Chiefs and Eagles to Face Off in Super Bowl LVII
10 short days from today, history will be made at Super Bowl LVII. At State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Philadelphia Eagles for the highest and most sought after title in the National Football League.
The starting quarterbacks for each team, Patrick Mahomes (he/him) for the Chiefs and Jalen Hurts (he/him) for the Eagles will make history as this will be the first time two black quarterbacks will start in the Super Bowl.
But that’s not all.
This will also be the first time that two brothers play each other in the Super Bowl. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (he/him) will face his brother Jason Kelce (he/him), who is the starting center for the Eagles.
Both teams won their respective conference titles in eventful games. The Eagles dominated over the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday afternoon in the NFC Championship game. 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (he/him), who has made history after immense success despite being the last overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, suffered a complete UCL tear in the opening minutes of the matchup. Dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant,” Purdy was the 49ers third string quarterback after both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo sustained season ending injuries earlier in the season. Even with the 49ers incredibly dominant defense, it wasn’t enough to hold off the Eagles, and Philly coasted to a 31-7 win over San Francisco with ease.
The Chiefs did not have it so easy. A nail biter to the very end, this AFC Championship game was a typical showdown between Mahomes and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (he/him) on Sunday night. Burrow had been the only NFL quarterback to beat Mahomes three consecutive times, and Mahomes had never beat him before Sunday. It was back and forth all night, with the momentum shifting often and rapidly. An unnecessary roughness penalty late in the fourth quarter on the Bengals changed the game, giving the Chiefs 15 yards, easily into field-goal range. That penalty cost Cincinnati the game as the Chiefs would take the lead 23-20 with a game-winning field goal.
The NFL has gotten intense backlash from football fans everywhere, suggesting that the officiating in the AFC Championship was unfair. In addition to the unnecessary roughness penalty, there were clearly missed penalties on the Chiefs that the referees did not call that would have impacted the game in the Bengals favor.
The most controversial event was a do over on third down for Kansas City where referees blew the play dead but the play proceeded regardless. Potentially due to the loudness at Arrowhead stadium in such a high stakes game, players did not hear the whistle or see the referee run onto the field prior to the snap.
Nevertheless, Mahomes will head to his third Super Bowl appearance and seek his second win. Despite his high ankle sprain being a clear hindrance to his performance, he still dominated and played like the MVP he is.
Kickoff for Super Bowl LVII is set for 6:30pm on Sunday, February 12, 2023 on Fox. The Super Bowl Halftime Show will star Rihanna.
