What Will Decide Super Bowl LIX? 5 Key Factors

There are only a few more days until Super Bowl LIX. The matchup we’ve received is as good as it gets. The Kansas City Chiefs are a team on a mission—to win three consecutive Super Bowls. After winning against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC title game, they only have one more step to take after making it to the SB once more.

The Philadelphia Eagles are no strangers to the final game of the NFL season, either. Two years ago, they lost a Super Bowl at the hands of the same opponent, and revenge is not too strong of a word to be used here for what the Eagles are looking for.

While all eyes of the casual fans will be on the top players such as Mahomes, Kelce, Barkley, and Hurts, the real ones know that the center stage belongs to Andy Reid.

Big Red is the biggest name in the coaching history of both franchises.

Nick Sirianni is doing a good job of changing that fact regarding Philly. The battles will be led on all levels in a game like this.

Furthermore, both teams show no weaknesses in this game. Good passing games, intense running games, solid defenses, fine special teams, and everything in between are well-oiled with both teams.

The Super Bowl LIX duel is as equal as they get, and both teams deserved to be here.

The winner will be decided on Sunday, and if you ask us, the factors listed below are the ones that are going to make a difference.

If you already know what will make the difference, and you don’t need our help, you can immediately make your Super Bowl LIX bets at Stake.com. If you’re still unsure, keep on reading.

Jalen Hurts vs. Patrick Mahomes – Can Hurts Outplay Mahomes?

The better question is – can he outplay him again?

The last time these two teams faced each other in the SB, Hurts was the better quarterback. The Eagles lost 38-35, but Jalen threw for 304 yards, had 70 yards on the ground, and added 4 TDs to the mix. These are not rookie numbers.

Yet, the second-quarter fumble marked the game for him, and that’s all fans remember him for regarding that game. After all, it was a fumble returned for a TD by Chiefs’ linebacker Nick Bolton, so it’s not easy to forget.

With the previous paragraphs written, it is evident that for Eagles to win, Hurts needs a flawless game.

When you play against Mahomes, it is a must.

If you remember, Patrick played their last SB with a high-ankle sprain, scrambled all over the pitch, and threw for three touchdowns. As many times before, he set up his team’s winning field goal.

Everyone who watched the duel vs. Bills knows that Mahomes still has the same legs and the ability to finish drives when it matters. Mahomes is a known quantity, having won three of the last five Super Bowls.

The question mark lingers over Hurts, asking if he can repeat the game he had two years ago. We know that Hurts is a high-end game manager when necessary and that he controlled his interceptions after the early-season struggles.

That’s not enough to win against the Chiefs.

While Hurts was excellent against the Rams and the Commanders, he still needs to up his game for the Super Bowl. If an Eagles win is one of your NFL picks for the Sunday duel, you need to have the two-years-ago Hurts on the field minus the fumble.

Can Barkley Outdo Himself?

When Saquon Barkley left the New York Giants last year, everyone knew he would have a better year in Philly due to the difference in the quality of their O-lines. Yet, no one saw this Saquon coming.

People dubbed him a bust and an injury-prone running back only twelve months ago. What a difference a year makes.

During the regular season, Barkley ran for 2,005 yards. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 147 rushing yards and 6.7 yards per carry. The crazy numbers Barkley had to keep up, adding one as he’s gained at least 100 yards in 12 of the last 14 games, with Philly losing only one of those.

This year, the win in the Super Bowl doesn’t rely only on Mahomes and Reid – it’s on Steve Spagnuolo to stop Saquon. Easier said than done, trust us.

With only a few days to go until Super Bowl LIX, it is still unclear whether Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson will be 100% ready. Even if they’re not, the Eagles will run the ball.

This season, even if a team managed to contain Barkley, it opened up the Eagles’ passing game. When Saquon is under watch, Dallas Goedert, AJ Brown, and DeVonta Smith feast. So, the Chiefs have two defensive missions on their hands—slow down the run and over the passing targets.

If they manage to do this, it will be up to Mahomes, Kelce, and Co. to wrap up the game.

If they fail, the game might just go Philadelphia’s way.

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The Scrimmage Wars – Who Will Win?

While we’re used to the Philadelphia Eagles defensive line being a dominant, chaotic presence on the field, the Kansas City Chiefs are also fielding one of the top NFL defensive units this year.

While the casual fans love to focus on the quarterback, wide receiver, and running back, we can see this Super Bowl as a scrimmage war.

The Chiefs’ defensive line is known for stepping up their game when the postseason comes.

After they were mauled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their only SB loss, they learned a lesson or two. Just look at what they did to CJ Stroud in the divisional round.

Also, against the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs showed remarkable resilience on short-yardage plays, two-point attempts, and fourth-and-one stops.

This is a defense that can take on any opponent. But, as you know, the Eagles have had the best O-line in football for years, and that fact hasn’t changed even after Jason Kelce left the team. The duel between the Eagles O-line and Chiefs D-line will be fun, but there’s more.

