NFL 2024 Super Bowl LIX Recap + Preaseason Picks/Awards Recap

 Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is in the books. The game that was the Super Bowl was not quite the competitive game that we would expect from the biggest game in North American sports. The NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles demolished the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. In this post I will break down the game itself as well as the commercials I liked, the halftime show and a recap of my preseason and awards picks I made prior to Week 1. A lot to get into so let's get to work!

Super Bowl LIX Recap

Kansas City 22, Philadelphia 40
Pick: Chiefs
Anything that could go wrong for the Chiefs, went wrong for the Chiefs. The Super Bowl began with the Chiefs winning the coin toss but deferring to the Eagles. It would at first pay off as the Eagles would punt on their first drive. The Chiefs would start off running as they would hit a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster for their only 1st down in the 1st half. The Chiefs would only get one yard the rest of the drive as they were forced to punt. Jalen Hurts would hit passes of 20 and 27 yards. The 27 yard pass went to Jahan Dotson that would guide the Eagles to the 1-yard line. The first score of the game was a Tush Push touchdown for Hurts for a 1-yard touchdown. The next Chiefs possession would be another punt as they went seven yards on a drive. The last Eagles drive of the 1st quarter was a long march that would eat up 5:21 of possession time. The result of the drive was an intercepted pass by Bryan Cook. The Eagles would have the lead 7-0.

The 2nd quarter would play out much like the 1st quarter. They would get seven yards again but the big thing was a dropped pass to Travis Kelce that would be one of the reasons why the Chiefs would lose this game. The Chiefs punted to the Eagles again. Philadelphia would start on their own 43-yard line. A big play in the game was a Hurts pass to AJ Brown for a 22-yard gain to the Chiefs 32. The Eagles wouldn't gain a whole lot after that as three runs would only yield seven yards to a 4th down. Jake Elliott hit the field goal to a 10-0 Eagle lead. The next Chiefs drive would be a disaster and a half. Back-to-back sacks on Mahomes that would drive the Chiefs back six yards. The game would break wide open as a bull-rush by Josh Sweat would force Patrick Mahomes to throw a pass that was intercepted by Cooper DeJean for a 38-yard pick-six. A huge momentum shift as a turnover turned into points as the Eagles were up 17-0. The Chiefs would go minus six yards on the next possession but wouldn't turn the ball over again. Philadelphia would go 3:00 of possession time on eight plays for 17 yards but would punt back to the Chiefs. Deep in their own territory, the Chiefs would turn the ball over again on a Patrick Mahomes pass turned to interception this time to Zach Baun. Baun was a free agent signing that would prove to be useful. On the Eagles 2nd play of the drive, Jalen Hurts found AJ Brown open for a 12-yard score. The Eagles lead went up to 24-0 at halftime. 

The 24-0 halftime deficit was the largest that Patrick Mahomes had in his career. It was also the largest deficit since Super Bowl XXIV. Kansas City's first drive in the 2nd half would show progress. The Chiefs would go farther than they had ever in the game so far on a five play, 15 yard drive. It would lead to their first down since the 1st drive on a Patrick Mahomes pass to Xavier Worthy for a 8-yard gain. Pass protection would break down a lot as Mahomes was sacked again on back-to-back plays for a collective 7-yard loss. The Chiefs would punt again. With the lead in hand, the Eagles would utilize the talents of Saquon Barkley. Barkley, a free agent from the Giants, wouldn't have a spectacular game but he made it count with catches and carries. The running back had 37 total yards on the drive. Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones would get injured during the Philly drive. The Eagles would get to the Chiefs 6-yard line but wouldn't go further. If there was something wrong that the Eagles did was pre-snap penalties on field goal attempts. A false start would send the Eagles back to the 11. Jake Elliott hit another field goal that would drive the Eagles lead to 27-0 with 5:22 left in the 3rd quarter. The Chiefs would go a bit further on their next possession with a five-play, 17 yard drive that would get another first down on a Patrick Mahomes pass to DeAndre Hopkins for a 11-yard gain. The Chiefs offense would falter yet again as a Kareem Hunt fumble that was recovered by Patrick Mahomes and an offensive holding call. The Chiefs would drive to get back to another 1st down. They would falter as on a 4th down and 4 play, Patrick Mahomes went right and tried for DeAndre Hopkins again but the wide out would drop it. The Eagles would get the ball as a result of another Chiefs miscue and turnover on downs. The Eagles first play of the game would cause it to be a nail in the coffin as Jalen Hurts hit Devonta Smith for a 46-yard score that was the biggest play of the game on offense for Philadelphia. The Eagles lead went up to a 34-0 score. The Chiefs would be playing against themselves, the Eagles and the clock. The Chiefs would go the distance as they reached past the 50-yard line and into Eagle territory. The play that would give the Chiefs that opportunity was a Mahomes pass that would see the best pass protection all day as he hit Xavier Worthy for a 50-yard play that would be the longest play for the Chiefs. Four plays later, on a 1st down and 10 play, Patrick Mahomes would once again hit Xavier Worthy in the endzone for a 24-yard score. The Chiefs were finally on the board but would miss on a 2-point conversion as Travis Kelce catch went incomplete. The Chiefs still had to contend with a 34-6 deficit as the 3rd quarter time dwindled. 

