Four Ways This Chiefs vs. Eagles Super Bowl Will Differ From Their Last Matchup

Same old Chiefs, same old Eagles? Hold the phone.

Football fans outside the greater Philadelphia and Kansas City areas may not be thrilled that the 2024 season will end in a rematch of two years ago—and that the Chiefs will be front and center once again, vying for a three-peat.

But teams don’t stay static over the course of two years. Here are the four key ways Super Bowl LIX will differ from that 38-35 Chiefs victory in February 2023.

Eagles’ new coordinators

Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon were the offensive and defensive coordinators in Philly the last time the Eagles made it here. They promptly got head coaching jobs in Indianapolis and Arizona, and after the Eagles’ epic collapse from a 10-1 start the next season, replacements Brian Johnson and Sean Desai paid the price.

The Eagles upgraded both spots with youngster Kellen Moore and veteran Vic Fangio, respectively. The improvement was most keenly felt on the defensive end, as they leapt from 26th in yards allowed and 30th in scoring to first and second, respectively.

Fangio had plenty of great pieces to work with, but he has fit them together to form a unit that doesn’t get burned in the pass or the run. Statistically, it’s an even better defense than Philly had two Super Bowls ago.

Saquon Barkley runs rampant

There isn’t much we have to add here after our story on Barkley over the weekend. The locomotive of a running back from the nearby Lehigh Valley was an immediate hit upon leaving behind the rival Giants for the Eagles, and he’s the most obvious difference (and difference-maker) in Super Bowl LIX.

In Super Bowl LVII, Jalen Hurts was a monster, leading the team in rushing with 70 yards and three touchdowns in addition to passing for 304 yards. But he also lost a costly fumble returned for a touchdown, and perhaps this time it won’t all be put on one man’s shoulders. Kenneth Gainwell and Miles Sanders combined for 37 rushing yards that night; Barkley is averaging 147.3 per game in the playoffs, saying nothing of his 2,000-yard regular season.

Chiefs’ overhauled receiving corps

Let’s leave the suddenly revived Travis Kelce out of this section and focus on wide receivers. Two years ago, KC’s included Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore. The latter two caught fourth-quarter touchdowns to fuel the Chiefs’ comeback.

Now, Valdes-Scantling and Toney are no longer Chiefs, and Moore (abdomen) is doubtful for the game after coming off IR. The options joining JuJu Smith-Schuster include midseason acquisition DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown and rookie Xavier Worthy. And while the first two have some name-brand quality to them, Worthy has been the best of the bunch, leading the Chiefs with 11 receptions on 13 targets in the playoffs after a strong finish to the regular season.

The Eagles have a great secondary, but which receivers they choose to focus on containing will play a major role in the outcome.

Won in the trenches

Eagles center Jason Kelce and right guard Isaac Seumalo have moved on, but replacements Cam Jurgens and Mekhi Becton have kept the Brotherly Shove right on track.

The personnel on the Chiefs’ defensive front is largely similar, but longtime D-coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has them blitzing more, from 24.2% of dropbacks in the 2022 season to 31.6% this past season, according to Pro Football Reference.

On the flip side, KC no longer has its two starting tackles from Super Bowl LVII, Orlando Brown and Andrew Wylie. Mahomes was not sacked that night in Glendale, Ariz., and enjoyed the second-lowest sack rate of his career in 2022; his sack rate hit a career-worst 5.83% this year, and he went down five times in the Chiefs’ first two playoff games.

That could spell bad news for a reinvigorated Eagles front led by Nolan Smith (four sacks in the playoffs) and Jalen Carter (two)—both of whom are making their first Super Bowl appearances.