A Game of Firsts
Super Bowl LVII will be played this Sunday, February 12th, in Glendale, Arizona, between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. But this game is different from the ones that came before it. For the first time ever in Super Bowl history, there will be two black starting quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. Also, for the first time, two brothers will play against each other in the final, ultimately leading to bragging rights at future family gatherings for one of the Kelce brothers, Jason or Travis. Andy Reid, who was with the Eagles until 2013, will coach the Chiefs, while Nick Sirianni will coach Philadelphia.
This will be the Kansas City Chiefs’ third Super Bowl appearance in the last five seasons, all with Mahomes as starting QB. Mahomes is ranked first overall this season as he’s first in yards (5,250) and touchdowns (41), and has the highest QBR at 77.5.
The Eagles won their last Super Bowl appearance in 2017, but this will be their first finals with Hurts as the quarterback. This 2022 season, Hurts has 3,701 yards, 22 touchdowns, and a QBR rating of 66.3, sitting 4th in power rankings.
The Chiefs lead the average yards per play with 6.4, while the Eagles sit below at 5.9 y/p. Comparing passing and rushing statistics, the Chiefs lean more towards passing, a good plan with Mahomes as QB. On the other hand, the Eagles make more rushing attempts, with an average of 4.61 yards per rushing attempt. But this shouldn’t scare the Chiefs, who average 4.72 yards per rushing attempt.
It’s likely we’ll see more passing from Kansas City and more rushing from Philly, but this could play in the Eagles’ favor when considering interceptions. Philly has a +8 turnover differential in the 2022 season, far better than Kansas City’s -3. The Chiefs will have to hold onto the ball in order to remain above the Eagles, especially since Mahomes has twice as many interceptions thrown as Hurts, who only has 6.
Super Bowl Sunday is upon us, and it’ll be a game of many firsts. First black starting QBs competition, the first brother-on-brother rivalry, even down to the first all-female pilot flyover for an NFL final game. This game will definitely be one for the history books.