Kansas City (17-2) at Philadelphia (17-3)
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST, FOX
BetMGM NFL Odds: Chiefs by 1 1/2
Against the spread: Kansas City 9-10; Philadelphia 13-7
Series record: Kansas City leads 6-5, including a win in the Super Bowl two years ago in Glendale, Arizona.
Last meeting: Jalen Hurts ran for two second-half TDs as Philadelphia rallied for a 21-17 win over the Chiefs on Nov. 20, 2023.
Two weeks ago: Chiefs beat the Bills 32-29 for the AFC title; Eagles beat the Commanders 55-23 for the NFC title.
Chiefs offense: overall (16), rush (22), pass (14), scoring (15)
Chiefs defense: overall (9), rush (8), pass (18), scoring (4)
Eagles offense: overall (8), rush (2), pass (29), scoring (7)
Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (2)
Turnover differential: Chiefs plus-6; Eagles: plus-11
Chiefs player to watch
QB Patrick Mahomes may have gotten off to a pedestrian start to the season, but he finished with a flourish, throwing 13 touchdown passes without an interception since the Chiefs' Week 11 loss to Buffalo. He threw for 177 yards and a score against the Texans in the divisional round and 245 yards and a TD in avenging that loss to the Bills in the AFC title game. Mahomes has thrown for 1,071 yards and seven TDs in his four previous Super Bowls, and needs two TD passes to tie Terry Bradshaw for third most and 58 yards to tie John Elway for fourth most in NFL playoff history.
Eagles player to watch
RB Saquon Barkley had a franchise-record 2,005 yards rushing yards in the regular season, just 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. He has been even better in the playoffs, averaging 147.3 yards through three games with five TDs on just 66 attempts. He needs 30 yards rushing to break the NFL single-season record, including the playoffs, that Terrell Davis (2,476) set during the 1998 season.
Key matchup
The Chiefs defensive line against the Philadelphia offensive line. Defensive tackles Chris Jones and Tershawn Wharton along with defensive ends George Karlaftis and Mike Danna will be counted upon to not only slow down Barkley, but put pressure on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts in the passing game. And when Philadelphia gets into third- and fourth-and-short, those big fellas will be tasked with stopping the infamous “tush push.”
Key injuries
Chiefs: The only player limited in practice all week has been WR Skyy Moore, who is on injured reserve with an abdominal injury and unlikely to play.
Eagles: WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring), DT Jalen Carter (illness) and RB Kenny Gainwell (concussion/knee) were limited this week but are expected to play. DE Brandon Graham (elbow) also is expected to come off IR and play in the Super Bowl.
Series notes
The Chiefs are going for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title by bookending a win over San Francisco with victories over Philadelphia. Two years ago, the Chiefs rallied for a 38-35 victory at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. This is only the second time two teams have met in the Super Bowl twice in a three-year window following the Bills and Cowboys, who met after the 1992 and ‘93 seasons. Philadelphia did face the Chicago Cardinals for the NFL title after the 1947 and ’48 seasons.
Stats and stuff
The Chiefs are the first team to play in the Super Bowl five times in a six-year span. They are going for a record third straight Lombardi Trophy and fifth overall. ... Kansas City is the fourth team to appear in three straight Super Bowls after Miami (1971-73), Buffalo (1990-93) and New England (2016-18). ... Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Eagles counterpart Nick Sirianni represent the fifth rematch of coaches in Super Bowl history. ... Reid is coaching in his 45th postseason game, breaking Bill Belichick's record. He has 28 postseason wins, trailing only Belichick (31) for most in NFL history. ... Mahomes is 48-10 as a starter since 2022, the best mark in the NFL. Hurts is No. 2 at 42-12. ... Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has an NFL-record 174 catches in the postseason. He needs 207 yards receiving and three TDs to break those records of 2,245 yards and 22 TDs held by Jerry Rice. ... Mahomes has a Chiefs record 581 yards rushing in the postseason. RB Isiah Pacheco is second with 498. ... Mahomes needs three TD passes to pass Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers (45) for second most in NFL playoff history. Tom Brady had 88. ... Mahomes is trying to become the first play to be Super Bowl MVP in three consecutive seasons. He could also move within one of Brady's record with his fourth MVP overall. ... Sirianni will join Joe Gibbs and Mike Tomlin as the only NFL head coaches to make the Super Bowl twice within their first four seasons. ... Philadelphia ran for a franchise-record 3,048 yards this season, tied for the sixth most in NFL history. The Eagles are the second team in NFL history with at least 3,000 yards and 25 or more TDs rushing. ... The Eagles led the NFL in total defense at 278.4 yards per game for the seventh time in franchise history. ... Philadelphia ranked No. 1 in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (174.2) for the second time in the past three years. ... The Eagles are plus-27 in turnover differential from Week 8 through the postseason. ... Hurts is 48 of 69 for 505 yards with three TD passes and no interceptions along with 122 yards rushing and four TDs in three postseason games. ... Barkley is the ninth player in NFL history with at least 2,000 yards rushing in the regular season. He has seven TD runs of at least 60 yards this season, including the playoffs. ... All five Eagles offensive linemen received AP All-Pro votes with Lane Johnson (fifth) and Jordan Mailata (first) earning such honors. ... Eagles DT Jalen Carter has 12 pressures, five QB hits, two sacks and a forced fumble in the postseason. ... Eagles WR A.J. Brown had 1,079 yards receiving this season, his third straight with at least 1,000, despite missing three games to injuries. ... WR DeVonta Smith had a career-best eight TD catches, joining Mike Quick and Harold Carmichael as the only Eagles since at least 1970 with at least seven in three consecutive seasons.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
The Associated Press
