We have finally arrived at the last game of the 2022/23 NFL season. Through all the madness, the two #1 seeds have made their way to Arizona to play for the prestigious Lombardi Trophy. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will square off this Sunday, February 12th at 6:30 pm ET. There are a lot of interesting narratives surrounding this game. It will be the “Andy Reid Bowl” as he previously coached the Eagles before coaching the Chiefs. It will also be the “Kelce Bowl” as both Jason (Eagles) and Travis Kelce (Chiefs) will be playing each other.
And finally, this is a big legacy game for Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes has been to five straight AFC Championships, but has only won one Super Bowl in those five years. This will be his chance to raise himself to an even bigger level. Mahomes is genuinely one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever seen, but the conversation around him will be very lopsided depending on which result he is faced with on Sunday night.
While the media will run with their narratives and conversations about “legacy games” what matters most are the players that are putting their hands in the dirt trying to win football’s biggest prize. So let’s get into it.
The case for the Philadelphia Eagles
Like the Chiefs, the Eagles finished their season with a 14-3 record, despite Jalen Hurts missing two games towards the end of the season. With Hurts as their quarterback the Eagles have only lost one game, in November against the Washington Commanders. They are 2nd in team offense, 5th in rushing offense, first in passing defense and first in sacks (70).
They have arguably the best offensive and defensive lines in the league. And in the NFL, if you’re winning the battle in the trenches it’s very hard to lose games. Jalen Hurts, as explosive as he is, can’t do it all himself. And that has not been the case at all this season. Miles Sanders was fifth in the league in rushing yards (1269), A.J. Brown (1496) was fourth in receiving yards and his wideout partner DeVonta Smith was ninth (1196).
In Jalen Hurts 17 games as the Eagles starting quarterback this year, they’ve scored over 25 points 12 times. In his last three starts they’ve scored over 31 each time. Hurts is the real deal and all Kansas City eyes will be on him trying to keep him in the pocket, but the defense will be a big part of the equation as well.
Like I mentioned earlier, the Eagles defensive line is one of the best in the league. They have four players with at least 11 sacks (Javon Hargreave, Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham & Josh Sweat). Their defensive back unit is just as strong with Darius Slay Jr., James Bradberry and C.J. Gardner-Johnson all recording three or more interceptions.
Nick Sirianni is the rookie in Super Bowl appearances, as this will be Andy Reid’s third, he’ll have to be ready to throw everything at the Chiefs on both sides of the ball. Regardless, the Birds will be in this game until the final whistle. After watching them throughout the year, there’s no reason to doubt this teams ability to battle.
The case for the Kansas City Chiefs
Andy Reid will face his former team for the first time in the postseason. And this time it’s for all the marbles. Mahomes and Co. have flown by their opponents this year and despite Mahomes’ injury against the Jaguars, they still persevered.
The Chiefs quarterback has almost cemented his spot as this year’s MVP, finishing first in both passing yards (5250) and passing touchdowns (41). This year he became part of an elite quarterback club, becoming one of only three quarterbacks ever to have multiple 5,000 passing yard seasons. Despite the loss of Tyreek Hill, Mahomes has still elevated his game. He’s still dominating opponents and controlling the offense with both poise and ease.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is known for mixing it up on blitz schemes and front seven lineups, so expect them to throw the kitchen sink at Jalen Hurts. Chris Jones, who had a crucial sack on Joe Burrow in the AFC Championship game, will lead the Chiefs front seven. The only question mark on the defensive side of the ball is the health of their best corner L’Jarius Sneed, who is still limited in practice with a knee injury.
The “YSN” Prediction
One things for sure, this is going to be a high scoring games. Both offenses are just too powerful and will make their fair share of big-plays. We know that both quarterbacks have the ability to extend any play, but will Mahomes be ability to do it to his best ability. Two weeks of rest will definitely help, but we’ll have to see if he can do it against an Eagles front that recorded a league-high 70 sacks in the regular season. Both teams are healthy (for the most part) and have what it takes to take over at any instant. The team that wins the battle in the trenches will win this game. And there’s only one team on my mind when I think about that statement. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.
Love the pick hopefully this is the result!
Let’s go Eagles!