Hello readers! Another week of National League action is coming upon us yet again. Out of the 32 teams that started the regular season back in September, only two remain. Two teams remain and only one will win the highest prize in North American sports, the Super Bowl's Lombardi Trophy. On Sunday February 12th, 2023, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will do battle for the trophy. In this post I will talk about the Super Bowl notes, TV broadcast notes, a season review of the two teams, a matchup history, the keys to victory and my pick to who will win it all. We have a lot to do so let's get to work!
Super Bowl Notes
There will be plenty of storylines to this Super Bowl game. A fair amount of nicknames have been associated with it like "The Andy Reid Bowl" or the "Kelce Bowl." Chiefs coach Andy Reid also coached the Eagles from 1999 to 2012. He will become the 5th head coach to face against his former team in the big game. Some notable head coaches who faced against their former team include: Jets coach Weeb Ewbank (Super Bowl III vs Baltimore), Falcons coach Dan Reeves (Super Bowl XXXIII vs Denver), Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden (Super Bowl XXXVII vs Oakland) and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll (Super Bowl XLIX vs New England).
This will be the first Super Bowl with two brothers facing against each other. The two brothers are Travis Kelce, the Chiefs tight end, and Jason Kelce, the Eagles center. Safe to say that Donna Kelce, Travis and Jason's mom, has been front and center in the spotlight.
This will also be the first Super Bowl where two starting quarterbacks are of African-American descent. It will also be the first Super bowl to have both quarterbacks play in the Big XII conference (Patrick Mahomes played for Texas Tech and Jalen Hurts played for Oklahoma).
For uniforms the Chiefs will be wearing their away jersey a white top with red pants and the Eagles will wear their home jerseys, green top with white pants. Teams that have worn their home jerseys are 20-36 in the Super Bowl game. Should be noted that the Eagles were the last team to wear their home jerseys and won.
For commercials, FOX is charging advertisers $7 million for a commercial lasting 30 seconds. The company Anheuser-Busch will be advertising a total of three minutes for their Michelob Ultra, Bud Light and Busch Light Brands. Hopefully they can include a Clydesdale for their spots. Ads for the films The Flash, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, and The Little Mermaid will show during the game.
For officiating crews the referee will be Carl Cheffers. Cheffers will be working his 3rd Super Bowl (LI and LV). For Chiefs fans, Cheffers is a memorable character as he penalized the Chiefs eight times for 95 yards, resulting in six first downs for the Buccaneers. Both the six first downs and the 95 yards were Super Bowl records. Some of the other officials in the game will be Umpire Roy Ellison, Down Judge Jerod Phillips, Line Judge Jeff Bergman, Field Judge John Jenkins, Side Judge Eugene Hall, Back Judge Dino Paganelli and Replay Official Mark Butterworth.
Super Bowl LVII TV Broadcast Notes
The Super Bowl is truly a television event and will be broadcasted in multiple countries throughout the world like Brazil, Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Spain. In the United States, it will be broadcasted on FOX. After the Super Bowl, FOX will lead out with an episode of Next Level Chef.
Super Bowl LVII will be the 10th Super Bowl aired on the network since it took over the NFC package in 1994. Previous Super Bowls the network has shown was XXXI, XXXIII, XXXVI, XXXIX, XLII, XLV, XLVIII, LI and LIV. The play-by-play and color commentators will be Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olson who will be calling their first Super Bowl together. Sideline reporters will be Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi. Mike Pereira will be the rules analyst.
2022 Season Review: Kansas City Chiefs
The 2022 Chiefs didn't miss a beat as they rolled over the competition to get to a 14-3 record with their 10th consecutive winning season. The biggest news in the offseason was the loss of Tyreek Hill in a trade to Miami for draft picks. To remedy the loss the Chiefs picked up JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency.
The anchor to the Chiefs success has been Patrick Mahomes who dominated the passing stats in 2022 with 41 touchdowns and 5,250 passing yards. Mahomes since entering the league since 2018 has been a force to be reckoned with and his health has been stable. His favorite target, Travis Kelce, had another great season with a team leading 1,338 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns.
On defense, the group hasn't gotten quite the fanfare as the offense but they have a solid group. Leading the unit was defensive tackle Chris Jones who put up a team leading 15.5 sacks. Linebacker Nick Bolton put up 180 total tackles while getting two sacks and two interceptions on the year.
The 2022 Chiefs started off well, winning four of their first five games, including a 44-21 win against the Cardinals in Week 1. Kansas City suffered their first loss against the Colts in Week 3 in a 20-17 final score. They rebounded and exercised some demons and beat the Buccaneers 41-31.
In a rematch of the 2021 Divisional Playoff, the Chiefs battled the Bills. It was a game as advertised but the Chiefs lost 24-20. They had suffered their 2nd loss in four games.
