Super Bowl LIX where the Philadelphia Eagles will take on two-time defending champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, is one week away.
If this match up looks familiar to you, that's because it is. These two teams faced off only two years ago in Super Bowl LVII, where the Chiefs came out victorious over the Eagles with a 38-35 win.
Despite being the matchup for Super Bowl LIX that nobody wanted, this has potential to be a legendary game. Since their Super Bowl win last year, the Chiefs have claimed that they are going for the three-peat, which during the current Super Bowl Era in the National Football League (NFL), no team has accomplished. This three-peat attempt all started with a Chiefs/Eagles matchup and either history will be made or the Eagles will stop the Chiefs in their tracks. No matter the outcome, we find out next week.
The first ever Super Bowl was played in 1967 where the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Back then these two teams were fighting for the World Professional Football Championship Trophy. This trophy was then renamed to the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 1970 after the Green Bay Packers head coach, Vince Lombardi who sadly passed away of cancer that year. Lombardi more than earned this honour as he not only led his team to win the first ever Super Bowl, but he also led them to repeat the win the next year in 1968. He achieved the first ever two-peat in the Super Bowl Era in the first two years of the era.
The Chiefs made their first ever visit to the Super Bowl in Super Bowl I, losing to the Packers. Their next visit to the Super Bowl was in 1970 for Super Bowl IV where they won their first ever Super Bowl and obtained the World Professional Football Championship Trophy. This was the last year the trophy had this name before it was changed to the Vince Lombardi Trophy. After that the Chiefs did not make a Super Bowl appearance until their dominant streak started in 2020, putting a whole 50 years between Super Bowl visits and championships. Since 2020, the Chiefs have made appearances in the last five out of six Super Bowls, including Super Bowl LIX. They have won three of them, potentially four depending on the game's outcome next Sunday. The Chiefs have a 4-2 record in Super Bowl Games and are looking to make it 5-2.
Of course, the Chiefs are a great team, no team would make it this far if that were not the case, but a lot of their success is thanks to quarterback (QB) Patrick Mahomes and tight end (TE) Travis Kelce. Together, and individually, this duo has made history. During their time together in the playoffs alone, Mahomes and Kelce have managed to connect for 19 touchdowns, the most for a duo in NFL history, which they can continue to grow this Sunday. Kelce himself has 20 playoff touchdowns in his career. The all-time receiving touchdowns is held by Jerry Rice at 22. Kelce needs two more to tie and three to take the all-time lead. Kelce has the chance to try and continue growing his legacy in Super Bowl LVIX, potentially for the last time, as questions of retirement linger.
The Eagles loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII was their third ever Super Bowl loss in four appearances. They do have a Super Bowl win to their franchise which came in 2018 against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. The Eagles have an all-time record of 1-3 in Super Bowl games and are aiming to make it 2-3 next week. Two people who are also hoping the Eagles improve their record are former National Hockey League (NHL) player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Boston College Alumni, Matthew Gaudreau who sadly passed away in August of 2024. These brothers were super-fans of the Philadelphia Eagles.
A big difference between this rematch is a missing Kelce. In their previous Super Bowl match-up, it was a big headline that two brothers, Travis and Jason Kelce, would be facing off in the Super Bowl. Since then, Jason Kelce has hung-up his helmet, so while the Chiefs and Eagles will rematch, Kelce and Kelce will not. These two brothers are not rematching, but watchers will have a QB rematch. Jalen Hurts has only played in the one Super Bowl during his career, meaning he has yet to hold the Lombardi Trophy as a Super Bowl champion and must be hungry get revenge against the current title holders to get his first Super Bowl win and ring.
There are a lot of questions going into the game next Sunday. Will Kelce and Mahomes connect again getting to 20 touchdowns? Will Kelce tie Rice for most receiving touchdowns in NFL history? Will the Chiefs make legends of themselves and accomplish the three-peat? Or will Hurts lead the Eagles to victory and get his first Super Bowl win? Will Kelce join his brother in retirement? All these questions will be answered in New Orleans at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9.
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