10.) Can the Chiefs Secondary do it Again
The Chiefs defense has always been a tight-rope act in terms of their ability to add to the Chiefs success. They were bad in 2018, and it cost them mightily. They were good by the time the playoffs rolled around in 2019 and 2020, and it did wonders. This year, the secondary could be a real pain point. Two rookies (three, if Sneed is not ready to go) take a ton of smaps. Young secondaries have been burned in the Super Bowl before (see the 2009 Colts starting two rookie corners). But they played pretty well in the Title Game against Chase & Higgins. They have a shot to show up big in this one - be it repeating the tip drill interception, or tackling in the flat on a ton of the running plays. They'll need to come up big, and they very much.
9.) The Rise of the Eagles Coaching Staff
I honestly had forgot about Nick Sirriani's truly awful, weird introductory press conference, where he waxed poetically, awfully, about playing smart and what not. He was seen as a weird hire even before that, one that people were saying was trying to recapture the Pederson era. As Pederson was to Reid, Frank Reich was for Pederson, and Sirriani was for Reich. Two years later, it looks inspired. As do Shane Streichen (who is the next in that weird lineage) and Jonathan Gannon. They're all young, they're all fairly untested, but they've been coaching great all year. They may not be long for the world in Philadelphia (the fact the Cardinals and more specifically the Colts have still not filled their head coach opening is a sign that maybe one of these guys is being targeted), but man have they made their impression so quickly and so distinctly. Both offense and defense have such specific styles, and run by a guy who has been as good as we'll see at game management decisions. Just a great brain trust.
8.) Spags
To focus on the other side of the coaching matchup, the grizzly grey-haired Steve Spagnuolo who is 26 years older than the OC he's going up against. What Spags may lack in youth, he makes up for in tactical brilliance. As we saw in his teams short-handed performance against Cincinnati, Spags is still great at game-calling. Even in games like this. While he never got the credit he should have, his team's game-plan against the 2007 Patriots was legendary - as were their great performances against the great offenses of the 2007 Cowboys and Packers. With the Chiefs, despite high turnover, high amounts of rookies, he has kept the defense generally average, and often better than that in the playoffs. Their Super Bowl win doesn't happen without his blitzing slamming the door on the 49ers offense in the 2nd half. They're not here without the great work against the Jags and Bengals. Steve Spagnuolo is probably never getting a head coaching shot again, but a win here makes him one of the better defensive coordinators ever.
7.) Eagles Interior vs. Chris Jones
Chris Jones was the best player on the field in the AFC Championship Game, coming off the best season of his career that will likely see him voted 2nd in Defensive Player of hte Year voting. The best player most days for the Eagles ultimately is Jason Kelce. Isaac Seumalo and Landon Dickerson are both good not great players. If the Chiefs have a clear edge on defense it is the potential of Jones creating a ton of havoc. Spags moved Jones around excellently to get him single-teamed, and I imagine he tries doing it here to get him one-on-one against one of the guards and try to overplay Kelce on the other side. If the Eagles can quiet Jones, they have a good chance of running roughshod (literally, running the ball all over).
6.) The Eagles Team Building Dominance
It is staggering how many of the players have changed between the 2017 and 2022 Super Bowl teams. Granted, the same was more or less true of te 2018 and 2021 Rams, but that was a team built for the short term coming in and filling holes from another team largely built for the short term. What Kevin Demoff and the Rams did was remarkable. This Eagles group is better because they built a team to win a title in 2017 that seemed built for the long term, replaced some guys on the fly, changed the coach and QB, and are right back to having one of the most complete rosters in the NFL. It is incredible to rebuild an offensive line around two centerpieces and remain the best. They had a great DL in 2017, and while Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox are still here, neither are top contributors to what is the leageu's best DL in 2022. The secondary is rebuilt. They've made smart bets, smart trades and overhauled parts of the roster with youth and not trading away 1st-round picks for years to come.
