Super Bowl LIX Preview
Thirty-two teams began the season hoping to make it to this game. 284 games have been played with the NFL having visited Brazil, London and Munich. Now just two remain as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs with both hoping to add their names to the illustrious list of winners. The match will take place at Caesars SuperDome in New Orleans and will be shown around the world as one of the most watched events of the year.
The contest will be between the Kansas City Chiefs, striving to become the first team ever to win three Super Bowls in a row; and the Philadelphia Eagles, seeking revenge for their defeat to Andy Reid’s Championship team at Super Bowl LVII two years ago. Kansas City go into the match as slight favourites at the time of writing, but the fact that it is so close means that we can expect a few surprises on the day in what is likely to be a genuine contest.
As well as the actual sporting event, the Super Bowl is known for its entertainment, both pre-show and the famous half time show. The national anthem will be performed by Jon Batiste with performances from the likes of Trombone Shorty, Lauren Daigle and Ledisi. The highlight, in terms of music entertainment, is the half-time show where Kendrick Lamar will be the main act, who takes on the responsibility following on from performances in recent years by Usher, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and Eminem.
The Chiefs vie to become the first team ever to win three straight Super Bowls and the first team in a major American sports league to do so since the Los Angeles Lakers ruled the NBA in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They are already the ninth back-to-back Super Bowl champion, and the first of which to make it to three successive Super Bowls as they prepare to play in their fifth championship game in six seasons.
Mahomes was a first-ballot Hall of Famer before he played in the 2024 season, probably even before the 2023 season. He will become just the third quarterback to start in five Super Bowls behind Tom Brady and John Elway, doing so before the age of 30, while he and Andy Reid look to become the third quarterback and head coach tandem to win four Super Bowls.
The Chiefs have won 107 games since their mohawked magician took over as starter under centre in 2018, the most by any team across a seven-year span in NFL history, as well as reaching the AFC Championship Game every year in that period. For the best part of a decade, no other side has learned to navigate playoff football with more command nor the same notion of inevitability as the modern era’s conqueror and successor of Brady’s New England Patriots.
Standing before Philadelphia in their bid to lift the Lombardi Trophy is what will be remembered as one of the league’s great dynasties. Standing before Kansas City in their bid for immortality is a team led by Saquon Barkley, who has ploughed through the NFL since escaping the shackles of a downbeat New York Giants team, with even Big Blue fans willing to admit his talents deserved better.
The Eagles running back finished the regular season with 2,005 rushing yards, just 101 shy of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record, and now needs just 30 more rushing yards to break Terrell Davis’ all-time single-season record of 2,476. American Football wanted to distance itself from multi-year contracts for veteran running backs out of fear over longevity and value in a pass-first league, but Barkley thought otherwise.
While the offensive players will likely receive the adulation of fans, it is the defence that will likely be the difference between victory and defeat in Super Bowl LIX. While the Eagles enter the game with the top ranked squad, it may be the Chiefs’ defense that proves the difference in the game. The Chiefs are the eighth ranked rush defence in the NFL and have not allowed a 100 yard running back in eight straight playoff games. If the Chiefs can construct a game plan that keeps Barkley from accumulating 100, they will win the game. The Chiefs defence has kept the team in games this year and is as essential to the team’s success as the offence. They will prove it one more time in New Orleans as the Chiefs outlast the Eagles in another three-point slugfest and make history as the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row.
The Eagles and Chiefs have met one time following the first Super Bowl meeting, with Philadelphia coming out on top in a 21-17 win at Arrowhead Stadium back on November 20th 2023. Can the Eagles get their revenge and defeat Kansas City in this clash or will the Chiefs make history, further cementing this as one of the greatest dynasties in the NFL with a treble of titles and their fourth Lombardi Trophy in the last six years?
All will be revealed in one of the highlights of the annual global sporting calendar this upcoming weekend.
Last Updated: 06.02.2025
