None of them may openly admit it, but the players of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs probably have circled September 14 on their calendar, as the reigning finalists will meet early after last season's Super Bowl.
The Eagles handily beat the Chiefs, 40-22, for their fifth crown, including before the AFL-NFL merger. Philadelphia also denied Kansas City an unprecedented third straight title.
Jalen Hurts was almost flawless in the contest, completing 17 of 22 attempts for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score and set the Super Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 72. He was aptly named Super Bowl MVP.
The Chiefs will be eager to avenge their defeat in their quest to reclaim the throne. But while fans are excited for the Super Bowl rematch, Hurts wants to stay even-keeled and not get too hyper-focused.
“It's just another opportunity for us. That's how I'm approaching it. We've got a long (way to go), we can learn from this past week. We know we're playing a really good team. It's a new team, and we're a new team,” said the Eagles quarterback, as quoted by The Athletic's Zach Berman.
As the 27-year-old Hurts noted, Philadelphia welcomed new faces this season, including AJ Dillon, Jihaad Campbell, Azeez Ojulari, Joshua Uche, and Adoree' Jackson, among others.
Kansas City, meanwhile, added Gardner Minshew, Elijah Mitchell, Jaylon Moore, Josh Simmons, and Omarr Norman‑Lott, to name a few.
The Eagles escaped the Dallas Cowboys, 24-20, in Week 1. Hurts went 19-of-23 for 152 yards and rushed for two touchdowns on 14 carries. His performance duly compensated for the poor performances of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, who only combined for 24 yards.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, were upset by the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-21, in their opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
With Hurts playing at a high level since last season's Super Bowl, it won't be a surprise if he leads Philadelphia to another convincing win over Kansas City.