The Eagles next drive saw the end of the 3rd quarter and into the 4th quarter. Jalen Hurts would be used a lot as he saw Saquon Barkley for a 11-yard gain, AJ Brown on two plays later for a 9-yard gain. Then on a 2nd and 11 play, Hurts ran for a 17-yard gain to get the Eagles to the Chiefs 27-yard line. In a rare occasion in the game, Jalen Hurts was sacked for a five yard loss. The Chiefs defense would hold the line to the Chiefs 30-yard line and forced the Eagles to try for three again. Jake Elliott would hit yet again to get to a 37-6 lead. The next Chiefs drive ended in disaster again as Patrick Mahomes was stripped from the ball that was recovered by Milton Williams. The Chiefs defense would hold the Eagles yet again for another Jake Elliott field goal that would increase the lead to 40-6. The Eagles wouldn't score again in the game but by that time the damage had already been dealt. Racing against the clock, the Chiefs would drive the field again for a 12-play, 75-yard march that would get the Chiefs to another touchdown. The score went to DeAndre Hopkins on a pass from Mahomes to Hopkins on an out route pattern. Hopkins feet awareness would do the rest. The 2-point conversion was successful as Justin Watson caught the pass from Mahomes. The deficit was down to a 40-14 margin. With the lead in hand, the Eagles would turn to former Steeler Kenny Pickett. The quarterback wouldn't do a whole lot as the Eagles stalled out on their own 50-yard line. A turnover on downs and the next Chiefs possession would yield maximum results as Patrick Mahomes hit Xavier Worthy for a touchdown from 50-yards. A pass to DeAndre Hopkins on a 2-point conversion would get the Chiefs to a 40-22 deficit. It would be their last play and drive of their season and the game. On an onside kick, Harrison Butker would try to get the Chiefs the ball with 1:48 left. The attempt would fail as Grant Calcaterra would recover it. The Chiefs attempt of a comeback would fail. There would be no threepeat. The thrill of victory was felt on one sideline and the agony of defeat would be felt on the other as Kenny Pickett kneeled three times to kill the clock. The Eagles would get their revenge on Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a total and utter domination by a final score of 40 to 22. The quarterback that was said to be too small to be an NFL quarterback would win the game's MVP, Jalen Hurts. 

Stats in this game would be rough as Patrick Mahomes hit 21 of 32 passes for 257 yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions. The Chiefs run game would have pitiful numbers as Patrick Mahomes ran for his life with four carries for 25 yards. Kareem Hunt had three carries for nine yards. Xavier Worthy was the leading receiver for the Chiefs with eight catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns and had a catch of 50 yards to be the longest pass play for the Chiefs. Line play would be a factor in this game and the Chiefs would fail in every regard as they couldn't control the line of scrimmage and pass protection broke down. Dropped passes would also be a factor as well as not getting the run game going. Murphy's law applied best for the Chiefs as everything went wrong for them. Kansas City had 275 total yards in the game.

Jalen Hurts hit 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The two touchdowns went to Devonta Smtih and AJ Brown. Jalen Hurts was the leading rusher with 11 carries for 72 yards with a rushing touchdown. He had a run of 17 yards that was the longest run int he game for Philadelphia. Devonta Smith had four catches for 69 yards and had a catch that went for a 46-yard gain for the touchdown. Philadelphia would dominate on the defensive front. They wouldn't blitz a lot as most of the pressure would come on 4-man pressures. When you have that much while the rest of the defense can play pass defense, you can have success. With the defense figured out, the offense would grind out the Chiefs defense and cause them to be on the field for a long time. The Eagles would get 345 total yards in the game. 

