After two weeks of buildup, the showdown is now upon us as the Eagles (14-3) and Chiefs (14-3) are set for a titanic matchup on Super Bowl Sunday.
It will be a matchup of two black quarterbacks for the first time ever, along with two siblings’ All-Pros meeting in Jason Kelce for the Eagles and Travis Kelce for the Chiefs.
The Philadelphia Eagles are 4-5 all-time against the Kansas City Chiefs, including a 42-30 loss at Lincoln Financial Field last October.
With both teams going through their final meetings, here are ten things to know about Kansas City.
1
First
The Chiefs are first in the NFL, averaging 413.6 yards of offense per game with 297.8 yards through the air, and 115.9 yards rushing on the ground, good for 20th in the NFL.
2
Mahomes was dominant in AFC title game
In the AFC title game, Mahomes was 29-of-43 passing for 326 yards and two touchdowns in the contest and did a good amount of damage outside the pocket on a bad ankle.
Patrick Mahomes completed every pass he threw from outside the tackle box, on the run (8+ mph) and when holding for longer than four seconds:
🔸 Outside Box: 6/6 (+31.4% CPOE)
🔸 On the Run: 6/6 (+21.0%)
🔸 Extended Dropbacks: 6/6 (+23.0%)#CINvsKC | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/KCzzDJLcAm— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 30, 2023
3
Travis Kelce dominates the postseason
In his career during the playoffs, the younger Kelce brother has 127 receptions for 1,467 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Kelce is now second all-time to Jerry Rice, who has 151 receptions for 2,245 yards and 22 touchdowns.
4
Mahomes is the quickest passer in the NFL
Mahomes was No. 1 in the NFL with quick passes in 2022, generating +94.6 EPA when getting rid of the ball in less than 2.5 seconds. No other quarterback eclipsed +70 EPA on those passes.
Mahomes was the best at this statistic with 31 touchdown passes when targeting receivers under 10 air yards in 2022, 12 more than the next-closest quarterback this season.
5
Andy Reid is now the second-winningest head coach in NFL postseason history.
The AFC Championship win was Reid’s 21st playoff victory as a head coach on Sunday, breaking a tie with Tom Landry for the second-most ever in NFL history. Only Bill Belichick (31) owns more postseason victories.
Reid has won 11 of those playoff games in Kansas City, making him the winningest head coach in the postseason in franchise history and he’s the only head coach in NFL history to own 10 or more playoff wins with multiple franchises.
6
Chiefs went 50 years between Super Bowl wins
Kansas City’s 2019 victory came 50 years after the team’s 1969 Super Bowl win, its first and only other Lombardi Trophy win.
7
Mahomes on his way to the GOAT status
The 27-year-old Mahomes has been in the league for five years now, but he’s already led the NFL with 50 touchdown passes during his 2018 breakout campaign, became the youngest quarterback to ever win Super Bowl MVP in 2019, went 14-1 as a starter en route to another Super Bowl bid appearance in 2020 and has averaged 35+ TD passes per season in four of his five years as a starter.
8
Chris Jones is a tank
An All-Pro defensive tackle that can play multiple positions, Jones tied a career-high with 15.5 sacks and 29 QB hits this season and may have leapfrogged Aaron Donald as the best at his position.
9
Chiefs were America's team first
After having his bid for an NFL expansion franchise denied, billionaire Lamar Hunt formed the Dallas Texans in 1960 for the American Football League (AFL).
Hunt moved the team to Kansas City in 1963 and became the Chiefs in the National Football League in 1970 as a result of the AFL-NFL merger.
10
Chiefs own the AFC West
Critics talk about the NFC East being a weak division, but the AFC West has belonged to Kansas City for almost 10 years now.
The Kansas City Chiefs are 42-6 against the AFC West since 2015.