By: Ava Paolino '25
From September to January, 32 NFL teams compete game after game in hopes of reaching the pinnacle of the season, the Super Bowl. This season, two triumphant teams have reached that achievement; the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Philadelphia Eagles have been a force all year, going 14-3 in the regular season. Starting the season off strong, the Eagles were undefeated for longer than anyone else in the season. Their streak came to an end on November 14, 2022, after losing in their 9th game against the Washington Commanders. Even so, the team had proven to be special, with Jalen Hurts as their leader. Hurts had a 66.5 completion percentage with 306 completions, 3,701 passing yards, and 22 passing touchdowns. Though the Eagles had three losses this season, Hurts was only responsible for one of them, because he wasn't playing during the other two losses. The reason for the missed games was a shoulder injury that Hurts had been battling with since week 15, when he sprained his shoulder. Though Hurts had played a couple of games since the injury, some were concerned that his shoulder would affect his ability to produce in the Super Bowl. Hurts wasn't the only talent on the Eagles, as they had other excellent athletes on their roster like Haason Reddick, A.J. Brown, Jason Kelce, DeVonta Smith, Darius Slay, and Miles Johnson.
The Kansas City Chiefs did not start the season as strong as the Eagles but ended up attaining the same record as they did. Losing in only their third game in, they quickly bounced back to achieve a 14-3 record. They were led by Patrick Mahomes, who won MVP this season. Mahomes had a 67.1 completion percentage with 435 completions, 5,250 passing yards, and 41 passing touchdowns. Mahomes also made football history; with 5,562 yards, he broke the single-season total yards record. Like Hurts, Mahomes had been dealing with an injury as well. In the divisional round, Mahomes suffered a severe sprain to his right ankle. Though it did cause him to momentarily leave the game, he soon after returned to the game and played the following week as well. However, it was clear that Mahomes's ankle was causing him pain due to his visible lack of mobility. Similar to the Eagles, the Chiefs also had many standout players like Travis Kelce, Isaiah Pacheco, Nick Bolton, and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The Super Bowl wasn't just a game against two teams this year, it was a game against two brothers; Travis and Jason Kelce. This was the first time two brothers were opposing each other in the Super Bowl as football players. Travis Kelce is a tight end for the Chiefs, and Jason Kelce is a center for the Eagles. Jason and Travis have been close their whole life, and Travis even wears number 87 because his older brother Jason was born in 1987. Their mom, Donna Kelce, has said that the
two were always very competitive. Both brothers have Super Bowls titles, but this year Travis came out on top. Each brother shared a moment with their mother after the game and found their way to each other as well. The Kelce brothers have been individually successful in their own right, and together are making their parents proud.
Before the game, the Eagles were favored to win on multiple sports betting websites like Caesars Sportsbook. Though the teams were pretty evenly matched, many sports reporters were very confident in the Eagles' ability to win. However, that was not the case. After a close game with an ending score of 38-35 Chiefs, the “underdogs” have become victorious again. This is Mahomes’s second Super Bowl title while being only 27 years old. He also won Super Bowl MVP, which is another second for him. All hope is not lost for Philly though, because Jalen Hurts proves to have a talent with a lot of potential. The game remained neck and neck all night, and Kansas City came out on top.
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Edited by: Cooper Winkler '25, Katarina Radulovic '24, Natalia Cseh '23, and Ms. Brilliant
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