We are now 3 days away from Super Bowl Sunday. Kickoff is set for Sunday, February 9th at 6:30pm. Last Sunday, both teams landed in New Orleans to participate in Super Bowl media week activities. Only one team will hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy Sunday evening. My hometown Philadelphia Eagles will be that team, and here’s why:
Smash Mouth Football
The running game sets the tone for this Eagle offense. Their offensive line consists of 4 pro bowlers in Cam Jurgens, Landon Dickerson, Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. They clear out running lanes for all-pro running back Saquon Barkley to work. Barkley is currently 30 yards away from having the most single season rushing yards (including playoffs) in NFL history, breaking Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis’ record set in 1998. Davis won the Super Bowl that year with the Denver Broncos.
Is that a sign?
Barkley has been a workhorse all season long. He led the league in carries with 345 and became the ninth player in NFL history to rush over 2,000 yards in a season. Barkley had a chance to break Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record of 2,105 yards against his former team in the New York Giants in Week 18.
Head coach Nick Sirianni decided to rest him to save him for the postseason. In typical Barkley fashion, he did not argue. His selflessness and leadership helped make a positive impact on the team throughout the season. When asked about breaking the record, he was down when he first heard the news of his benching, but said “I don’t care [about the rushing record] if I’m putting the team at risk.” This mentality is key to the success of the Eagles this season.
Lockdown Defense
Secondly, the Eagles defense has made a huge turnaround since last year. Led by all-pro linebacker Zack Baun and all-pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Philadelphia relies on consistency from all 11 players and big plays from their playmakers.
The Eagles led the league in defensive yards per game (278.4). The Titans were second and allowed 32.8 more yards (311.2). The second largest margin between teams in that statistical category is 18.7 yards. They also were sixth in takeaways. This postseason, they have forced at least 2 turnovers in every game.
While the Eagles have had a tenacious approach to their defensive game plan, they are also disciplined. This year, they were the second least penalized team, only committing 85 accepted penalties.
Hurts So Good
Lastly, the play of quarterback Jalen Hurts. This is the 26-year-old’s second Super Bowl appearance in his young career, and in his debut he had one of the best Super Bowl performances by a losing quarterback in NFL history. Hurts went 27/38 (71.1%) for 304 yards, 1 passing touchdown, and 3 rushing. Hurts proved to be a handful for the Chiefs’ defense, as he showcased his accuracy, while displaying his athleticism when things got hairy. Hurts is the second quarterback ever to rush for 3 touchdowns in a Super Bowl, and holds the record for most rushing yards for a quarterback in a Super Bowl with 70. He will be the X-factor assuming the Chiefs' defensive game plan will to limit Barkley.
On the opening night of Super Bowl media week, Hurts said he was focused on “a great week of prep” and “finishing”. The Eagles this year are a better team from top to bottom than they were in 2022. Excited to see the birds put it all together and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to the City of Brotherly Love.
You have a feeling that the Chiefs will win?
Check out Zak's Drapeau's article: https://www.fansonlysportz.com/post/how-can-you-not-pick-the-chiefs
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See you Super Bowl Sunday!
Elias Meredith (@EAM_55)