In my closing thoughts, I think it serves as a reminder that the Chiefs success this season shouldn't be a failure. Yes, they didn't get the threepeat but it proves once again that it is difficult to even get to a Super Bowl, let alone win one, let alone get to another Super Bowl and to even get another Super Bowl win to defend your championship. The Eagles played a better game on Sunday and they had no pressure on them. They dominated the trenches, got takeaways and scored points like a pinball machine. The Philadelphia Eagles got their 2nd Super Bowl championship and their 5th overall championship in franchise history. 

Commercials

The commercials this year weren't too shabby. It certainly made the game a bit easier to digest as the Chiefs were getting stomped on. In most years, the commercials aren't good as they are mostly off the top and you have to get the humor of it. Here's some of the commercials that I liked. 

Mountain Dew:

Nike:

Hellman's:

UberEats:

The Mountain Dew one was kind of funny as you have the artist Seal as a seal singing a parody of his song "Kiss From A Rose." If only there was a biopic of Mike Ditka that Matthew McConaughey would star in. I think he has a case for Football being more like Foodball. 

Halftime Show

Kendrick Lamar did the halftime show this year. For the most part, I didn't really understand it. I thought the show design was kind of neat and the choreography was kind of cool. The real winner was Samuel L. Jackson playing as Uncle Sam. Prince's performance in Super Bowl XLI was still top notch for me. 

Preseason Predictions + Awards Recap

Prior to the Week 1 Picks post last September, I made a preseason predictions post where I picked where the 32 teams will finish in the standings, the playoffs, the Super Bowl matchup and winner as well as the Awards winners as well as my bold predictions. It's a fun way to look back on where I was right and where I was wrong. This will be painful. Let's take a look:

Regular season predictions

NFC:

East

Philadelphia Eagles (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place): Correct

Dallas Cowboys (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 3rd place): Incorrect

Washington Commanders (picked to finish 3rd; final result 2nd place): Incorrect

New York Giants (picked to finish 4th; final result: 4th place): Correct

North

Detroit Lions (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place: Correct

Green Bay Packers (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 3rd place): Incorrect

Chicago Bears (picked to finish 3rd; final result: 4th place): Incorrect

Minnesota Vikings (picked to finish 4th; final result: 2nd place): Incorrect

South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place): Correct

Atlanta Falcons (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 2nd place): Correct

New Orleans Saints (picked to finish 3rd; final result: 4th place): Incorrect

Carolina Panthers (picked to finish 4th; final result: 3rd place): Incorrect

West

Los Angeles Rams (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place): Correct

San Francisco 49ers (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 4th place): Incorrect

Seattle Seahawks (picked to finish 3rd; final result: 2nd place): Incorrect

Arizona Cardinals (picked to finish 4th; final result: 3rd place): Incorrect

AFC:

East

Buffalo Bills (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place): Correct

Miami Dolphins (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 2nd place): Correct

New York Jets (picked to finish 3rd; final result: 3rd place): Correct

New England Patriots (picked to finish 4th; final result: 4th place): Correct

North

Baltimore Ravens (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place): Correct

Cincinnati Bengals (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 3rd place): Incorrect

Pittsburgh Steelers (picked to finish 3rd; final result: 2nd place): Incorrect

Cleveland Browns: picked to finish 4th; final result: 4th place): Correct

South

Houston Texans (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place): Correct

Indianapolis Colts (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 2nd place): Correct

Jacksonville Jaguars (picked to finish 3rd; final result: 3rd place): Correct

Tennessee Titans (picked to finish 4th; final result: 4th place): Correct

West

Kansas City Chiefs (picked to finish 1st; final result: 1st place): Correct

Los Angeles Chargers (picked to finish 2nd; final result: 2nd place): Correct

Denver Broncos (picked to finish 3rd; final result: 3rd place): Correct

Las Vegas Raiders (picked to finish 4th; final result: 4th place): Correct

The final tally of the teams I had correct was 20 out of 32 correct placing. In terms of percentages it is 62% correct. For perspective, I had 15 out of 32 correct last year and then 19 of 32 correct the year before. I would say it is a successful picks placing. 