The fans are more eager to see how well the Chiefs’ O-line will fare against the Eagles’ D. As you know, Kansas City has issues with the left tackle position, where they now play Joe Thuney, weakening their guard positions in the process, to create stability on Mahomes’ blind side.

Their opponents haven’t punished this move, but the Eagles can do it if anyone can.

With Mike Caliendo now filling in for Thuney, the interior side of their O-line is not what it was. With Jalen Carter lining up on the other side, the pocket in which Mahomes feels comfortable might get disrupted.

Carter is as good as Chris Jones and can be one of the most disruptive players on the field during his day. The Eagles are practicing a four-man rush when they go after the quarterback.

With Jordan Davies at the nose tackle and Nolan Smith Jr. and Josh Sweat at the edges, they can get to any QB.

Despite his scrambling abilities, Mahomes needs to fear incoming sacks. In the last three postseason games, the Eagles have had 10 sacks, which is a mighty acceptable number.

The Chiefs’ O-line needs to be unbreakable, or eagles might feast on the might, which, if it happens, could be one of the keys to their victory.

The D-Coordinator Battle -Who Comes Out on Top?

Defense wins championships is a saying as old as football itself. Both the Chiefs and the Eagles know this, so it’s no wonder they have two of the top defensive minds in the league at their defensive coordinator positions in Vic Fangio and Steve Spagnuolo.

Many folks are arguing that the latter has enough credit for the KC dynasty, as Mahomes and Reid do, and they might have a point. It is not a coincidence that the Chiefs won their first SB in his first season as the D-coordinator.

Spagnuolo hasn’t looked back since then, and his defense has been better every year.

Everyone who has watched the last few Kansas City Chiefs games noticed that Steve was changing what he usually does based on the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Well-timed blitzes disrupted Josh Allen’s flow on more than one occasion in the AFC championship game.

Also, Spagnuolo was more than prepared to counter the Bills’ short-yardage plays, quarterback sneaks, and running game. He had to contain Allen just enough for the Chiefs to win, and that was not an easy task.

Overall, Allen is a better quarterback than Hurts, especially in the passing game, so Steve might have an easier job in the SB. Yet, what the Eagles have at their disposal is not to be underestimated.

After all, the Chiefs haven’t faced an opponent as good this season when you look at the team overall.

With Saquon Barkley, they have the best running back in the game, while Hurts is a dual threat on his own and a relatively mobile quarterback. Furthermore, they have dynamic threats in all receiving positions.

As far as Vic Fangio goes and what he has to do, the formula is easy—stop Mahomes!

The Chiefs are not a complicated franchise. Everything’s put in Mahomes’ hands, and that’s the way it needs to be. Patrick has the best hand in the league, and the Chiefs will ride it mercilessly.

The Chiefs have a solid running game, but they are nowhere near being one of the top teams in the NFL, so having Mahomes throw is a sure-fire thing.

This approach by the KC works in Fangio’s favor. Firstly, it limits the amount of preparation for his D. Also, he’s been a head coach for the Denver Broncos from 2019-2021, so he knows a thing or two about playing against Mahomes and how to rattle him.

Fangio gifted Mahomes with his worst game to date (57.3 passing rating) while keeping him to one passing game or less in three straight games.

Fangio is known as a mastermind behind defenses that can create issues for top quarterbacks, and that’s his trademark. With the likes of Carter, Zack Baun, Darius Slay, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean, Fangio has plenty to work with to contain Mahomes and the Chiefs.

This Eagles D can contain anyone when playing their best football on defense.

Sirianni or Reid?

The biggest question of them all. Two years ago, Sirianni proved to be no match for Andy Reid.

After all, Reid is on his way to becoming one of the best, if not the best, coaches in the history of the NFL and the one who won three consecutive Super Bowls. With 301 career wins, he will probably be gearing up to break Don Shula’s record of 347 all-time wins.

Reid has done it all, and he still wants more. At this stage of his career, there’s nothing much he can do other than rewrite history books.

The last time these two teams met in the Super Bowl, Reid was the one who decided the game with his play calling, showing, once again, that with enough time to prepare, he could beat any opponent.

On the other hand, Sirianni is still a child compared to the Big Red. Nick still has a long way to go to be as good as his SB counterpart, but as far as starting a career goes, he’s doing fine leading his team to two Super Bowls already.

While his job was in jeopardy last year, he showed that he’s no stranger to facing adversity and that he did a good job as a leader of men by appointing Fangio and Kellen Moore as his coordinators.

With these men facing, the histories of both franchises are on the line.

Sirianni was one of the coaches Reid didn’t keep around when he arrived in Kansas City in 2013, while Sirianni is aiming to become the best coach in the history of the Eagles and bring them another SB, which is something Reid, the current best in Philly history, failed.

Plenty to play for, and we can’t wait for Sunday and the clash between Eagles and Chiefs, Mahomes and Hurts, and Nick and Andy.