After the loss, the Chiefs embarked on a five game winning streak, beating the 49ers, Titans, Jaguars, Chargers and Rams. The winning streak ended in the Queen City as they lost to the Bengals, their 3rd straight defeat to Cincy. After their 3rd loss of the season, they won out the rest of the season and the Divisional and Conference championship game.
In the playoffs they faced off against familiar foes in the Jaguars and Bengals. The Jaguars put up a fight but they would falter in a 27-20 final score. In a game of revenge and a rematch of last year's championship game, the Chiefs prevailed and survived against the Bengals 23-20. The Chiefs are in their 3rd Super Bowl in the last four seasons. They are seeking their 3rd Super Bowl Championship.
2022 Season Review: Philadelphia Eagles
When the 2022 Eagles took the field for the first time, little did they know how far they would go. Expectations were somewhat lenient under head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts who are entering their 2nd season together. With a 9-8 record last season and a playoff appearance, the Eagles had a taste of it and were hungry for more. Such hunger was proven as the Eagles finished the season with a 14-3 record.
The Philly offense was a beast as Jalen Hurts was the driving force with both his arm and legs. Hurts tossed the ball for 3,701 passing yards with 22 touchdowns and rushed for 760 yards with 13 touchdowns. Proving his value as both a runner and a thrower. One of his biggest targets was AJ Brown who was acquired in a trade with Tennessee. Brown put up numberas as he caught 88 passes for 1,496 yards for 11 touchdowns.
On defense, they had a solid unit with the 8th highest scoring defense, letting up just 20.2 points/game. Their linebacking corp paved the way as both TJ Edwards and Kyzir White both put up 159 and 110 combined tackles respectively. Josh Sweat lead the team with 15 tackles for loss. The team's sack leader was linebacker Haason Reddick who put up 16 sacks on the season. For interceptions, the leader was CJ Gardner-Johnson who had six passes picked off.
The 2022 season started off hot as the Eagles won their first eight games, averaging 28.1 points/game. Beating such teams like the Lions, Vikings, Commanders, Jaguars, Cardinals, Cowboys, Steelers and Texans. It had looked like they could go undefeated for a while.
The Eagles suffered their first loss in a rare loss to the Commanders in a 32-21 score. The Eagles rebounded from the defeat and won their next five games, beating the Colts, Packers, Titans, Giants and Bears. In the Bears win, Jalen Hurts suffered an injury and was out for the Cowboys game on Christmas Eve. Gardner Minshew II did all he could but he faltered in a 40-34 loss to Dallas. Hurts wouldn't start again as they lost to the Saints 20-10. In the season finale, the Eagles finally won their 14th game, winning both the NFC East and the #1 seed in the playoffs.
For the playoffs, the Eagles faced off against the Giants and the 49ers. The Divisional playoff against the Giants had looked like a promising game for the ages. The hype was shortlived as the Eagles destroyed the Giants by a 38-7 margin. In the NFC Championship Game, they battered and beat up the 49ers by a 31-7 score that should've been better had the 49ers stayed healthy at quarterback. Nevertheless, the Eagles put up a Buzzsaw effort. The Eagles will be trying to win their 2nd Super Bowl championship.
Chiefs vs Eagles: A Matchup History
For matchups, the Chiefs-Eagles matchup hasn't had a lot of matchups. Since the 1970 merger and prior to the Super Bowl, the two teams have only met nine times. The first matchup was a 21-20 win by the Eagles in 1972 at Arrowhead. Since then, the Chiefs had won the matchup five of eight times. The last Eagles win against the Chiefs was 2009 with the Eagles winning 34-14.
The most interesting matchup of the series was last year's matchup in a 42-30 win to the Chiefs. The game also marked Andy Reid's first trip back to Philadelphia as an opposing head coach since he had been fired in 2012. The game was a sizeable effort for points as both teams went back and forth. Ultimately the biggest difference was that the Eagles didn't put up touchdowns to match with the Chiefs as they put up seven touchdowns. Patrick Mahomes had five passing touchdowns while completing 24 of 30 passes for 278 yards. Jalen Hurts put up 32 of 48 passes for 387 yards and two touchdowns. It was a game where there were no punts.
Keys to Victory
The two teams are fairly similar to each other. They really like to utilize their quarterback as a passer and have them be a runner when the need arises. Whether it be on designed quarterback runs of improvisations. I would say that the Chiefs are a passing, uptempo offense while the Eagles are ball-control, running team. On defense, the teams tend to differ a bit. The Chiefs defense is a decent unit and they are more of a bend but don't break unit. All levels of the Philly defense are good but their linebacking corp is probably their strongest point. Here is my keys to the game for both teams:
Chiefs:
Get the running game going: A lot of pressure will be on Patrick Mahomes and his ankle. If the Chiefs can find a bit of balance on offense.
