Countdown to Kickoff, The Super Bowl Edition: Chiefs vs. Eagles

Superstars vs. super deep, something has to give in Super Bowl LVII

PHOENIX - Call it the coach and the quarterback versus Miles Sanders’ trademarked All-Star team.

Future Hall of Fame coach Andy Reid and newly-minted MVP Patrick Mahomes lead the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs against the NFC kingpin Philadelphia Eagles, who have the deepest roster in the NFL.

Perhaps it will be style vs. substance or sizzle against the steak when Super Bowl LVII kicks off Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.

Whatever the result you know you'll be watching the two best teams, both 16-3 and both No. 1 seeds who've scored the exact same number of points.

Let the best doppelganger win.

HERE'S OUR COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF

5...PLAYERS TO WATCH

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts - Hurts has the opportunity to silence a lot of doubters on Sunday by putting an exclamation point on his breakout season. A lot of tropes on dual-threat QBs will be silenced if Hurts finds a way to win for the 17th time in 18 games as a starter this season.

Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick - Reddick has 19½ sacks in 19 games this season and he’s the leader of a historic pass rush that must make Mahomes speed things up.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes - Mahomes has led Kansas City to five consecutive home AFC Championship Games, three Super Bowl appearances, and two MVPs. Since 2018, he leads the league in yards (23,957), touchdowns (192), 25-plus yard completions (206), and first down throws (1,183). He is quite simply the most dynamic and dominant player in football.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce - The younger Kelce brother Kelce has now recorded an NFL record seven-straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons (1,338 yards in 2022). He also owns 35 games with 100+ receiving yards (most in NFL history for a tight end) and has caught at least one pass in 160 consecutive games. Since entering the NFL in 2013, Kelce leads all tight ends in receiving yards (10,344) and receptions (814). He also ranks first in touchdowns (69) and catches of 25-plus yards (81) and is an excellent sidekick as a podcast host.

Chiefs DT Chris Jones - Jones has been the most dominant defensive lineman in football this season with 15½ sacks, mainly from the interior, and was graded No. 1 of 127 defensive linemen this season by Pro Football Focus.

4...KEY MATCHUPS

Chiefs’ Chris Jones vs. Eagles’ interior offensive line - The best offensive line in football shut down second-team All-Pro Dexter Lawrence in the divisional round and NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa in the NFC Championship Game. Next up is the toughest test to date in Jones, who is the best all-around of the bunch.

Chiefs’ offensive line vs. Eagles’ defensive line - This is strength vs. strength. Kansas City’s o-line is very good with four quality players in Creed Humphrey, Joe Thuney, Trey Smith and Orlando Brown. Philadelphia’s defensive line, meanwhile, had produced 78 sacks in 19 games.

Chiefs’ Travis Kelce vs. Eagles’ quarters coverage - The best receiving tight end in history will test the communication skills of Philadelphia’s back seven and the Eagles must be locked in.

Chiefs’ defense vs. Nick Sirianni’s aggressiveness - Any fourth-and-short on the plus side of the field and it’s a very good bet that Sirianni is going for it. That puts tremendous stress on the defense to not only win on third downs but to make sure the decision is taken off the table.

3...THINGS TO KNOW

-Jalen Hurts has a below-average 55.5 completion percentage and is averaging just 4.8 yards per attempt with 11 personnel in the playoffs. He’s 11-for-13 for 100 yards and a touchdown with 12- and 13-personnel.

-The Eagles have not turned the football over when using 12 personnel all season.

-Since 2018, the Chiefs are 55-3 when they hold their opponents to less than 27 points, including postseason play. The Chiefs held 12 of their 2022 regular season opponents and two of their 2022 postseason opponents to less than 27 points

2...X-FACTORS

For the Chiefs: RT Andrew Wylie - Wylie simply can’t let Reddick wreck the game like did di against San Francisco.

For the Eagles: LB T.J. Edwards - Edwards is the QB of the Philadelphia defense and the man responsible for directing traffic which should be key in the middle of the field against Kelce.

1...PREDICTIONS

John McMullen - The Eagles are the deeper, more well-rounded team and 60 minutes of football should prove that on Sunday.

This is the NFL, though, and Kansas City has more than a puncher's chance with a QB who has already put together a Hall-of-Fame worthy resume in five years and one of the greatest coaches of all time in Andy Reid, who is an almost unfathomable 28-3 with extra time to prepare.

The halcyon days of 38-7 in the divisional round and 31-7 in the NFC Championship Game are over for the Eagles but the best team in football has proven to be exactly that in 16 of 17 tests with Jalen Hurts on the field.

There's no reason to fight upstream against the trend. Philadelphia finds a way.

EAGLES 31, CHIEFS 27 - Mahomes hasn't played his best in his two previous trips to the Super Bowl, which makes me think this time could be different.

Meanwhile, this is Jalen Hurts' first rodeo, and it's going to be interesting to see how he does.

While it's true the Eagles have the better roster, that sometimes isn't enough, and it's not like the Chiefs' isn't very good. In fact, I don't think it's being given enough credit.

CHIEFS 29, EAGLES 27

--John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7” and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen