Charlie Means, Guest Writer
As many of you know Super Bowl LIX was last Sunday, February 9th, 2025. Whether you watched as a huge football fan, or just watched the game to see the commercials, the game was legendary and I am here to share my thoughts with you all, and give you the keys to the game.
Super Bowl LIX was unique as we saw the second part of an intense faceoff between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. After seeing these teams go head to head two years ago in Super Bowl LVII, there was a lot to gain and a lot to lose for both sides. Of course, a lot has changed since then. The Eagles have acquired Saquan Barkley (who, side note, carried me in fantasy this year), and the Chiefs now have Deandre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy. Despite these changes, the basic structure of both teams remains the same. It’s all about Jalen Hurts vs Patrick Mahonnes, AJ brown vs Travis Kelce, and football fans vs Taylor Swift fans. Now that main differences have been addressed, let’s talk about the keys of the game.
Key 1
Key number one is pretty simple: turnovers. Neither Hurts nor Mahonnes has thrown a pick so far this postseason, but the bright lights of the super bowl tend to force mistakes. Last time these two teams faced off, a Nick Bolten fumble recovery shifted the momentum of the game in Kansas City's favor. On the flip side, Kansas City's main backs (Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco), did not give up a single fumble during the regular season, although Pacheco played just seven games.
Key 2
Now, speaking of running backs, they are our second key. The last time these two teams faced off Kansas City had more total yards on the ground, which no doubt contributed to their win. However, (imagine me saying this with all the authoritative gravitas of a courtroom lawyer), the Eagles were trotting out a combination of Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Miles Sanders. Currently, only Gainwell is still with the team. As I mentioned before, the Eagles have Saquan now, who is no doubt an upgrade over the previous backs.
Key 3
Last but not least, we get to talk about Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce (low hanging fruit, I know). Kelce is without question Kansas City's number 1 receiving option. He has been the team’s leader in both yards and touchdowns in postseason, prior to the superbowl. KC’s other receiving options are Xavier Worthy (a rookie), JuJu Smith Schuster (an all time great name but only a so-so player). More options include Deandre Hopkins (who arrived in Kansas City at the trade deadline), and Hollywood Brown (who missed most of the regular season). All this said, my point is Kelce is pretty much all the Chiefs have for reliable receiving options, and this lack of choices is evident in the game.
In the end, the score was 22 to 40, with a victory for the Eagles. With public pressure, football politics, and team structure at the forefront of the game, the result was massively impactful. While we don’t know when the Chiefs and Eagles will have their next showdown, we do know that Super Bowl LIX will not be forgotten.