Super Bowl LVII Discussion: Which Team Has Advantage at Which Positions?

by Eric Fulton & Julian Spivey
*This conversation has been edited for grammar and clarity. 
 
JS: Super Bowl LVII between the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs takes place this Sunday, February 12 at roughly 5:30 (central time) on Fox. Both of these teams are relatively recent Super Bowl champions, but the Eagles are at least a much different team at many key positions than the last time they won in 2018. Let’s break the key positions down. Eric, I know you just finished up a piece on the quarterback matchup of this Super Bowl being a historical one with the first head-to-head matchup of black quarterbacks in Super Bowl history, but which QB do you think has the advantage here? Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs or Jalen Hurts for the Eagles?
​
EF: The experience obviously goes to Mahomes. This is his third Super Bowl in the last five years. But I am not selling Jalen Hurts short because he has played in championship games before in college. I don't think the biggest single game in football will intimidate Hurts. Both have dealt with injuries going into the game. Mahomes with the ankle and Hurts the shoulder. I think this is the best QB matchup in the Super Bowl in a long time. But based on Super Bowl experience, I am going to give a very slight edge to Mahomes. Both have great defenses so the final score will be lower than people think, but Mahomes will make one more big play than Hurts.

JS: I’m still a bit worried about Mahomes’ ankle but it’s seemingly been improving each day. He showed in the AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals that he could still beat one of the best teams in the league on one leg and with a depleted group of receivers. I don’t mean to take anything away from Jalen Hurts - who like Mahomes is an MVP finalist - but if I had to take one of these QBs for the big game I’d take Mahomes not just over Hurts but over every other quarterback in the league.

JS: Who do you think has the best running game of the two teams?

EF: The Eagles were one of the better running teams in the NFL this season. Led by Miles Sanders who had 1269 yards rushing this season, averaging nearly five yards per carry. Jalen Hurts was second on the team with 769 yards. Kansas City meanwhile is more of a passing team than a running team. Their leading rusher was Isiah Pacheco who only had 830 yards. Patrick Mahomes was second with just 358 yards. So, I have to lean on the Eagles on their rushing attack.

JS: Yeah, not only did the Eagles have one of the best-rushing teams this season, but when it comes to touchdowns they have the most of any team in modern NFL history (which is pretty damn impressive for this being a passing league. Hurts led the team with 13 rushing touchdowns. Sanders had 11. The Eagles averaged more than 50 yards rushing per game this season than the second-place team in the league (Baltimore Ravens). I’d say the Eagles have a fairly significant rushing advantage.

JS: What do you think about the receiving corps (including tight ends)?

EF: For the receiving corps, you have to think one team has a better set of wide receiver duos and the other team has a better tight end. Philly has A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, both guys had a great year. Kansas City has JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, both of whom came from other teams the previous year. Brown and Smith are the better duo. As far as tight end, Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL, and it is not even close. Dallas Goedert is decent in his own way, but he is not Kelce (no one is). So, the Eagles have the better WR, and the Chiefs have the better tight end. This matchup is a push for me.

JS: Travis Kelce isn’t just the best tight end in football but I’d say the most dominant receiver period. He and Mahomes together are an almost unstoppable dynamic duo. It’s clear the Eagles have the receiving advantage elsewhere with Brown and Smith. The Chiefs’ defensive backs will have their work cut out for them.

JS: All right, let’s do defense as an entire unit. Which team has the advantage here?

EF: Both teams have great individual players, like Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and Juan Thornhill for the Chiefs. On the Eagles side, you have Fletcher Cox, Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Darius Slay. To me, Philly's defense can be very dominant and would apply more pressure to Mahomes than Kansas City would to Hurts. For Philly to stay in the game and win it at the end, their defense will need to force a lot of pressure on Mahomes and get him to turn the ball over. We have seen times when Mahomes can throw that head-scratching interception. As far as the unit goes, I am giving the advantage to the Eagles.

JS: Points allowed per game is a stat that shows you how good a defense is, and the Eagles were tied with the Ravens for allowing the third-fewest points per game to opposing offensives this season at 18.8. The Chiefs were only in the middle of the league with 21.5 points per game allowed. I know that’s only a difference of about a field goal, but in a game of inches, it could mean a lot. The Eagles also gave up the second-fewest yards per game of any team this season with an average of 301.5. The Chiefs give up 328.2 yards per game on average. I agree Philly has the advantage.

JS: How about special teams - primarily the kicking games of these teams?

EF: Both Harrison Butker and Jake Elliot are two of the better kickers in the NFL. Butker is 18 of 24 in field goals (75 percent) while Elliott is 20 of 23 (87 percent) for the season. I think Elliott has the better numbers and probably will have the better opportunity to help his team win. On the kicking (field goal) advantage, I am giving this one to the Eagles. Punting-wise, Arryn Siposs (Eagles) averages nearly 46 yards per punt. Tommy Townsend (Chiefs) averages nearly 50 yards per punt. I will give the punting edge to Kansas City.

JS: Does Andy Reid have the advantage when it comes to coaching simply because he’s been there/done that?

EF: I like Nick Sirianni. I think he is a great coach and as long as the Eagles make smart decisions to equip their team, he does have a chance to be in this position. Obviously, Reid has the coaching advantage. Another Super Bowl win for him puts him easily in the top five all-time without question, maybe the top three.

JS: Who’s going to win Super Bowl LVII?

EF: Overall, this should be a really good game. The Eagles have some advantages that will keep them in the game, but the Chiefs will pull away late and Kansas City wins its Second Super Bowl in the last four years 34-27.

JS: I’m pretty torn on a prediction here, which hopefully means it’ll be a very competitive and close game. I think the Chiefs have the best player on the field in Mahomes. I think the Chiefs have the biggest weapon on offense in Kelce. But I think the Eagles have the advantages elsewhere – defense, run game, and other receivers not named Kelce. I’m going to predict Eagles win Super Bowl LVII.

---