By Cole M. Roche
Tonight, the number one seed in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the number one seed in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, will be playing in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The Eagles are back in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years. The team won their last Super Bowl appearance back in the 2017-2018 season. They defeated Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, with an upset of a final score of 41-33. In the 2022-2023 season, the Eagles ended with a record of 14-3.
The Chiefs are making their third Super Bowl appearance in four years. In the Chiefs’ last Super Bowl, they lost in overtime to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by 31-9. In Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers by 31-20, winning the Super Bowl after a 50 year drought.
The last two games that the Eagles played were dominant performances on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. They first beat the New York Giants 38-7 in the divisional round and defeated the 49ers in the NFC championship game by a score of 31-7. The Chiefs’ last two playoffs were relatively close games, from defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 to beating the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game by a score of 23-20.
There is one player both on the offense and the defense for the Eagles that will need to make a big impact on the game for them to win. The offensive player is Jalen Hurts. Hurts will not only have to run the ball effectively, but also be successful throwing the football. The Chiefs rank around the middle of the pack when it comes to defending the pass, especially with three rookies starting in the secondary. The defensive player for the Eagles is Hasson Reddick. Reddick has been very dominant throughout the regular season and the postseason, and the Eagles will need him to show up in a big way.
For the Chiefs, the offensive player that will need to make a big impact is Isiah Pacheco. Pacheco has taken over the Chiefs’ running back room as the number one option at the position. The Eagles rank around the middle in relation to the rest of the NFL when it comes to run defense. The Chiefs will need to rely on Pacheco to open up the rest of the offense. The defensive player for the Chiefs that needs to give it his all is rookie Trent McDuffie. McDuffie was a first-round pick in this past draft and has had a pretty first season at cornerback. He will have to handle two 1,000-yard receivers–A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith–and a 1,000-yard rusher, Miles Sanders. McDuffie will need to be playing his best game against this high-powered Eagles offense.
My final score prediction for Super Bowl LVII is Philadelphia 31, Kansas City 28.
