Eagles-Chiefs: Super Bowl LVII storylines to watch
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For the fourth time in franchise history, the Eagles are heading to the Super Bowl.
In a clash of No. 1 seeds, the Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona, at State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12.
The Eagles advanced after beating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game, while Kansas City defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship.
Here are some storylines to watch heading into the big game:
Kelce brothers make history
For the first time in Super Bowl history, brothers will be playing against one another when Eagles' Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce of the Chiefs face off in the big game.
After the Chiefs defeated the Bengals in the AFC title game on Sunday night, the NFL called the game the "Kelce Bowl" in a tweet.
Jason and Travis are both each other's biggest fans. Travis has traveled to Philly plenty of times to watch his brother's games, but Jason jokingly tweeted after the Chiefs won that he's not a fan of Kansas City anymore.
Both Jason and Travis have already each won one Super Bowl apiece in their careers — the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVI and the Eagles came away victorious in Super Bowl LII.
Even though only one of Travis or Jason will come away with a Super Bowl ring, their mom, Donna, can't lose, according to the Chiefs tight end.
A familiar face
When the Eagles and Chiefs play each other in Super Bowl LVII, it will be the fifth time a head coach will coach against his former team in the playoffs.
Andy Reid, the winningest coach in Eagles regular season and playoff history, will face a franchise he called home from 1999 to 2012 in the big game.
Reid's Eagles tenure, especially early in his time in Philadelphia, was one of the most successful runs in franchise history.
Reid helped the Eagles get to five NFC championships and one Super Bowl, where Philadelphia lost to the New England Patriots in 2004.
Unfortunately for Eagles fans, Reid's teams weren't ever able to get over the hump. His teams went 1-4 conference title games during his time in Philly, and they weren't able to win the city a Super Bowl.
Reid didn't accomplish the milestone until his Chiefs beat the 49ers during the 2019 season.
Following Reid's win over the Bengals, he told reporters he was happy for Philadelphia.
"They're passionate, they love football," Reid said. "I can't wait until Kansas City and Philly clash. It's going to be awesome, what a great Super Bowl it will be."
And when it's all said and done, maybe Reid will finally gift Eagles fans a Super Bowl after all.
Two MVP finalists to face off in historic fashion
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts will be the first Black quarterbacks to start against each other in the Super Bowl when the two meet in the title game.
The matchup between Hurts and Mahomes comes 35 years after Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl.
Mahomes already has one Super Bowl under his belt after winning with the Chiefs in the 2019 season. If Kansas City beats the Eagles, he would become the first Black quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls.
But, if the Eagles are victorious, Hurts would join Mahomes and become the fourth Black quarterback to win the Super Bowl along with Russell Wilson and Williams.
Hurts and Mahomes are also two of the five finalists for the NFL's MVP award, which will be announced on Feb. 9.
Hurts was the betting favorite to win the award until he missed two games at the end of the season. Mahomes' odds to win the award leapfrogged Hurts as a result of him missing time due to a shoulder injury.
Hurts and Mahomes both led offenses ranked in the top three of the NFL this season.
Will history repeat itself?
It wasn't too long ago we witnessed an Eagles second-year head coach get to the Super Bowl.
Five years ago, Doug Pederson's Eagles beat Tom Brady and the Patriots in the big game in his second year as Philadelphia's head coach.
And current head coach Nick Sirianni is following in those footsteps. He's one victory away from doing what Pederson accomplished with his Eagles team.
Both Sirianni and Pederson's Eagles team were the No. 1 seed in the NFC during their runs to the Super Bowl, but there are also some differences.
Pederson made his run with a backup quarterback in Nick Foles and a team dealing with major injuries. Sirianni still has his starting signal caller in Hurts, and the team is healthy after dealing with the injury bug toward the end of the regular season.
Pederson's teams were also betting underdogs in every game, and so far, Sirianni's Eagles have been favorites to win every contest, including the Super Bowl.
Regardless, Sirianni is just one win away from something only Pederson did in Eagles history: hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Broad Street.
Round two versus Mahomes
The last time the Eagles played the Chiefs and Mahomes, it didn't go well.
The Eagles got picked apart by Mahomes as Kansas City defeated the Eagles in a shootout, 42-30, at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 4 of the 2021 season.
Mahomes tossed five touchdowns and one interception and completed 24 of his 30 passes for 278 yards in the win.
But a lot has changed for both teams since that game in 2021.
Mahomes lost his top target after the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins last year, and the Eagles have completely revamped their defense.
Even without Hill, the Chiefs were perfectly fine on offense thanks to the brilliance of Mahomes and Reid.
The Eagles' defense will have their hands full with Travis Kelce, who ranked second in the league with 12 receiving touchdowns and eighth in the league with 1,338 receiving yards. He's coming off an AFC title game where he had seven catches for a touchdown and 78 yards.
Outside of Travis Kelce, the Chiefs' pass catchers are banged up. Kadarius Toney, Mecole Hardman and JuJu Smith-Schuster are all dealing with injuries.
But, as Philly fans know, Reid can get pretty creative with his offensive game plan.
Regardless of who is out there at wideout for Kansas City, the Eagles' defense will need to prepare for an explosive aerial attack for the Super Bowl.
Can Haason Reddick's dominance continue?
Eagles' pass rusher Haason Reddick has been playing like a man possessed during the playoffs.
Reddick, who had 16 sacks in the regular season, has recorded 3.5 sacks in the playoffs so far, which ranks first.
Reddick was a game-breaker versus the 49ers last weekend, and completely shifted the NFC title game when his strip sack knocked quarterback Brock Purdy out of the game. He later recovered a fumble in the game when backup Josh Johnson fumbled a snap.
And for Super Bowl LVII, Reddick will play the big game at State Farm Stadium where he started his career with the Arizona Cardinals.
Reddick, a Temple product, was selected in the first round pick by the Cardinals in 2018.
Reddick's career in Arizona was going south until he was moved back his original position on the edge.
But ever since then, Reddick has been one of the most dominant players in the league at getting the passer, recording 10-plus sacks in three straight seasons.
