The logic was respected in the American and the National, and the champions of each association during the calendar did the same in the playoffs. Still, the Super Bowl finalists started the season with some offensive questions…which they answered with a ton of points.
Kansas City sat at the top of the NFL with an impressive 61 majors once morest 59 for Philadelphia, not far behind on the second step. Everyone has their own specialty. The Missouri team is the benchmark in touchdown passes (41), while the Pennsylvania team reigned on land (32).
The loss of the fast Tyreek Hill has in no way weakened Patrick Mahomes or slowed down Travis Kelce, who has become the only engine of the group of receivers. The duo have remained among the elite this season and proved intractable during the playoffs.
Casually, only the duo of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski (15) recorded more touchdowns than Mahomes and Kelce (13), who edged Joe Montana and Jerry Rice (12) in the conference final triumph once morest the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hill’s departure in the spring of 2022 gave way to more methodical play in Kansas City. A committee of athletes, both running backs and receivers, replaced the offensive production of the electrifying player who maintained his high standards in Miami.
Shortly following Hill was traded to the Dolphins, the Eagles took the opposite route, bringing in one of the Goodell league’s star young receivers to back up an inexperienced quarterback at the time and in strong potential.
This is how AJ Brown landed in Philadelphia, where he offered Jalen Hurts an imposing target, complementary to DeVonta Smith, who seems to have experienced his great outbreak in the home stretch of the calendar.
The Eagles pivot benefited from the arrival of Brown, the missing piece of the unit, to silence his detractors who questioned his qualities as a passer. So much so that he was one of the finalists for the Most Valuable and Offensive Player titles, with Mahomes having the final say for the top honor.
Hurts takes advantage of an offensive line that is second to none and opens up countless possibilities for offense. Moreover, at the heart of this quintet of unknown stars is Jason Kelce, the eldest compared to Travis. This is the first time that two brothers will face each other in the Super Bowl.
Under the theme of reunion, Andy Reid will reconnect with the team that launched his career as head coach at the turn of the 2000s. His 14 seasons in Philadelphia (1999-2012) were fairly successful, without manage to lead the Eagles to the firmament. A feat he instead achieved in Kansas City in 2020.
Broken quarters
Offensive point guards on both sides are not at their best physically these days due to various ailments.
Hurts does not seem to have fully recovered from a right shoulder injury, the one with which he throws his passes, suffered in mid-December which forced him to miss two meetings at the end of the campaign. The quarterback has been limited with his stints since returning to competition.
The Eagles will continue to apply their winning formula by relying on their ground game, which is the ideal recipe to preserve a mortgaged pivot. In this case, the Chiefs may want to force Hurts to throw the ball.
Jalen Hurts
Photo : Getty Images / Mitchell Leff
Mahomes, meanwhile, has been out with a right ankle since the Chiefs entered the scene in the second round of the playoffs. He escaped unscathed in the conference final, except that the challenge will be quite different once morest a horde of quarterback hunters who hope to take advantage of his lack of mobility to cause him trouble.
The ground attack can be a relevant avenue in order to thwart the plans of a defense that runs on quarterback sacks. In this case, these two units.
Pressure from the Eagles can come from anywhere. The talent is distributed from one end to the other of the line, four color carriers having crossed the plateau of 10 sacks. Haason Reddick leads the battalion with 19.5 units in 19 games since the start of the season.
The Chiefs’ strike force essentially comes from a tandem, namely Chris Jones and Frank Clark. The former was considered for MVP, and the latter raised his game in the playoffs enough to slot in alongside legends.
Once tipped to become a star on the Goodell circuit, Clark never really lived up to expectations this season, despite several flashes showing the extent of his talent. However, he contributed greatly in the qualifiers and rose alongside legends of his profession.
Most sacks in playoff history
- 1. Willie McGinest: 16 sacks in 18 games
- 2. Bruce Smith: 14.5 sacks in 20 games
- 3. Frank Clark: 13.5 sacks in 16 games
- 4. Terrell Suggs: 12.5 sacks in 21 games
- 5. Reggie White: 12 sacks in 19 games
- 6. LaMarr Woodley: 11 sacks in 8 games
- 6. Clay Matthews : 11 sacs en 15 matchs
- 6. Charles Haley: 11 sacks in 21 games
- 6. Dwight Freeney: 11 sacks in 22 games
- 6. James Harrison: 11 sacks in 22 games