5.) Kelce vs. Kelce
Probably would be higher if they would be on the field at the same time, but it is crazy that this is the first time we have two brothers squaring off. More than that, they are both stars. Kelce is the best TE in the NFL, and is well on his way to a HOF career. His longevity and peak is really only in the Tony Gonzalez range (Gronk had a better peak, but not this type of longevity). Jason Kelce had a slow start, but has been 1st Team All-Pro five of the last six seasons and is building up to potentially a HOF career as well. Yes, we're going to get a bunch of stroies about the kids, and the Mom with the split Chiefs/Eagles jersey and what-not, but it is a really cool story. Just as it was when Harbaugh faced Harbaugh. Add to it both of them being top personalities in the league (who happen to co-own a podcast) and this is a dream storyline.
This might be high, but I think the real football freaks will be salivating over this one. Why? Because this decides the game. Given Mahomes potentially still a bit injured and same for some of the receivers, he'll need all the time he can get. There is a chance this because a repeat of the 2020 Super Bowl in that sense. Of course, maybe it becomes a repeat of the 2019 Super Bowl instead. The Eagles pass ruhs is incredible. Their sacking QBs in 10%+ dropbacks, wihich is insane. They're deep, they're healthy. They're dominant. But the Chiefs OL is quietly among the best, if not straight up the best, pass blocking OLs in the league. The unit that the Bucs mauled was immediately rebuilt. The guys that were rookies last year just got better. The Tackles are the relative weak spot, so watch for them vs. Reddick, Sweat and Graham. Just a great matchup that so easily can decide this game.
3.) Andy Reid vs. the Eagles
This might be higher, but to me this is more a celebration than a revenge. Reid was a great coach with a great career when he left the Eagles after 14 years. It's his later now 10 years with the Chiefs that have allowed him to be unlocked as an all time great. The split was a win-win. The Eagles needed some change, and while there was the little Chip Kelly dailiance in the middle, the Eagles struck title gold with Pederson and maybe could with Sirianni, both of whom have ties to Reid (either directly or through Frank Reich). Reid is still loved in Philadelphia, with the memories of the playoff wins and consistent winning drowning out the tough moments. The Eagles and Chiefs are better off for that decision, and this game should be just a celebration of Big Red.
2.) Two Black QBs
Honestly, I'm surprised how little play this is getting. Granted, there are more black QBs than black Head Coaches, but I remember the fact Lovie Smith & Tony Dungy coaching against each other was a huge story. Maybe it is because we've had a decent amount of black QBs in Super Bowls this past decade, from Kaepernick in '12, to Russell Wilson in '13-'14, Cam in '15 and Mahomes in '19-20. But seeing two against each other is heartening. Black QBs are still under the gun today, assumed to always be athletic and not great pocket passers (spoiler alert: best pocket passer in the NFL is Patrick Mahomes). They have higher bars for praise and lower for criticism. These are all true facts. The fact that we have two black QBs, both still young and potentially great for years to come, is one that is worth more spotlight and focus.
1.) Patrick Mahomes goes for #2
To some degree, I'm more willing this into existence. With Tom Brady retiring, and Roethlisberger retiring last year, we have now zero active QBs with multiple Super Bowl rings. While I think everyone largely agrees Mahomes is the best active QB, getting him a 2nd ring basically cements that status - one that he deserves given he's going to win his 2nd MVP in a couple days. If he loses, we are left without that. The last time we had a league without a 2-time Super Bowl winning QB was 2003 before Brady won his second, and then 1973, which is after Bart Starr retired and before Griese won his 2nd. From there we had at least Griese -> Bradshaw -> Punkett -> Montana -> Aikman -> Brady. Obviously there are guys in between that had multiple rings in between. Mahomes needs this. We need this. Mahomes is on a path few have ever seen. No one is ever getting 7 rings or 8 rings. But Mahomes can get his 5 MVPs and we need him with multiple rings to go along with it.