Offensive line needs to play great: The front seven of the Philly defense is their strongest. The Chiefs offensive line will need to play their best game of the season and keep Patrick Mahomes upright.
Get after Jalen Hurts: It might be a risky move but the Chiefs defense is at their best when they can blitz and pressure the quarterback. Such an example was their pass rush against the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. On situations where the Eagles will run, I would try to plug up the lanes and penetrate the Eagles offensive line.
Eagles:
Know where Travis Kelce is at all times: Travis Kelce is probably the biggest x-factor for the Chiefs in what they want to do on offense. He is Patrick Mahomes' security blanket. Force the JuJu Smith-Schuster's, Sky Moore's and Marquez Valdes-Scantling's of the world to beat you.
Collapse the Pocket: It is not a certainty that the ankle of Patrick Mahomes is healed but he can beat you with his improvised play. Take a page out of the Buccaneers playbook in Super Bowl LV to see how to beat Mahomes.
Get the passing game going: Jalen Hurts is just as good of a thrower as a runner. He has weapons that he can throw to.
Super Bowl LVII Pick
Kansas City @ Philadelphia (FOX; 6:30 pm US Eastern): CV: Chiefs
The matchup will heavily depend on the health of Patrick Mahomes. If he can stay upright and have his way with the Philly defense, it will be a difficult game for the Eagles. That being said, if they can limit Mahomes then they will have an easy time. Kansas City will need to have to play their best game to beat the Eagles. They cannot have turnovers. For the Eagles they have the edge in just about everything except for quarterback and head coach. If Patrick Mahomes pulls off the win, it will be the biggest win in his career and will put his legacy at a higher level. He has the one Super Bowl win but if he wants to be among the best, he will need to win #2. That being said, I think the Chiefs will have a tough time to win this game but I think it will be a close one. Here is my pick:
Eagles 31, Chiefs 28
Super Bowl Record
I had been doing picks for the Super Bowl roughly since Super Bowl XXXII when the Packers and the Broncos played (yeah I have a good memory fairly). Safe to say there was a long stretch when I had lost three straight Super Bowls and then five straight Super Bowls.
Super Bowl XXXII: Packers vs Broncos (lost)
Super Bowl XXXIII: Broncos vs Falcons (won)
Super Bowl XXXIV: Rams vs Titans (won)
Super Bowl XXXV: Ravens vs Giants (lost)
Super Bowl XXXVI: Rams vs Patriots (lost)
Super Bowl XXXVII: Raiders vs Buccaneers (lost)
Super Bowl XXXVIII: Panthers vs Patriots (won)
Super Bowl XXXIX: Patriots vs Eagles (won)
Super Bowl XL: Steelers vs Seahawks (lost)
Super Bowl XLI: Colts vs Bears (won)
Super Bowl XLII: Giants vs Patriots (lost)
Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers vs Cardinals (lost)
Super Bowl XLIV: Saints vs Colts (won)
Super Bowl XLV: Steelers vs Packers (won)
Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs Patriots (lost)
Super Bowl XLVII: Ravens vs 49ers (lost)
Super Bowl XLVIII: Seahawks vs Broncos (lost)
Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots vs Seahawks (lost)
Super Bowl 50: Panthers vs Broncos (lost)
Super Bowl LI: Patriots vs Falcons (won)
Super Bowl LII: Eagles vs Patriots (lost)
Super Bowl LIII: Rams vs Patriots (won)
Super Bowl LIV: 49ers vs Chiefs (lost)
Super Bowl LV: Buccaneers vs Chiefs (won)
Super Bowl LVI: Rams vs Bengals (won)
All-time record: 11-13
2022 Pick ‘Em Records
My record:
Week 1: 8-7-1
Week 2: 8-8
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 11-5
Week 5: 10-6
Week 6: 8-6
Week 7: 9-5
Week 8: 12-3
Week 9: 11-2
Week 10: 8-6
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 10-6
Week 13: 11-3-1
Week 14: 7-6
Week 15: 8-8
Week 16: 9-7
Week 17: 12-3
Week 18: 11-5
Wild Card Weekend: 4-2
Divisional: 2-2
Conference Championship: 0-2
Total: 172-109-2
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-9-1
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 6-10
Week 5: 9-7
Week 6: 9-5
Week 7: 8-6
Week 8: 9-6
Week 9: 9-4
Week 10: 8-6
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 9-7
Week 13: 8-6-1
Week 14: 9-4
Week 15: 13-3
Week 16: 10-6
Week 17: 9-6
Week 18: 11-5
Wild Card Weekend: 3-3
Divisional: 2-2
Conference Championship: 0-2
Total: 162-119-2
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2019: 161-94-1
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