In a rematch of 2022’s clash, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off in Super Bowl LIX. Read below to see whether The UCSD Guardian’s sports section predicts a Chiefs threepeat or an Eagles upset in Sunday’s Big Game.
Kurt Johnston, Sports Editor
Dear Reader,
The NFL’s last great American dynasty was Tom Brady’s New England Patriots, who won six Lombardi trophies in nine attempts. After Kansas City’s four appearances and three wins in the past five Super Bowls, the daylight between the Pats and Chiefs has been shrinking — and Patrick Mahomes is encroaching on Brady’s holy ground.
Call it what you want — talent, luck, illicit affairs, or a referee hoax — but the Chiefs are in wonderland, again. Patrick Mahomes has gone from superstar to anti-hero; most NFL fans will be rooting for his sad, beautiful, tragic downfall on Sunday. Despite no longer being the high-flying Chiefs of years past — Andy Reid’s team has employed more of a death-by-a-thousand-cuts offense this season — only someone in their wildest dreams would pick against Kansas City’s record-breaking threepeat effort.
The Eagles, however, hope to mastermind a fearless defensive stand. Philadelphia’s labyrinth-esque defense simply hits different, limiting their opponents to a league-best 17.9 points per game. While Mahomes often scrambles as if he is in a getaway car, traversing the Eagles’ defensive front is nothing short of treacherous. One player to watch on the other side of the ball: Chiefs’ No. 22 Trent McDuffie. The Eagles often have rushing lanes bigger than the whole sky; behind Chris Jones on the defensive line, McDuffie’s presence in the secondary will be key to stopping Saquon Barkley.
Do not expect the Chiefs to have champagne problems. The men in red know all too well how to win a Super Bowl — it is nothing new for Mahomes, Kelce, and company to lift the Lombardi at season’s end. In a flashback of 2022, Sunday will be “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” for Nick Sirriani and the Eagles. The love story between the Chiefs and the Super Bowl continues, while Jalen Hurts remains in forever winter — with a cruel summer ahead.
Chiefs 27, Eagles 21
Wyatt Bose, Associate Sports Editor
In the Academy Award-winning film “Silver Linings Playbook,” Bradley Cooper, as Pat Solitano, declares, “The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday. That’s guaranteed. I can’t begin to explain that. Or the craziness inside myself and everyone else. But guess what? Sunday’s my favorite day again.”
Sunday has become my favorite day again, too — because Sunday is when the Birds fly. Yes, that statement is a double entendre, and no, I do not condemn Philadelphia’s fervent fans for their unbridled passion. Like Cooper’s character in the film — an ardent Eagles fan — I too cannot delineate the crazed fanatic that overtakes me when I watch those midnight green jerseys emerge from the tunnel on Sundays.
On Feb. 9, for the second time in three years, the Philadelphia Eagles will share the Super Bowl stage with the Kansas City Chiefs. But this year is different. This year, the Eagles have an MVP candidate at running back, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate at linebacker, and the NFL’s top defense overall. Best of all, serendipity might be at play — Feb. 9 is Saquon Barkley’s birthday.
Barkley, who was unceremoniously cast aside by the dumpster fire of an organization up in New York, now stands on the precipice of poetic justice. In his first year with the Eagles, Barkley could win a ring and break the single-season rushing record — of both regular seasons and playoffs — in the same game, the Super Bowl. He only needs 30 rushing yards to break Terrell Davis’ record, and he has averaged 147.3 rushing yards over the last three games. It feels like destiny.
Go Birds.
Eagles 44, Chiefs 41
Ryan Kirton, Senior Staff Writer
Just a few short weeks ago, I wrote my playoff preview article, where I naively predicted the Chiefs would finally see their luck run out. Unfortunately, all my hopes of someone other than Patrick Mahomes hoisting the Lombardi Trophy have been lost. In football, there are no gods, only devils. And somehow, the Chiefs have conjured all of them to work their magic in Kansas City’s favor. Perhaps Chiefs fans partake in ritual sacrifice of newborn lambs and human children, or maybe one of these devils is Taylor Swift’s ex trying to win her back. If I’m not mistaken, I believe “All Too Well” was written about Taylor’s relationship with Satan himself.
Still, in a year when luck — and the officials — have been on Kansas City’s side, this has only been exacerbated during the playoffs. Both of their first two playoff games have seen some very questionable calls fall the Chiefs way, and while Saquon and the Eagles have looked great in January, I’ve learned to not get my hopes up when it is finally someone else’s time. Eagles’ kicker Jake Elliot will miss a very makeable and important kick, and the Chiefs will threepeat.
Chiefs 24, Eagles 22
Alan Zhang, Senior Staff Writer
William Shakespeare once wrote, “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” I believe this line is in reference to the Kansas City Chiefs. It was uttered by Ariel in Shakespeare’s comedy “The Tempest,” a role that I played in my junior year of high school. Yes, I was a theater kid for two years. No, I will not elaborate on this experience.
It was December. Rehearsals had just begun. I stood backstage, nervous, yet wanting. It had been nearly two years since I had last graced the stage; my performance as Charlie in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” garnered critical acclaim. But then, COVID struck — a disease that killed millions across the globe. I was stuck at home and ended up testing positive for coronavirus twice during this stretch. While the disease didn’t kill me, it did kill the theater kid inside me.
Despite this, on this December night, I was back. In the time since, I had found my love for theater again, thanks to the 5 extra credit points for AP English Language that the director — my teacher — promised me. While I did join the play, I was still quite shy about it. This was in large part due to the hit film “The Little Mermaid,” whose main character Ariel shared the name of the character I played in “The Tempest.” Contrary to popular belief, Ariel is male in “The Tempest,” or female, depending on the director’s casting choices. But it is sometimes male. Also, I would give “The Little Mermaid” three out of five stars. While its animation and songs are interesting, I find it hard to believe that it was a true story. To be clear, I am talking about the original film, not the remake, which I did not watch but my conservative friends choose to hate and my liberal friends choose to forget. I just realized I forgot to include the Philadelphia Eagles in this prediction.
Chiefs 29, Eagles 11