After 272 games played over 18 weeks during an exciting regular season, we're about to see a compelling matchup in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, and it will kick off in just a few hours. The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Philadelphia Eagles -- with the Eagles as the designated "home" team due to the NFL rotating NFC and AFC teams as hosts -- for the right to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Chiefs are vying to win their second ring since 2019, while the Eagles are looking to win their second Super Bowl in six years.
Here are two big narratives heading into this game: Andy Reid coaching against his old team, and the first Super Bowl pitting brothers -- Travis and Jason Kelce -- against one another. Both brothers have already put together careers that will eventually land them in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The two teams last met in Week 4 of the 2021 season, with the Chiefs winning a 42-30 shootout behind Patrick Mahomes' five touchdown passes. Jalen Hurts, in what was just his eighth career start, threw for 387 yards and two touchdowns.
Let's take a look at each team's roster, starting with the AFC champions.
Kansas City Chiefs
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jerick McKinnon, WR |
| 2 | Ronald Jones, RB |
| 4 | Chad Henne, QB |
| 5 | |
| 6 | Bryan Cook, S |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Carlos Dunlap, DE |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Isiah Pacheco, RB |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Shane Buechele, QB |
| 13 | |
| 15 | Patrick Mahomes, QB |
| 17 | Mecole Hardman, WR |
| 19 | Kadarius Toney, WR |
| 20 | Justin Reid, S |
| 21 | Trent McDuffie, CB |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Joshua Williams, DB |
| 24 | Skyy Moore, WR |
| 26 | Deon Bush, DB |
| 32 | Nick Bolton, LB |
| 35 | Jaylen Watson, CB |
| 38 | L'Jarius Sneed, CB |
| 41 | James Winchester, LS |
| 43 | Jack Cochrane, LB |
| 47 | Darius Harris, LB |
| 50 | Willie Gay Jr., LB |
| 51 | Michael Danna, DE |
| 52 | |
| 54 | Leo Chenal, LB |
| 55 | Frank Clark, DE |
| 56 | George Karlaftis, DE |
| 57 | |
| 59 | Joshua Kaindoh, DE |
| 62 | Joe Thuney, OL |
| 65 | Trey Smith, OL |
| 66 | Brandon Williams, DT |
| 70 | |
| 73 | |
| 75 | |
| 77 | Andrew Wylie, G |
| 81 | Blake Bell, TE |
| 83 | Noah Gray, TE |
| 84 | Justin Watson, WR |
| 87 | Travis Kelce, TE |
| 88 | Jody Fortson, TE |
| 91 | Derrick Nnadi, DT |
| 94 | Malik Herring, DE |
| 95 | Chris Jones, DT |
| 99 | Khalen Saunders, DT |
Kansas City heads to the Super Bowl with a 16-3 overall record. The Chiefs won the No. 1 seed on the strength of another MVP-caliber season from Mahomes, who threw for 5,250 yards and 41 touchdown passes. Mahomes' season is even more impressive considering the team parted ways with All-Pro wideout Tyreek Hill during this past offseason.
Mahomes' new weapons on offense include rookie Isiah Pacheco and veteran wideouts JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. It was Valdes-Scantling's clutch touchdown reception from Mahomes that helped the Chiefs dethrone Cincinnati in the AFC title game. Along with Mahomes, the offense continues to have several perennial Pro Bowl level players in tight end Travis Kelce and linemen Creed Humphrey, Orlando Brown Jr., and Joe Thuney.
It wasn't dominant during the regular season, but the Chiefs defense played a big role in Kansas City's playoff wins over Jacksonville and Cincinnati. It forced two turnovers in both games while harassing quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow. Chris Jones was unstoppable against Cincinnati: he had a pair of sacks while spearheading a pass rush that sacked Burrow five times.
Philadelphia Eagles
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
1 | Jalen Hurts, QB |
2 | Darius Slay, CB |
3 | Zach Pascal, WR |
4 | Jake Elliott, K |
6 | DeVonta Smith, WR |
7 | Haason Reddick, LB |
10 | Gardner Minshew, QB |
11 | A.J. Brown, WR |
13 | Brett Kern, P |
14 | Kenneth Gainwell, Rb |
16 | Quez Watkins, WR |
17 | Nakobe Dean, LB |
18 | Britain Covey, WR |
19 | Ian Book, QB |
22 | Marcus Epps, S |
23 | |
24 | James Bradberry, CB |
26 | Miles Sanders, RB |
27 | Zech McPherson, CB |
28 | Josh Jobe, Cb |
29 | Avonte Maddox, CB |
32 | |
33 | Josiah Scott, CB |
34 | Trey Sermon, Rb |
35 | Boston Scott, RB |
42 | |
43 | Kyzir White, Lb |
45 | Rick Lovato, LS |
48 | Patrick Johnson, LB |
51 | Cam Jurgens, C/G |
53 | Christian Elliss, LB |
55 | Brandon Graham, DE |
56 | |
57 | T.J. Edwards, LB |
58 | Kyron Johnson, LB |
61 | Josh Sills, G |
62 | Jason Kelce, C |
63 | Jack Driscoll, T/G |
65 | Lane Johnson, T |
68 | |
69 | |
72 | Linval Joseph, DT |
74 | Ndamukong Suh, DT |
77 | |
81 | Grant Calcaterra, Te |
88 | Dallas Goedert, TE |
90 | Jordan Davis, DT |
91 | Fletcher Cox, DT |
93 | Milton Williams, DT |
94 | Josh Sweat, DE |
97 | Javon Hargrave, DT |
98 | Robert Quinn, DE |
Like the Chiefs, the Eagles are heading to Arizona with a 16-3 record. Philadelphia also secured its conference's No. 1 seed after winning arguably the NFL's most competitive division.
Mahomes will likely win league MVP, but Hurts was the front-runner to win the award prior to sustaining a late-season injury. Hurts, who is one of five finalists to win the award, returned to help the Eagles wrap up the No. 1 seed. While not much was required out of him, Hurts nevertheless did his part in helping Philadelphia rout the Giants and 49ers to get to the Super Bowl.
Hurts led an Eagles offense that finished third in the NFL in scoring and red zone efficiency and fourth in third-down efficiency. Wideouts A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith aided Hurts in the passing game, while Hurts and running backs Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell helped the Eagles break the Packers' 50-year-old record for most touchdowns in a season.
Jones' domination of the Bengals' offensive line came after Haason Reddick wreaked similar havoc on the 49ers' front. Reddick recorded two sacks Sunday as Philadelphia looks to become the first 70-sack team to win the Super Bowl. The Eagles' pass rush is complemented by an opportunistic secondary, led by C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Darius Slay and James Bradberry.