Playoff Predictions

AFC

1st seed: Kansas City Chiefs (correct; Chiefs #1 seed)
2nd seed: Baltimore Ravens (incorrect; Ravens #3rd seed)
3rd seed: Buffalo Bills (incorrect; Bills #2nd seed)
4th seed: Houston Texans (correct; Texans #4 seed)
5th seed: Cincinnati Bengals (incorrect; Chargers #5 seed)
6th seed: Miami Dolphins (incorrect; Steelers #6 seed)
7th seed: New York Jets (incorrect; Broncos #7 seed)

Wild Card: 

Ravens over Jets (ravens did win their wild card matchup)

Bills over Dolphins (incorrect)

Bengals over Texans (incorrect)

Divisional

Chiefs over Bengals

Ravens over Bills (almost happened)

Conference Championship

Ravens over Chiefs (incorrect)

NFC

1st seed: Philadelphia Eagles (incorrect; Eagles #2 seed)
2nd seed: Los Angeles Rams (incorrect; Rams #4 seed)
3rd seed: Detroit Lions (incorrect; Lions #1 seed)
4th seed: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (incorrect; Buccaneers #3 seed)
5th seed: Dallas Cowboys (incorrect; Cowboys didn't make playoffs)
6th seed: San Francisco 49ers (incorrect; 49ers didn't make playoffs)
7th seed: Green Bay Packers (correct; Packers #7 seed)

Wild Card:

Rams over Packers (kind of correct; Rams did win their Wild Card game)

Lions over 49ers (incorrect)

Buccaneers over Cowboys (incorrect)

Divisional:

Eagles over Buccaneers (Eagles did win their divisional game)

Lions over Rams (incorrect but Rams did lose their Divisional game)

Conference Championship:

Eagles over Lions (kind of correct; Eagles did represent the NFC in Super Bowl)

Super Bowl 59:

Ravens over Eagles (incorrect for the AFC winner and Super Bowl winner; correct for NFC winner).

Award Predictions:

MVP: Josh Allen (correct; you're welcome Josh!)

Offensive Player of the Year: Justin Jefferson (incorrect; Saquon Barkley won)

Defensive Player of the Year: T.J. Watt (incorrect; Patrick Surtain II won)

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Marvin Harrison Jr. (incorrect; Jayden Daniels won)

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Dallas Turner (incorrect, Jared Verse won)

Comeback Player of the Year: Aaron Rodgers (incorrect, Joe Burrow won)

Coach of the Year: Dan Campbell (incorrect, Kevin O'Connell won)

Bold Predictions

Mike McCarthy will be let go as Cowboys head coach prior to the Super Bowl - Correct, he was let go prior to the Divisional playoff. 
Tyreek Hill will achieve 2,000 receiving yards - Incorrect, He had 959 receiving yards. 
No team(s) will have 14 or more wins - Incorrect, four teams had 14 or more wins (Lions, Vikings, Chiefs and Eagles)
We will have four quarterbacks throw for more than 4,000 yards - Incorrect, six quarterbacks had more than 4,000 passing yards: Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson. 

Farewell to 2024

Well another season ends in the books and hopefully you all enjoyed me reading all the goings on in the NFL season. I would like to announce that my days on Blogger are going to come to an end. Blogger has been somewhat of a useful tool for me to blog with but the years from 2017 to 2024 have been enjoyable. I am planning on going back to my roots and write on WordPress again. I had written on WordPress from 2012 to 2014. I just find it to be a bit more useful for writing blogs than Blogger. It doesn't mean that I won't stop writing for the National Football League. I plan on writing more on there about season recap, free agency, the draft, random blogs, etc. Until then, I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them. Farewell! :-)

-Tom

NFL 2024 Super Bowl LIX Pick

  Hello readers! Another week of National League action is coming upon us yet again. The big game to end all big games is here. The 32 teams that started the season back in September were reduced to 14 teams by the end of the regular season. The 14 teams were then reduced to 8 teams. Then the 8 teams were reduced to just 4 teams. By the end of Championship Sunday, the two teams to make out of the carnage and storm are the Kansas City Chiefs, American Football Conference champions, and the Philadelphia Eagles, champions of the National Football Conference. In this post, I will talk about notes for this Super Bowl, the broadcast notes, how the Chiefs and Eagles got to this point, a matchup history of the two squads in all-time history, the keys to victory for both sides, my pick for the big game and my record in the Super Bowl. A lot to get to so let's get to work!

Super Bowl Notes

Super Bowl LIX will be the 10th rematch of a prior Super Bowl. Such other Super Bowl rematches were XIII, XVII, XXIII, XXVIII, XXX, XLVI, LII, LIII, and LVIII. History has said that the rematch Super Bowl always went to the winner of the prior Super Bowl. Meaning the Chiefs will win this game, per history. 

