The Philadelphia Eagles are back in the Super Bowl five years after winning their last one. The Birds take on the Kansas City Chiefs and are already a -1.5 favorite over their opponent. There’s a reason for this. The Eagles were the best team in the NFL for most of the season and heading into Super Bowl 57, they have a clear edge over the Chiefs. Here are four reasons for this edge ahead of the Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl.
4. The running game
Wide receiving corps are a hot topic in the NFL these days. Teams are trying to put together “basketball teams” with players of all different sizes and skill sets to create mismatches in the secondary.
What is sometimes overlooked is a deep and diverse running back room.
Sure, it’s great to have a workhorse like Derrick Henry, but if a team figures out a way to stop him, your team is out of luck. The Eagles have running backs that come at you in waves. There’s the all-around stud in Miles Sanders, the change-of-pace back in Kenneth Gainwell, and the little scat back in Boston Scott.
Additionally, the Eagles head into Super Bowl 57 with one of the best running quarterbacks in the league in Jalen Hurts. The QB hasn’t run as much of late due to an injury, but his shoulder is getting healthier all the time, and now the team has a week off before the Eagles-Chiefs Big Game.
The Eagles were fifth in the league in rushing this season (2,505 yards), and that was because of their incredible group of runners who will give the Chiefs defense fits on Super Bowl Sunday.
3. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith
With apologies to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, the Eagles’ A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are the best wide receiver duo in the NFL in 2023.
Brown and Smith put up 1983 catches for 2,692 yards and 18 touchdowns this season and give Jalen Hurts and the Eagles just what they need offensively. Smith is one of the best possession WRs in the game, and Brown is a threat to take it to the house anytime he touches the ball.
The Chiefs secondary struggled to guard Chase and Higgins in the AFC Championship, giving up 12 catches for 158 yards to the pair. This group — especially rookie safety Bryan Cook — will struggle to keep Brown and Smith under wraps in Super Bowl 57.
2. The best offensive line in the league
Whether it’s the passing or running game, everything the Eagles do on offense starts with the offensive line. Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, and Lane Johnson are the best upfront unit in the NFL and won’t get run over by Chris Jones and company like the Bengals O-line did.
The issue here is that Dickerson and Johnson are both hurt heading into Super Bowl 57. However, the week of rest before the Eagles-Chiefs showdown should allow the players to heal up and get ready for this game. If the Eagles O-line is entirely healthy in the Big Game, they will have a clear advantage over the Chiefs D-line, even though the Kansas City unit is much-improved this season.
The best football teams are built from the lines out, and that’s exactly what Eagles general manager Howie Roseman did. And as good as the Philly O-line is, the biggest advantage the team has in Super Bowl 57 is on the opposite side of the ball.
1. 70 sacks and an injured Patrick Mahomes
The 1984 Chicago Bears, led by Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, and Steve McMichael, put up 72.0 sacks in a season. Five years later, the Minnesota Vikings, led by Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, and Al Noga, recorded 71.0 sacks.
In 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles sacked opposing quarterbacks 70.0 times, good for third-most in NFL history.
Unlike the Bears and Vikings before them, the Eagles had four players, not thee, with double-digit sacks on the season. Those are Haason Reddick with 16.0 and Javon Hargrave, Brandon Graham, and Josh Sweat, all with 11.0. With those numbers, it's hard to argue the Eagles D-line isn't one of the strongest of all time.
On any given Sunday having one of the best pass-rushing teams in NFL history is an advantage. In Super Bowl 57 for the Eagles-Chiefs, with Mahomes still nursing an ankle injury, this gives the Birds a clear-cut advantage.
The Mahomes Magic could still show up from time to time, but with his injury, the more the Philadelphia D-line can get him off his spot, the better the team’s chances will be of taking home a second Super Bowl in a half-decade.
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