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The 2024-25 NFL season wraps up with Super Bowl LIX on February 9, as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off. In a rematch of Super Bowl 57, both teams are looking to cap off their impressive seasons by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl 59.
Let’s break down how each team stacks up against one another in each positional matchup.
Quarterback: Chiefs
It’s a matchup of two of the best in the league at quarterback. Patrick Mahomes is in search of his fourth championship, while Jalen Hurts is still in search of his first. As the Chiefs try and earn a three-peat, the advantage at QB goes fairly easily to Mahomes.
Having been here (and done it multiple times), Mahomes is a proven commodity, even if his season has been uninspiring. On the other sideline, Hurts outplayed Mahomes in their previous Super Bowl matchup, accounting for 374 total yards, but has only eclipsed 200 passing yards once in three playoff games this year, which is cause for concern.
Running Back: Eagles
The offseason addition of Saquon Barkley has returned tenfold for the Eagles, as he rushed for 2,005 yards and racked up 15 total touchdowns. Not many running backs were on Barkley’s level this past season, giving Philly the easy advantage at running back.
Isiah Pacheco, who was only healthy for seven regular-season games this year, and Kareem Hunt lead the backfield for KC. Both options are uninspiring but will get the job done in the Chiefs’ offense, as neither player can even sniff Barkley’s impact.
Wide Receivers: Eagles
It’s fair to say that the Eagles have the two best receivers in this year’s Super Bowl, as both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith would be the WR1 for the Chiefs. While both Philly wideouts experienced down years, the duo combined for 15 receiving touchdowns and 1,912 receiving yards.
With Rashee Rice out for the season, rookie Xavier Worthy and veterans Hollywood Brown and DeAndre Hopkins have led the way. While Mahomes has made things work this season, this rag-tag bunch has not made things easy. Even with the Chiefs having better depth, the advantage goes to the Eagles here, based on how good the top of the depth chart is.
Tight End: Chiefs
Travis Kelce and Noah Gray lead the way for Kansas City at tight end as they earn the advantage over Dallas Goedert. While Kelce has been showing his age lately, he did produce another 90-plus reception season this past year. Kelce has recorded at least six receptions in each of his four Super Bowl appearances and will look to extend this streak in Super Bowl 59.
Gray quietly set career marks in receptions (40), receiving yards (437), and touchdowns (5), filling an important TE2/safety valve role for Mahomes. On the other side, Goedert made his way through another injury-riddled season, suiting up in 10 regular-season contests and putting up his worst statistical season in his career.
Offensive Line: Eagles
Adding Mekhi Becton at right guard shored up the only weak link for Philadelphia. The Eagles graded out as the best offensive line unit this past season. Anchored by left tackle Jordan Mailata, this unit paved the way for a 2K season from Barkley and another 630 on the ground from Hurts.
Mahomes was sacked 36 times this year, the most of his career. Shifting Joe Thuney out to left tackle made the interior of this line a bit weak, although Creed Humphrey and pending free agent Trey Smith did more than their fair share.
Defensive Line: Eagles
It’s clear that the Eagles go as far as their defense will take them, and that starts up front for them. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis form one of the best combos in the trenches, with Milton Williams flying under the radar himself.
Chris Jones is the anchor up front for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, and while he is a star in his own right, he doesn’t have enough around him to overcome one of the strengths of the Philly defense. Jones and George Karlaftis will be tasked with corralling Hurts all night, which is far from an easy task.
Linebackers: Eagles
Even after losing Nakobe Dean to a season-ending injury, the Eagles boast one of the league’s best linebacker groups. Led by Zack Baun, this group features Nolan Smith Jr. and Josh Sweat, two players with at least six-and-a-half sacks this year. Oren Burks has stepped into Dean’s spot and performed well so far, as Dean was lost in their Wild Card matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton help make this positional breakdown incredibly close, as these two Chiefs anchor the defense. While not asked to rush the passer as often as Smith and Sweat, the stats of the KC linebackers don’t jump out enough, giving the advantage to the Eagles.
Defensive Backs: Eagles
Based on depth alone, the Eagles feature the best defensive secondary in Super Bowl 59. Led by Darius Slay and two rookie corners, Philly plays a lockdown, physical coverage under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell lead the youth movement for the Eagles, with C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship manning the two safety spots.
For Kansas City, Trent McDuffie is the best player for both teams in the secondary, but the depth behind him is questionable. Jaylen Watson will have one of the more important roles in the KC defense on Sunday, picking up whichever receiver McDuffie is not on. If Watson can play well and continue his strong season, then that would close the gap between these two groups substantially.
Specialists: Chiefs
It was an up-and-down year for both Jake Elliott and Harrison Butker, as both kickers struggled this past season.
Elliott attempted the most field goals (36) in a season of his career but missed eight on his way to producing the worst FG percentage of his career (77.8). Having only made one of seven attempts of 50+ yards, distance has become an issue for the eight-year veteran.
Butker missed four games due to a knee injury, missing four kicks on his way to putting up the second-lowest FG percentage of his career (84.0). Perfect from 30-49 yards, Butker also struggled from distance, as three of his misses came from 50+ yards.
Both punters, PHI’s Braden Mann and KC’s Matt Araiza, averaged exactly 48.8 gross yards per punt this season. Ranking in the top 15 of punters, both players weren’t asked to punt a whole lot. With Butker being the better kicker and the punter battle being a close draw, the slight edge here goes to the Chiefs.
Coaching: Chiefs
It really isn’t a conversation about who is the better coach between Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni. Reid has been in the NFL for far longer than the Eagles' head coach. Having appeared in six Super Bowls and won three as head coach (he was on the staff when the Packers won in 1997, lost as Eagles head coach), Reid feels at home when playing in the Super Bowl.
Sirianni is making his second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons, having led the Eagles to two NFC East titles and five postseason wins in four seasons. Fiery in nature and not afraid to rub people the wrong way, Sirianni is the antithesis of Reid, more outspoken than most NFL head coaches.
Matt Nagy earns the nod over Kellen Moore at offensive coordinator, even with Moore being a hot commodity in head coaching searches this offseason. Defensively, Fangio and Spagnuolo are both pillars in the defensive coaching community, and both excel at leading defenses, so they are a tie here. With both Reid and Nagy holding advantages, the Chiefs have the edge in coaching.
Overall Grade: Chiefs (4) vs. Eagles (6)
It might come off a bit surprising to see the Eagles grade out so well heading into Super Bowl 59, but their roster jumps off the paper in comparison. That certainly is not to discredit the Chiefs in any way, but Philly had done their best to assemble a roster to take down the proverbial favorites.
This also doesn’t guarantee that the Eagles will come out on top in Super Bowl 59, especially with the Chiefs knowing how to finish the deal the previous two seasons. The first championship matchup two years ago turned into a classic, and there are a lot of signs pointing to that outcome happening again this time around.
Which team do you think will come out on top and win Super Bowl 59? Will the Chiefs be able to extend their winning streak to a three-peat, or will the Eagles put a stop to those headlines and grab the Lombardi Trophy for themselves?
