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