Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl. Well, the Eagles are at least as Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Arizona, will be the first time that Hurts has taken the field in the NFL’s showpiece event.
The Eagles booked their place at State Farm Stadium on February 12 with a 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers, which was as dominant as that scoreline suggests. It helped that the 49ers were down to a quarterback that couldn’t throw a forward pass, but focusing on that takes away from everything Hurts, and the Eagles’ offense did when they had the ball to put this out of the 49ers reach and set up a date with the Kansas City Chiefs a week on Sunday.
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Andy Reid Bowl
This will not take long to get labeled as the Andy Reid bowl. Ried – the current head coach of the Chiefs, who are heading to their third Super Bowl in four seasons after hosting five straight AFC CHampsionship Games – built this Eagles franchise into the team it is today. Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Jason Kelce played for Reid a decade ago when he was the head man in Philly. He moved on, but the principles of franchise-building that Reid established still run through the veins of the Eagles.
The links between the Eagles and the Chiefs are remarkable. Alongside Reid, the Kelce brothers will be facing off in the Super Bowl as the Eagles’ offensive leader, Jason, will be facing the best tight end in the league – and maybe the best matchup tight end ever – Travis. Add in that Dick Vermeil is a massive presence in the history of each franchise – he and Reid are two of the most likable men in the history of the league – and you get a very interesting intertwining of two franchises in opposite conferences.
The Eagles have opened as 2.5-point favorites thanks to the depth and talent of the roster. They are also the healthier team – the Chiefs were down to wide receivers even their fans would struggle to pick out of a lineup in the fourth quarter yesterday with three of their top four guys down – and that is without even considering that Patrick Mahomes has been playing on one ankle for the past two weeks.
The matchup of the Eagles offensive line – a dominant unit that gives Hurts all the time and space he needs – against Chris Jones will be fascinating. Jones is the best interior defensive lineman in the league, not named Aaron Donald, and stopping him from harassing Hurts will be a key to the game. The Eagles have to exploit their matchup advantages. They should be able to pick on the Chiefs’ corners, while the defense is better overall than the one from the AFC.
Expect the line to move around based on injury reports and for the game to be close. The Eagles have cruised through the playoffs, which speaks volumes about this team’s groove. However, they can’t expect to cruise in the Super Bowl, and that is just how the final game of the NFL season should be.
Always remember folks to bleed Eagles’ green, and Fly Hurts Fly!