Super Bowl LIX will have two teams that have been in the big game before. This is the 7th Super Bowl appearance for the Kansas City Chiefs (who played in Super Bowls I, IV, LIV, LV, LVII, LVIII). This is the 6th appearance for the Philadelphia Eagles (who played in Super Bowls XV, XXXIX, LII, and LVII). 

The halftime show will be headlined by Kendrick Lamar. It was announced on September 8th 2024 that Lamar will handle halftime duties. Lamar also was in the halftime show in Super Bowl LVI. Joining him will be SZA as a special guest. 

Officiating the big game will have a seven-man crew. The game's referee is Ronald Torbert who served as a referee in Super Bowl LVI. Joining Torbert will be Umpire Mike Morton (who becomes the 2nd player to play in a Super Bowl and officiate a Super Bowl, Morton played linebacker in Super Bowl XXXIV for the St. Louis Rams), Down Judge Max Causey, Line Judge Mark Stewart, Field Judge Mearl Robinson, Side Judge Boris Cheek, Back Judge Jonah Monroe, the replay official will be Kevin Brown and assisting with the replays will be the NFL front office. Carl Cheffers is the alternate referee. 

The pregame festivities will feature Jon Batiste, a native Louisianian, handling the National Anthem. Performing "America the Beautiful" will be Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle. Ledisi will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Signing during the songs will be Stephanie Nogueras signing the National Anthem and "America the Beautiful" and Otis Jones IV will sign for "Lift Every Voice and Sing." 

Security will be heightened for the big game due to the Bourbon Street Truck Attack on January 1st, 2025. The attack forced the Sugar Bowl to be delayed by a day. The NFL released a statement assuring the public that the game would be a "safe and enjoyable" experience for those who are attending the Super Bowl. 

Super Bowl LIX TV Broadcast Notes

Broadcasting the Super Bowl in the United States will be FOX. Super Bowl LIX is the 11th Super Bowl aired on the network since acquiring the NFC package back in 1994. Doing the play-by-play is Kevin Burkhardt who is calling his 2nd Super Bowl (1st was Super Bowl LVII). The Color commentator will be Tom Brady who is calling his 1st Super Bowl. He is certainly no stranger to being in a Super Bowl. Reporting on the sidelines for both teams will be Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi. 

Calling the game on the radio in the United States will be Westwood One. Doing the play-by-play is Kevin Harlan. Color commentary will be done by Kurt Warner. The sideline reporter will be Laura Okmin. Rules Analyst will be Gene Steratore. 

The game will also be aired on television in various countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Latin America, France and Taiwan. The FOX network will also have a Spanish-language feeds on the Fox Deportes and Telemundo channels. FOX Will also air a stream of the game on their free ad-supported streaming television service Tubi. 

Ad demand for the game has been very high. The cost for a 30-second spot is around $7 million dollars. FOX announced in November 2024 that all slots for the big game have been sold. In comparison, the final slot for Super Bowl LVI wasn't sold until the Monday prior to the game. 

Kansas City Chiefs Season Review: 

The Kansas City Chiefs entered the 2024 season having back-to-back Super Bowl wins under their belt. It would be the first repeat champion since the 2003 and 2004 New England Patriots. The Chiefs had largely made history on repeating championships. To enter the halls of true greatness, they would have to win three straight. Something no one has ever done in the Super Bowl era. 

In the offseason, it would be a relatively quiet one as they maintained most of their starters from the 2023 squad. In the draft, they would select Xavier Worthy in the 1st round in a draft trade from Buffalo. In trades, the Chiefs added DeAndre Hopkins from the Titans and Joshua Uche from the Patriots. One notable addition was that they signed Caron Wentz in free agency as a backup quarterback. 

The Chiefs quest to win three straight started off on Opening Night against Baltimore. They would go toe-to-toe with their opposition in the past year's AFC Championship. They would ultimately win largely based on an out of bounds catch by Isiah Likely might've been a touchdown but Likely's foot touched the out of bounds line. The Chiefs would win 27-20. 

After the win, the Chiefs would go on to get wins by one score against Cincinnati, Atlanta and the Chargers. They would win against the Saints by that point in the season on a 26-13 margin at Kansas City. In a Super Bowl rematch, they would handle the 49ers at Santa Clara 28-18 largely on the legs of Patrick Mahomes. 

