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The matchup for Super Bowl 57 is set and it’s one that offers no shortage of storylines.
The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb.12 in a game that will showcase a pair of brothers on opposite teams, a head coach going against the team that fired him a little more than a decade ago and two of the best young quarterbacks in the sport.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid led Philadelphia to a berth in Super Bowl 39 in 2004 but came up short in a loss against the New England Patriots. Now, Reid will have the chance to avenge his dismissal from the Eagles with a Lombardi Trophy. To do so, he’ll need another big game out of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who will face off against Jalen Hurts of the Eagles. And Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce will become the first set of brothers to play against each other in Super Bowl history.
Here are the winners and losers from conference championship Sunday.
Bet on the Big Game: Super Bowl 57 stats, odds and more
He’s not yet the G.O.A.T. — he’ll need many more years in the league to compete with Tom Brady —but Patrick Mahomes has left no doubt that he is a magician with the ball in his hands and is the most talented passer we have ever seen.
Throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns eight days after sustaining a high ankle sprain is as tough a performance as we have seen in recent memory. That Mahomes fought through the pain and made some of his biggest plays while on the move speaks to the value his mobility brings. He earned his second all-pro berth and is the overwhelming favorite to win the MVP award. What’s absurd is that he’s only 27 and just getting started.
You know things are going well when your third-string running back blossoms into an impact player in the postseason. Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell, a second-year pro, led Philadelphia in rushes (14) and rushing yards (48) and also added two catches for 26 yards.
Gainwell actually has 160 combined rushing yards in Philadelphia’s two playoff games and has showed he can be yet another playmaker on the Eagle offense.
Patrick Mahomes will draw the buzz and coverage, but Kansas City’s defense deserves just as much love for pushing the Chiefs past Cincinnati. Kansas City’s defensive front set the tone, sacking Joe Burrow three times in the first quarter and five times in the game. In fact, those came on consecutive dropbacks and were why the Bengals were held to 0 net yards in the period.
Kansas City defensive tackle Chris Jones, whether he was feasting on backup right guard Max Scharping or whether he was moved outside on third downs and passing situations, impacted the game and disrupted the timing of Cincinnati’s offense. His sack of Burrow on third-and-8 with 44 seconds left in the game was the catalyst that got Kansas City the ball back for the game-winning field goal.
