Field Gulls
Oh look, another Super Bowl sequel.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl.
It was another classic between the Chiefs and Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, but the result was the same. Kansas City pulled off a 32-29 win in the AFC Championship to move one step closer to winning a third consecutive Lombardi Trophy alive. No other threepeat-seeking team has even returned to the Super Bowl until the Chiefs managed that this season.
Now... was this a first down or not?
That’ll be debated for years to come. It’s the fourth loss in a row for the Bills to the Chiefs in the playoffs.
Patrick Mahomes is in his fifth Super Bowl, while Andy Reid is in his sixth when you consider his lone trip with the Philadelphia Eagles. Speaking of the Eagles, that’s who the Chiefs will once again be facing after they demolished the Washington Commanders in a 55-23 beatdown. This game was closer than the scoreline indicated through three quarters, only for the roof to cave in on Washington in the fourth quarter. The Commanders committed four turnovers, all leading to touchdowns, and were pretty much cooked off of the first Saquon Barkley carry.
Philadelphia tied an NFL playoff record with seven rushing touchdowns and scored the most points in Conference Championship history. Barkley had three, Jalen Hurts had three, and rookie Will Shipley scored for good measure. Jayden Daniels’ remarkable rookie season is over, and it’s TBD whether or not we’ve seen the last of legendary Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner after he managed one more deep playoff run in his Hall of Fame career.
There are no former Seattle Seahawks players on either the Chiefs or Eagles active roster, but former defensive line coach and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt is Philadelphia’s DL coach. Given Philadelphia’s monstrous defensive line, I’d say things have worked out very well for Hurtt, and he’s on the brink of a title.
Two seasons ago, the Chiefs and Eagles met in Glendale and Kansas City won a 38-35 shootout. Enough has changed for both teams regarding their respective rosters that we should expect a different matchup. A different outcome, though? Bet against Patrick Mahomes at your own risk.
Chiefs vs. Eagles is on FOX on Feb. 10 at 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT from New Orleans.