Old habits would return as the Chiefs would win by one-score margins against rival Las Vegas Raiders on the road 27-20. They would achieve a overtime win against Tampa Bay on a Kareem Hunt touchdown to get a 30-24 victory on Monday night. Luck would continue to go their way as they would fight a defensive game against Denver. Denver had a chance to get an upset win but a blocked field goal kick would undo that effort as the Chiefs would go to 9-0 on the season. 

In a Divisional rematch against Buffalo, the Chiefs bid for an undefeated season would end as Kansas City wouldn't be able to handle Josh Allen and the Bills running game. They wouldn't overcome the turnovers by Patrick Mahomes. Kansas City lost 30-21. The two teams would meet again. 

The luck would continue the Chiefs way as they would go up a bit against Carolina the next week. They would survive as the Panthers mounted a comeback but would be too late. The next two games were against AFC West rivals. The first was a Black Friday fight against the Raiders. Luck would go the Chiefs way as the Raiders had a botched field goal snap as they won 19-17. The good news was that they clinched a playoff berth. The 19-17 would come again as they would beat the Chargers on a Matthew Wright 50-yard field goal that would doink the goal post but would ultimately go in. They also clinched their 9th AFC West title. 

The Chiefs would have better showings against Cleveland as they routed the Browns 21-7. In a future Divisional preview, the Chiefs would win against the Texans 27-19. On Christmas Day, the Chiefs would put forth their best performance of the season as they beat the Steelers 29-10 in the biggest point margin of the season. They would clinch the #1 seed in the AFC with the win. In a meaningless game, the Chiefs would go into hibernation against the Broncos as routed the Chiefs 38-0. It would be their 2nd loss of the season but they would have a break the week after in the Wild Card round as they had the bye. 

With a week of rest for most of the players and nearly a month since the starters had last played, they faced off against Houston in the Divisional. They would beat the Texans 23-14 despite being outgained in yards against Houston. The Chiefs would host the Bills in the AFC Championship game. In a back-and-forth affair against the Bills. The Chiefs would win 32-29 with three total touchdowns on Patrick Mahomes and a go-ahead field goal by Harrison Butker. The Chiefs would hold off one last Buffalo drive on a missed catch by Dalton Kincaid. The Chiefs would have a shot to get a third straight win in the Super Bowl. The opponent is a familiar one in the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Philadelphia Eagles Season Review: 

The Philadelphia Eagles 2024 season started with a loss. A loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card last season. A 32-9 drubbing that would be the last game for center Jason Kelce. The Eagles would start off with a 10-1 record before dropping six of their last seven games and falling to the aforementioned Buccaneers. Changes would be needed to return to the Super Bowl in Philly. 

Changes would come swiftly to the Eagles in the form of coaching and free agency. The Eagles would bring in Kellen Moore from the Chargers to be the offensive coordinator. They would also add Vic Fangio to run the defense as defensive coordinator. The biggest roster change would come in the form of a running back. 

In one of the biggest free agency moves in recent memory, Saquon Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley had spent the last six seasons with the rival New York Giants. In a bold move, he would sign with the Eagles. He would certainly prove the Giants wrong in letting him go. 

With the new coordinators and Saquon Barkley signed, the Eagles would see to revamp their defense. In the draft, they added Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd selection in 2024's draft and added Cooper DeJean at #40 to rebuild the secondary. In a trade with Pittsburgh, the Eagles acquired Kenny Pickett for a 2024 3rd round pick and two 2025 7th round picks. 

The season would begin outside of the United States in Brazil. The Eagles would overcome a deficit and test out their new weapon at running back against Green Bay. They would prevail 34-29. On Monday night, the Eagles would suffer a loss against the Falcons as Kirk Cousins would hit Drake London late on a game-winning drive 22-21. The Eagles would rebound and would get a 15-12 win against the Saints who had one point been the highest scoring offense in the league at that time. The lowest point of the season came at Tampa Bay. The Eagles suffered their worst loss of the season as their offense was stagnant and the Buccaneers put the hurt with a 33-16 loss in a NFC Wild Card rematch. 

The Eagles would have a bye in Week 5 to regroup. The team would not lose another game for two months. They would get a win against Cleveland 20-16 at home. In a reunion at New Jersey, Saquon Barkley ran over his old team for 176 yards with a touchdown 28-3. They would dominate against the Bengals 37-17. Former head coach Doug Pederson would return to Philly with his Jaguars. He would lose 28-23 against the Eagles as their record improves to 6-2. 

