After an eventful NFL conference championship Sunday, the matchup for Super Bowl LIX (59) has been set. It will be Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles, taking on the defending two-time Super Bowl champs in the Kansas City Chiefs. Philly punched their ticket to the big dance after taking down rookie sensation Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders, ending their Cinderella playoff run. KC managed to get themselves back to the Super Bowl after handing MVP favorite Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills yet another loss in the conference championship game. A rematch from the Super Bowl two years ago is heading to New Orleans with all new parameters and so much more on the line. Kansas City is looking to make history and become the first team ever to capture three straight Super Bowls, and further solidify the hall of fame worthy legacies of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and head coach Andy Reid. As for the Eagles, they look to win their second championship in franchise history, and avenge their loss against the Chiefs that came the last time they met in the Super Bowl. Coming into this game there are many things to look out for and expect to see with everything on the line.

Additions And Departures

With every new season, teams go through adding new pieces to their team along with having to let pieces go all the time, and this year is no different for both teams. For Kansas City, the main core of their squad has stayed pretty much the exact same, with Mahomes and Kelce leading the group with an elite supporting cast of guys like Isiah Pacheco, Juju Smith-Schuster, and a defense with imposing threats like Chris Jones. This team that has won the last two Super Bowls, somehow managed to get even better this year by adding a serious offensive threat in rookie wide receiver Xaiver Worthy, and making a trade midway through the year for another wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. The passing game for this Chiefs team has become even more lethal, and more targets for Patrick Mahomes to throw to only means more ways the Chiefs can beat you.

For Philly, the Eagles have dealt with serious loss from their roster but have reaped the rewards of their new acquisitions as well. The biggest loss by far has to be the farewell of lifelong Eagle and veteran leader Jason Kelce. The older Kelce brother had an amazing career in Philadelphia winning a ring with the team in Super Bowl 52, and had the chance to play against his brother Travis in the big game just before retiring from football. But when one door closes, another opens and the offseason was gracious to the Eagles when they were able to land running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley was coming off a lackluster year with the New York Giants, recording less than 1,000 rushing yards and only finding the end zone six times the whole year. Picking up Barkley was a bit of a gamble, but turned out to be an incredible addition as he became objectively the best running back in the entire league. In Barkley’s bounce back year he exploded and led the league in rushing yards with 2,005, and more than doubled his touchdowns bringing it from six to 13. Saquon helped propel the Eagles to the top spot in the NFC east, and has taken them all the way through the regular season and the playoffs that have brought them all the way back to the big game.

Playoff Experience

Both teams have experienced multiple trips to the post season, and have made it to the biggest stage of them all, but coming into this game the difference level in playoff experience is a major factor and could possibly be the thing that puts one team over the top and crumbles the other. The Chiefs have been to the Super Bowl four out of the last five years, and have won three of them. Winning three rings in the last five years is certainly an upside, especially when going against a team with basically no experience for themselves. The Eagles despite being a dominant team this year, they have one thing that leaves a massive question mark over their heads, and that’s the lack of experience in the Super Bowl. Only being to the big game once once with this team in the last five years and coming up short to this exact same Kansas City team, it’s clear that the Chiefs have the edge on paper. Having experience in the playoffs is a massive benefit, and the Eagles have lots of it, but the Super Bowl is a completely different beast with a whole new level of intensity and the Chiefs have lived and become scarily comfortable in this intensity for the last half decade.

Battle Of The Quarterbacks

This year, two of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL square off for football supremacy. Coming from last season, the Chiefs certainly had a tough task in winning their second straight Super Bowl having to go through the San Francisco 49ers and arguably the best running back in the league that year in Christian McCaffery. This time around the Chiefs have to take on objectively the best running back in the league in Saquon Barkley. The big difference between last year and this year, without question is the level of quarterback that Mahomes and the Chiefs must face to complete the three-peat.

No disrespect to Brock Purdy, but for a second year quarterback that was making his first deep playoff run that ended him up in the finals, must’ve looked like dinner served on a silver platter for Patrick Mahomes to assert his dominance. This season Jalen Hurts has been on a tear, and coming off a standout performance against Washington, fans have to know that Philly’s QB is oozing with confidence walking into New Orleans. Hurts will definitely be a harder task for Mahomes and the entire Chiefs defense, and be giving the opposition trouble all game long.

Prepare For A Dogfight

There’s no other way to describe it, this match up is gonna be a physical, exhausting, yet exhilarating dogfight from the first punt return all the way to the final whistle. With everything up for grabs, neither side will be willing to give the other team even a second of momentum, and fans can be sure that all the hard work and dedication these two clubs have gone through to get to this point will be left out on that field come Sunday.