Super Bowl LVll is set and it’ll have several significant storylines after the Chiefs defeated the Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game.
Legendary head coach Andy Reid will face his former team, while Jason and Travis Kelce will make the first siblings to face each other in the Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce caught seven balls for 78 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City’s three-point AFC Championship win, while Philadelphia amassed 148 rushing yards in a 31-7 NFC Championship win.
The Super Bowl will be a rematch of a 2021 regular season meeting in which Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes and the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30.
In that 2021 matchup, Reid returned to Philadelphia and earned his 100th career win with the Chiefs, becoming the first coach in NFL history to win 100 games with two teams.
Reid’s 140 victories with the Eagles are the most in franchise history.
The 2021 matchup was also a coming-out party for Jalen Hurts who threw for a career-high 387 yards and two touchdowns but Philadelphia (1-3) couldn’t keep up with Kansas City’s high-powered offense.
With preparation underway for both teams, here are 10 initial stats to know for Super Bowl LVll.
Jalen Hurts set to work the middle
The Kansas City Chiefs were 31st this year in DVOA on passes to the short middle area of the field (up to 15 air yards).
Jalen Hurts ranked third among QBs in DYAR and DVOA on passes to the short middle area of the field. 10.1 yd/pass compared to NFL average of 7.4.
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@FO_ASchatz) January 30, 2023
Eagles love running to the weak side
Super Bowl LVII will feature a the only two offenses to run to the weak side on over 54% of their RB carries in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
Weak Side RB Run Rate (2022, incl. playoffs):
🔹 @Eagles: 56.9%
🔹 @Chiefs: 56.3%#SBLVII | #ChiefsKingdom | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/cOns8Rqr1k— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 31, 2023
A.J. Brown-DeVonta Smith set for an explosion
No team in the NFL plays more press coverage than the #Chiefs #SBLVII https://t.co/LPPGwnwlg7
— Fran Duffy (@EaglesXOs) January 31, 2023
Pat Mahomes check down king
The Eagles deep offense has gotten them to the Super Bowl, while the Chiefs have the best player in the NFL at QB.@ringernfl's @theStevenRuiz looks at how both teams' offenses work, and the Chiefs' 'Get Out of Jail Free' card labeled Patrick Mahomeshttps://t.co/LhlocM5VUF pic.twitter.com/ciR9hwjaC2
— TruMedia (@TruMediaSports) January 31, 2023
This is me shamelessly doing the If Mahomes did this, people wouldn’t shut up about it for a week trope. I’m giving him credit for throws that Kirk Cousins makes routinely. But there seems to be more substance when Mahomes makes those plays, which are really only used as last resort options in this offense. When the Chiefs throw a checkdown, it’s usually because the defense has left that as the most efficient option, and not because Mahomes panicked and couldn’t find a better outlet. No quarterback racked up more EPA on throws to running backs flaring out of the backfield than Mahomes did in 2022, according to TruMedia. The NFL’s undisputed king of checkdowns, Brady, was second on the list. Mahomes is even doing the boring things better than his older peers at this point.
Jonathan Gannon will play Mahomes straight up
Patrick Mahomes: 17 passing TDs vs the blitz this season
Most in the NFL 🎯 pic.twitter.com/sYB6C5bI2m
— PFF (@PFF) January 31, 2023
Jalen Hurts is going deep
The Chiefs have aligned in press on 43.9% of wide routes faced this season including the playoffs (2nd in NFL), their seventh-consecutive season in the top 5.
The Chiefs have ranked in the top 2 in all four seasons under DC Steve Spagnuolo.#SBLVII | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/ThX84j9nYb
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 31, 2023
A.J. Brown is on deck for a huge performance.
A.J. Brown averaged a career-high 4.5 yards per route against press coverage this season, the most in a season in the NGS era (min. 100 routes).
Brown has gained a league-high +572 receiving yards over expected vs press since being drafted in 2019.#SBLVII | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/XnMMBxuAiC
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 31, 2023
Jordan Mailata has been dominant
Jordan Mailata is the highest-grading tackle by @PFF this postseason with an 88.3 pass-blocking grade.
He's only allowed one pressure in 57 pass sets.
— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) January 31, 2023
Eagles and Chiefs are one in the same
The #Eagles have a 16-3 record and scored 546 points.
The #Chiefs have a 16-3 record and scored 546 points.
👀👀👀#FlyEaglesFly #ChiefsKingdom
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) February 1, 2023
X-Plosive
Two of the NFL’s most explosive offenses will dual in Super Bowl 57 when the Chiefs and Eagles meet in Glendale, Arizona.
The Chiefs ranked second in explosive play rate at 13.6% during the regular season, according to TruMedia. The Eagles ranked fourth at 12.7%.
A play is deemed explosive if it is a rushing play of 10 yards or more or a passing play of 20 yards or more.
Travis Kelce leads all tight ends and ranks eighth overall with 20 catches over 20 yards this season, while for the Eagles, A.J. Brown led the way with 23, which ranks fifth. DeVonta Smith ranks ninth with 18 catches for 20-plus.
Both defenses prevent explosive plays
Jonathan Gannon’s defense in Philadelphia is based on limiting explosive plays.
The Eagles were tied for third when it came to limiting big plays with 40 completions allowed for 20-plus yards and sixth in explosive play rate.
The Chiefs gave up 45 completions of greater than 20 yards in the regular season, which was tied for the eighth-lowest total in the NFL. They also ranked eighth in opposing explosive play rate at 9.8%, which measures how frequently a defense gives up a pass over 16 yards or a run over 12 yards.
Chris Jones the MONSTAR
The Chiefs’ pass rusher head into the Super Bowl after dominating the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.
Jones led all defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate, which measures how often a pass rusher sheds a block within 2.5 seconds on passing plays. Jones won 21% of the time during the regular season, which was 4% higher than Javon Hargrave, who tied for second in the metric.
Jones had two sacks and five quarterback hits against Cincinnati’s offensive line on Sunday and is a DPOY finalist after logging 15½ sacks in the regular season.
