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Super Bowl LIX Preview: Chiefs Three-Peat or Philly Redemption?
Published: Wednesday, February 5, 2025
by Ryan Nelke
If there are two things we learned from Conference Championship weekend, it’s that Saquon Barkley is in a class of his own, and that the Chiefs' success is truly inevitable.
Beginning with the NFC Champs, Philadelphia cruised to a whopping 55-23 win over the Commanders, which saw Barkley run for 118 yards and three touchdowns, including his first touch that he took 60 yards to the house. The defense also did their part, forcing four turnovers and keeping the red-hot Washington offense at bay.
In Kansas City, it was chapter four in the Mahomes-Allen saga, and the result was not any different this time around. The Bills and Chiefs traded blows for four quarters, with each team leading twice across the duration of the contest. In the end, Mahomes and company prevailed again when the KC defense stood tall at midfield and the offense got the game-clinching first down, securing the 32-29 victory.
These results have left us with a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, with the final game of the 2024-25 NFL season having the ability to crown Barkley and his Eagles champs after an impeccable season or cement the Chiefs as the villainous dynasty and the first EVER team to three-peat. Now, with the stage set, let’s get right into my prediction for who will emerge as this year’s Super Bowl champs…
Sunday, February 9th, 6:30 p.m. - (1) Chiefs at (2) Eagles
Unless you reside in the New Jersey/New York, Dallas, or Washington area, you are most likely pulling for the Eagles in this one, so let’s take a look at their keys to the game.
Barkley’s Final Act
The most important factor undeniably has to be Saquon Barkley. He’s run for 100+ yards in every playoff game so far (205 vs LAR) and has tallied five touchdowns. If Philadelphia wants any chance at winning this game, Barkley will have to replicate this dominance and then some. The offense runs through him now, taking pressure off Jalen Hurts, so if Philly has to turn their attention to relying on Hurts, this game probably won’t go as they hope. It might be a stretch, but for the Eagles to win, Barkley likely will need at least 150 rushing yards and two TDs.
Continue Forcing Turnovers
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles' defense will need to continue forcing turnovers. Across their three playoff contests, they have collected a total of 10 turnovers. This has played a crucial factor in flipping the script of these games, and getting their competition out of funk. While the Chiefs offense has been anything but dominant this year, they looked their best against the Bills, so Philadelphia will have to find a way to limit them on the biggest stage of them all.
Get the Ball Through the Uprights
While it didn’t matter much, Elliott missed another kick for the third straight game, as he sent one wide right from 54 yards out. This follows up a performance against the Rams where he missed two extra points, as well as one more PAT miss versus the Packers. Every point against the Chiefs is crucial, so missing out on points like that will play a big part in falling short in New Orleans.
For the Chiefs, they’ve advanced to the final week of the NFL season for the fifth time in six years, so while their game plan will probably be more of the same again, let’s take a look at their keys to success.
Contain Mr. OPOY
Here’s the reverse side of one of the Eagles' keys to the game…the Chiefs must find a way to halt Saquon Barkley. If they do, I can almost guarantee the Chiefs will be raising another banner into the rafters. Philadelphia lost three games the whole season, and two of those came when Barkley failed to hit triple-digit rushing yards (something that only happened to five teams the whole year). Therefore, keep Barkley under 100 rushing yards, and the game will be placed into Jalen Hurts’ hands, something I’m sure KC would much rather prefer.
Get Swifty’s Sweetheart Involved
If you take a look back at every playoff game that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have played together, there is typically one constant. That constant is Kelce putting up big numbers, and what usually follows is a Chiefs victory. Kelce’s showing against the Bills in the AFC Championship was an anomaly, especially considering his past postseason performances versus them. However, at the end of the day, the correlation rate between a big Kelce outing and a Chiefs playoff victory is pretty high, so Kansas City should make sure to get him involved.
Give the Refs a Raise
Yes, the Chiefs have a boatland of talent, including the best player in the game, but let’s not forget the amount of help they have gotten from the men in black and white this year. This was seen on several occasions during the AFC Championship game, such as the controversial fourth down ruling on the Josh Allen sneak, or the Xavier Worthy catch which set them right on the goal line. As long as the 50/50 plays continue going the Chiefs' way, it’ll play a big part in guiding them to another Lombardi trophy.
That does it for the keys to the game, which means it is time for me to give my final prediction on this series of articles. Barkley and the Eagles are surely an imposing threat, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned during this year’s playoffs, it’s that everything leads back to the Chiefs at the end of the day. There’s only been two men that have stopped Kansas City over the past six years; one is retired, while the other one didn’t even make the playoffs.
It appears that no matter how much we as fans would like to see someone else rise to the throne, Mahomes is unwilling to relinquish it, and that’s exactly how it will remain on Super Bowl Sunday.
PREDICTION: Chiefs 28, Eagles 27
Ryan Nelke can be reached at ryan.nelke@student.shu.edu.Posted in: sports,