Super Bowl LIX Preview

  

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Kansas City Chiefs (15 - 2, 2-0 postseason)

vs.

Philadelphia Eagles (14-3, 3-0 postseason)

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday, February 9, 2025, 6:30 PM EST

New Orleans Superdome

Okay, it is Super Bowl weekend again.

First things first: this is the closest things to an outright Super Bowl rematch that we have had since the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills met in back-to-back Super Bowls back in the first half of the 1990's. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles met in the biggest game just two shorts years ago.

Now, here they both are again. 

The Chiefs ended up winning that Super Bowl meeting two years ago, although they had to overcome a 10-point deficit at halftime in order to do it. The Chiefs really managed to take over in the fourth quarter, although even then, Philly managed to score late to tie the game. That forced the Chiefs to have to produce on their final possession, which they did. KC ran down the clock until the final seconds, and then successfully converted a field goal attempt that clinched it for them. 

So it was a close game. 

Clearly, there are some similarities with both teams since they met here two years ago. Both teams have potentially explosive offenses led by dynamic quarterbacks. Both can run the ball effectively when needed, as well. Also, the defenses for both teams have their strengths, as well. In fact, both of these two teams ranked in the top ten on both offense and defense.

However, let's take a closer look at the particular strengths for each unit. 

Philadelphia had the higher ranked offense overall. They were the sixth ranked offense in the league this season, while Kansas City ranked ninth overall. Philly was particularly strong in rushing, ranking second overall, while the Chiefs were 11th in that category. In the air, however, the Chiefs ranked a bit higher, ranking 9th, while the Eagles ranked 14th. 

On defense, these teams were perhaps more even, in terms of statistics. The Eagles ranked eighth overall, while the Chiefs were right behind them, at ninth overall. Philly's defense was decent against the pass, at 10th, while KC was 8th in that category. The most intriguing stat, possibly, is against the run, where Philadelphia's defense ranked 5th against the run, while Kansas City ranked 7th. That might be especially interesting, because two of the major questions will be if Philly's defense can contain the threat of KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes using his leg to burn them, and if the Chiefs can contain Saquon Barkley and Philly's impressive running game? Also, can KC stop the "tush push" which the Eagles have become famously effective at in recent years?

All of that is interesting. But statistics do not decide games, much less championships. Both of these teams still have to execute. And to that end, they both have gotten the job done in recent seasons.

Philadelphia has now qualified for the postseason four straight times. They won the NFC Championship now twice in the past three seasons. They have compiled a combined 39-12 regular season record during the last three seasons. So they clearly earned their accolades, and deserve credit for getting back to the Super Bowl.

Kansas City, meanwhile, has been the most consistent winner for even longer. They have qualified for the playoffs every season since 2015. In fact, the only year that they failed to qualify for the postseason since Andy Reid first became their head coach in 2013 was the 2014 season. They still finished with a winning record that season at 9-7. As good as they have been, this team has now ranked among the elites in NFL history since Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018. They went to the AFC title game that season, and won the Super Bowl the next season. Since then, they have become regulars with their Super Bowl appearances. 

To my way of thinking, the experience factor definitely and obviously would favor the Chiefs. Yes, the Eagles were here two years ago. But the Chiefs almost always seem to get here. No team in recent memory - with the possible exception of the Patriots dynasty which immediately preceded this current dynasty in Kansas City - has had the advantage in this regard quite as impressively as the Chiefs.

Head coach Andy Reid is there. Patrick Mahomes is on the team. And so I suspect that they will have all sorts of adjustments and improvisations that should be effective. That's not guaranteeing anything. But I believe that it is a strong factor in their sustained success, and should be a pretty important factor in this game, as well. 

Super Bowls of old used to be mostly blowouts. But recent Super Bowls almost always seem to be close. It is my belief that this one likely will be close, as well. It should be a good game. And it is difficult to pick who will come out on top, although I will nevertheless make my prediction here. 

Before that, however, I thought it might be fun to review my own past predictions and see how accurate I was. Yes, I have made predictions for the big game every year since January of 2011, when the Packers beat the Steelers. Since then, it's been a mixed bag. Sometimes, I seem to be on point. Other times, clearly, I underestimated the team that actually emerged victorious. So let's see how I did with each of those predictions, and follow that up with my official prediction for this one, for Super Bowl LIX.

Here goes:

Super Bowl XLV: Packers over Steelers

My pick: Accurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2011/01/super-bowl-xlv.html

Super Bowl XLVI: Giants over Patriots

My pick: Accurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2012/01/super-bowl-xlvi-preview-new-york-giants.html

Super Bowl XLVII: Ravens over 49ers

My pick: Accurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2013/01/super-bowl-xlvii-preview-baltimore.html

Super Bowl XLVIII: Seahawks over Broncos

My pick: Inaccurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2014/01/super-bowl-xlviii-preview.html

Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots over Seahawks

My pick: Inaccurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2015/01/super-bowl-xlix-preview.html

Super Bowl L: Broncos over Panthers

My pick: Inaccurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2016/02/super-bowl-50-preview.html

Super Bowl LI: Patriots over Falcons

My pick: Accurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2017/01/super-bowl-li-preview.html

Super Bowl LII: Eagles over Patriots

My pick: Inaccurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2018/02/super-bowl-lii-preview-predictions.html

Super Bowl LIII: Patriots over Rams

My pick: Accurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2019/02/super-bowl-liii-preview-new-england.html

Super Bowl LIV: Chiefs over 49ers

My pick: Accurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2020/01/super-bowl-liv-preview.html

Super Bowl LV: Buccaneers over Chiefs

My pick: Inaccurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2021/02/super-bowl-lv-preview.html

Super Bowl LVI:Rams over Bengals 

My pick: Inaccurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2022/02/super-bowl-lvi-preview.html

Super Bowl LVII:Chiefss over Eagles 

My pick: Accurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2023/02/super-bowl-lvii-prediction.html

Super Bowl LVIII:Chiefs over 49ers 

My pick: Inaccurate

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2024/02/super-bowl-lviii-preview-prediction-san.html

So if you are keeping count, that means that out of the 14 Super Bowls dating back to Super Bowl XLVI that I have made predictions for here on this blogger, my accuracy for picking the correct winner is right half the time, wrong the other half. Seven times I picked the team that wound up winning, and my guess proved to be inaccurate seven times. Like a .500 team, in other words. Have to admit, I would have thought my accuracy would have been better. In fact, I was a bit stunned and admittedly disappointed to see how often I got the picks wrong for the big game. 

This Super Bowl will break that tie. I will either have a winning record again, or a losing record. The pressure is on, and it's time to make my pick. 

Now finally, here is my prediction for this year's Super Bowl:

Super Bowl LIX:

My pick: Kansas City Chiefs 

Accuracy? To be determined later on Super Bowl on Sunday