WNDB News Daytona Baech Super Bowl Preview

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Well, not quite yet. Sunday, February 12 th , 2023, marks the culmination of the 2022 NFL Season at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for Super Bowl LVII (57). Coming out of the AFC as champions of their conference, wearing their white jerseys, are the #1 seed Kansas City Chiefs (14-3). They will battle in the trenches against the #1 seed NFC champions, Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) in their Midnight Green tops. The Chiefs ended their 2021 season in a crushing 24-27 overtime loss against the eventual Super Bowl runner-up Cincinnati Bengals, and two months later, traded their All-Pro Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill, to the Miami Dolphins for a first and second round picks, two fourths and a sixth. Despite being separated from Patrick Mahomes, Hill recorded record highs in Miami. After the Hill trade, the Chiefs signed JuJu Smith-Schuster, from the Steelers and Marques Valdes-Scantling from the Packers. Their contribution to the offense helped take the load off Travis Kelce and their mid-season acquisition of Kadarius Toney from the Giants who helped fill the void when Mecole Hardman got hurt. Mahomes achieved league highs in passing yards and touchdowns and broke Drew Brees’ 2011 record for single-season offensive yards with 5,608 yards. Completing 67% of his passes, Mahomes threw for 5,250 yards (358 rushing) and 41 touchdowns (4 rushing) with just 12 interceptions (0 fumbles lost). This MVP stat line helped the Chiefs to a 14-3 record and rank #1 in the NFL in offensive yards and passing, despite ranking #20 in the run game. After starting 2-0, the Chiefs lost to the Indianapolis Colts after an 8-minute drive leading to a game winning touchdown. Kansas City won another two games, before dropping another close one, this time against the Buffalo Bills 24-20 in Arrowhead. Now at 4-2, they won 10 of their last 11, only losing to the Bengals 24-27 in Cincinnati’s stadium. The Chiefs claimed their bye, beat the Jaguars, and then faced Joe Burrow for the second consecutive year in Arrowhead for the AFC crown. While battling a severe ankle sprain suffered in the Jacksonville game, Mahomes and his Chiefs came out on top. One step closer from his second career Super Bowl ring in his six-year career. The 2021 Eagles were not too special. They finished 9-8 and got blown out in the Wild Card Round by Tom Brady and the Bucs in Tampa Bay. After the Eagles loss, they traded their first and third round picks to the Tennessee Titans for All-Pro Wide Receiver A.J. Brown. Brown acted as a powerful short range and deep threat with great hands. A.J. Brown did not hesitate to make his presence felt on the field, notching career highs with 88receptions, 1,496 yards, 11 TDs. Fellow Wide Receiver Devonta Smith also had a spectacular year with 95 receptions, 1,196 yards and 7 TDs. These two guys are absolute playmakers on the field and are a must-watch for the Eagles offense. But who was throwing them the ball? None other than that other MVP candidate, Jalen Hurts. Hurts suffered a shoulder injury at the end of the Week 15 game, forcing him to miss the next two games, accounting for 2 of the 3 Eagles total losses. With that 14-1 record as the starting QB, Hurts exceeded previous career bests with 66.5% completion, 3,701 passing yards, 22 TDs and 6 INTs with an amazing 760 rushing yards on 13 TDs (2 fumbles). The Eagles started on fire at 8-0, just two games ahead of the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys entered the Week 16 game versus the Eagles, 10-4, three games behind the 13-1 Eagles, temporarily led by backup Gardner Minshew. Philadelphia lost that game in nail-biting fashion, putting their first-round bye in jeopardy. The Eagles then hosted the New Orleans Saints and struggled to score down 13-0 at half. Jake Elliot scored an early third quarter field goal, followed by a 78-yard score by A.J. Brown to bring the deficit to three points. The game was close before Minshew threw a pick six. Hurts came back, and secured the bye against the Giants, who were resting starters for their own playoff run. The Eagles look confident to take their second Super Bowl victory in history, previously winning in 2017. They have the statistically ranked #2 offense and #3 defense, helped by the signings of defensive players like Kyzir White, Hasson Reddick and Robert Quinn. Here are some other things to keep in mind that may or may not have an impact on the game: The last 8 Super Bowl coin toss winners lost the game. 36 of the 56 Super Bowl winners have worn their white jerseys. 16 of the last 18 winners, wore white. This Sunday, the Chiefs will be wearing white. Eagles Center Jason Kelce, and Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce are the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLVII (47) showcased the first occasion of brothers in the Super Bowl, coaching against each other. As stated earlier, Mahomes suffered an ankle injury in the Divisional round, and told reporters at Super Bowl media day that he “is in a better spot” and “willing to leave it all on the line.” Jalen Hurts also said on Thursday Feb. 2, that he is dealing with his shoulder injury and that he had time to rehab it more before the big game. Week 4 of the 2021 Season, the Eagles hosted the Chiefs in a regular season, non-conference matchup. The game was an offensive shoot out leaving Kansas City on top 42-30. Mahomes threw for 278 yards and 5 TDs (1 INT). Tyreek Hill had 186 yards and 3 TDs of that. On the other side of the field, Hurts had 434 total yards (387 passing, 47 Rushing) with two touchdowns; Devonte Smith contributing to 122 yards. Can the #12 ranked Chiefs defense hold up against an improved Eagles team with A.J. Brown? Now without Tyreek Hill, can Kelce, JuJu, Toney, and Valdes- Scantling help Mahomes win his second Super Bowl against a tough NFC opponent? How much of a factor will the running game play in the Super Bowl? This is what I can say with the upmost certainty, we are slated to have an amazing game played on Sunday, starting at 6:30pm on FOX.