDs and three interceptions in the playoffs.
Offense
The Eagles offense is putting up 35 points per game in the playoffs and is coming off a 55-point game. Suppose this game comes down to a shootout. In that case, it's good to know that the 32 points in the AFC Championship is the most KC put up all year. In contrast, the Eagles scored over 32 points seven times this season, including the playoffs. The Birds finished the season within the top 10 in PPG, YPG, and completion percentage. They run the ball more than any other team, keeping it on the ground 55.8% of the time. They run for 186.6 yards per game, second most in the league, on the most carries per game at 36.3 per game. They average 5.1 YPC, the sixth best in the league, and they rank first in rushing TDs per game at two. Understandably, the team that runs the most also passes the least at just 44.1%—throwing for 180.5 yards on 25.9 attempts per game, dead last in the league. They average 7.8 yards per pass, ranking seventh in the NFL.
Jalen Hurts, and the heaviest o-line in Super Bowl history, will protect Saquon Barkley. The Birds' o-line combined weighs 1,688 pounds; Jordan Mailata is the heaviest at 365 pounds, while Cam Jurgens is the lightest at 303 pounds. Hurts has completed 69.6% of his playoff passes for 505 yards, three TDs, and no interceptions. He averages 7.3 yards per attempt and has been sacked 11 times. He's also rushed for 122 yards and four touchdowns. Four rushing touchdowns in three games must be the most important thing on the team, right? No, Saquon Barkley has five to add to his 442 rushing yards. He's averaging 147 yards per game in the playoffs. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith shouldn't have too much trouble with KC's lackluster secondary, and Dallas Goedert leads the team in postseason receiving yards and passed DeVonta Smith for most playoff receiving yards in franchise history.
Betting Info
Points Spread: PHI +1.5 (-110) | KC -1.5 (-110)
Moneyline: PHI (+105) | KC (-125)
Over/Under: O 48.5 (-112) | U 48.5 (-108)
Lines Via Draft Kings as of 2/3/25
Prediction
This game has two of the league's top defenses, so it shouldn't be too high-scoring, but the Eagles do have an explosive offense, and the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, so you never really know. Last time, the Chiefs won 38-35; this time, the Birds wonwon by an uncomfortable 10 points. No defense can stop Saquon Barkley, and Jalen Hurts has shown and proven that he can step up when he needs to. The Chiefs won't be able to contain Philadelphia's explosiveness all game. Still, Kansas City will have to fight for yards against the tough Eagles defense. The Eagles have arguably the best secondary in the league this year, and the Chiefs don't have any significant threats at receiver or running back. All the Eagles should have to worry about Travis Kelce, who hasn't been nearly as good this year as he was in 2022.
Final Score: Eagles 27, Chiefs 17
Main Image via
Comments