The big test of the season came in Dallas. The test would become open book as Dak Prescott would not play in the game. The Eagles smelled blood in the water as they routed the Cowboys 34-6. Another NFC East team would play on Thursday night. The Eagles started off slow but would score 20 points in the 4th quarter as they got another win. 

The Eagles went to Los Angeles to take on the Rams and would manhandle the Rams 37-20. The two teams would meet again. In a potential Super Bowl preview, the Eagles would get a close win at Baltimore as Saquon Barkley won the battle of running backs against Derrick Henry. Philadelphia beat Baltimore 24-19. The Eagles hosted the Panthers and would get a close win 22-16 as the Panthers would give the Eagles somewhat of a scare. The next week, Pittsburgh came to town. In a battle of Pennsylvania the Eagles would handle the Steelers 27-13 as Jalen Hurts threw two passing touchdowns and the Steelers handled the task of slowing Saquon Barkley to 65 yards rushing. 

The Eagles had won 10 straight games going into the game at FedEx Field. In a game that would see Jalen Hurts injured with a concussion. The Eagles would fight hard against the Commanders. A steady performance by Kenny Pickett wouldn't be enough as the Commanders won by a Jayden Daniels touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder and a successful two-point conversion. Despite the loss, the Eagles were still in the driver's seat to get the #2 seed but not the #1 seed. 

The Eagles would clinch the NFC East with a win against Dallas. Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee would hit for three touchdown passes as they would clobber Dallas 41-7 at home. It would be the first Eagles sweep of the Cowboys since 2011. The Eagles would achieve another win against the Giants in the season finale 20-13 despite not having Saquon Barkley play. 

Saquon Barkley by that time had gained 2,005 yards something that hadn't happened since Derrick Henry did it in 2020. He became the 9th running back in NFL history to achieve the mark. Barkley wouldn't start in Week 18 due to wanting to rest. He had only needed 100 yards to tie Erik Dickerson's single season rushing record. 

The Eagles would have the 2nd seed in the playoffs. Their first opponent was the Green Bay Packers. They had last played against each other in Week 1 in Brazil. They had played a close game but this playoff game wouldn't be anywhere close to the regular season matchup. Turnovers and bad play doomed the Packers as the Eagles handled the Packers 22-10. 

The next opponent was the Rams. It was another rematch game for the Eagles. Unlike the regular season matchup, the game in the playoffs was a lot closer than Eagles fans would've wanted. The Eagles would win the game 28-22 mostly on the back of Saquon Barkley. The elements was in play as snow came into Philadelphia. The Eagles would win it based on an incompletion thrown by Matthew Stafford. 

The NFC Championship would also feature another rematch. The Eagles final road to the Super Bowl was against the Washington Commanders. Washington had played well against them, splitting the regular season series. The Commanders even beat the #1 seeded Detroit Lions in the Divisional playoff. Washington and Philadelphia played a tight game for a part of the game. Then the Eagles offense went off on their rivals. Saquon Barkley got things going with a 60-yard run for a touchdown. The inexperienced Commanders would be overpowered as the Eagles won in a rout 55-23. The Eagles would make it back to the Super Bowl after a year absence. 

Chiefs-Eagles: A Matchup History

The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are no strangers to meeting in either the regular season or the Super Bowl. The all-time series has the Chiefs leading the series by a 6-5 margin. The first matchup between the two happened on October 22nd, 1972 with the Eagles winning 21-20. The Chiefs would win the next two matchups in 1992 and 1998. The Eagles answered back by winning three straight matchups in 2001, 2005 and 2009. Kansas City would win the next four of five matchups including games in 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2023 (which would be Super Bowl LVII). Philadelphia won last year's big game on Monday night. The most famous matchup would have to be Super Bowl LVII which resulted in a 38-35 victory for the Chiefs. 

Keys to Victory

Kansas City Chiefs:

No I in team: Patrick Mahomes has had to carry on the bulk of the offense in the Chiefs scheme of things. The Eagles will definitely aim to contain him and frustrate him with their hits, sacks and hurry throws. I think the Chiefs will need to do is rely a bit more on their running game. It would be bold to have Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco to have a good day if things go well for the Chiefs in this game. 

Slow Down Saquon Barkley: Chris Jones and the defensive line will have their work cut out of them as they will have to take on the mammoth task of slowing down Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley had 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season and currently has 442 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the playoffs. The Eagles rely on him in their run game and I feel they will try to use him in outside runs. The linebackers need to be focused and play well to contain him. I don't think they can stop him but slowing him down will help out. 

The Trenches: The playoffs and Super Bowl gets heightened in importance of line play. The game of football is won in the trenches between the offensive and defensive lines. The Chiefs will need to get their offensive line to protect Mahomes and play well as a unit to limit the green jerseys as visitors to the Chiefs backfield. To get a good running game going will need to have holes in the trenches. 

Philadelphia Eagles:

Throw, throw and then run: The Chiefs will have to expect that you're running the football with Saquon Barkley. The Eagles offense practically runs on the legs of Saquon Barkley. I would suggest that Kellen Moore gives the ball to Jalen Hurts and have him throw on 1st down or 2nd down and hope for the best. The last thing the Eagles would want to see is Chris Jones breaking early and getting tackles for losses. 

Contain Patrick Mahomes: The Vic Fangio defense is mostly built on getting the most out of his defensive line. The line uses stunts and power moves to break free and go after the quarterback. It would be wise for him to plug up the strong and weak sides of the offensive line and force him to make a hurried throw or a bad pass. Fangio doesn't use blitzes a lot but it doesn't mean he doesn't use it at a high rate. To beat the Chiefs offense is to pressure Patrick Mahomes all day. 

Protect the football: The Eagles will use their running game quite a bit in this game likely and they need to ensure that ball security is the highest priority. Turnovers can cost a team in a Super Bowl big time. You might be able to recover from a turnover in the regular season but the stakes are so much higher in the Super Bowl. You only get one shot. The Eagles will need to play a field position game a bit as well but ultimately fundamental football will win you games. 

Super Bowl LIX Pick

Note: Time is in US Eastern

Kansas City @ Philadelphia (FOX; 6:30 pm)

The big game will come down to really the battle in the trenches. Might sound a bit boring of a take but it is true. The big plays you see come down to how much pass protection the offensive line gives to a quarterback. The team I feel who is the first to get 100 rushing yards might be the one who wins this game. Whether it is Kareem Hunt, Isiah Pacheco or Saquon Barkley who gets it, that might be the game decider. Might be wise to get DeAndre Hopkins involved early with a few catches here and there. Hopkins is also playing in his first Super Bowl. Pass protection might be a big thing to keep in mind as both teams tend to rely on the pass just as much as the run. The advantage possibly in that is the Eagles but the Chiefs aren't no slouches either. Special teams wise, I think the Chiefs have probably the better of the two kickers in Harrison Butker. He doesn't slip in big situations for sure. Super Bowl LIX feels like a similar situation in Super Bowl LVII, the only difference is that the Eagles have Saquon Barkley and the Chiefs have DeAndre Hopkins. The Eagles feel like a team of destiny in dethroning the Chiefs and they certainly don't have the pressure on them to achieve history in threepeating. The Chiefs on the other hand, feel like there's that pressure but it just doesn't feel like there's pressure on them. If that makes sense. Andy Reid will bring his squad back down to earth and make them realize that its a game-to-game situation. The fact that the Chiefs are here trying for a threepeat is an achievement onto itself. I think the game will be a somewhat of a shootout like Super Bowl LVII but my pick is...

Chiefs 34, Eagles 31

The Chiefs achieve the threepeat and the Eagles falter late in the game as the Chiefs overcome deficits to get the third straight Super Bowl win. The Eagles will get a running game going early with Saquon Barkley getting a lot of carries. I feel the touchdowns will come from Travis Kelce, DeAndre Hopkins, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. I will take the Chiefs. 

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)
Super Bowl LVII: Chiefs vs Eagles (lost)
Super Bowl LVIII: 49ers vs Chiefs (lost)

All-time record: 11-15

Records

2024:
Week 1: 14-2
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 10-6
Week 5: 3-11
Week 6: 13-1
Week 7: 13-2
Week 8: 9-7
Week 9: 12-3
Week 10: 10-4
Week 11: 11-3
Week 12: 7-6
Week 13: 14-2
Week 14: 11-3
Week 15: 13-3
Week 16: 12-4
Week 17: 12-4

Week 18: 9-7
Total: 193-80

Super Wild Card Weekend: 4-2

Divisional: 2-2

Conference Championship: 1-1

2012: 164-90-2
2013: 162-92-1
2014: 172-83-1
2017: 164-92
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1
2020: 167-88-1
2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2
2023: 161-111

See you all the Monday/Tuesday after the Super Bowl for the Super Bowl LIX recap post! Enjoy the big game!

-Tom