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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Glenn Erby

Eagles-Chiefs: 10 early stats to know for Super Bowl LVll

Super Bowl LVll is set and it’ll have several significant storylines after the Chiefs defeated the Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game.

Legendary head coach Andy Reid will face his former team, while Jason and Travis Kelce will make the first siblings to face each other in the Super Bowl.

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Travis Kelce caught seven balls for 78 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City’s three-point AFC Championship win, while Philadelphia amassed 148 rushing yards in a 31-7 NFC Championship win.

The Super Bowl will be a rematch of a 2021 regular season meeting in which Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes and the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30.

In that 2021 matchup, Reid returned to Philadelphia and earned his 100th career win with the Chiefs, becoming the first coach in NFL history to win 100 games with two teams.

Reid’s 140 victories with the Eagles are the most in franchise history.

The 2021 matchup was also a coming-out party for Jalen Hurts who threw for a career-high 387 yards and two touchdowns but Philadelphia (1-3) couldn’t keep up with Kansas City’s high-powered offense.

With preparation underway for both teams, here are 10 initial stats to know for Super Bowl LVll. 

Jalen Hurts set to work the middle

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles love running to the weak side

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Brown-DeVonta Smith set for an explosion

(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Pat Mahomes check down king

Cincinnati Bengals At Kansas City Chiefs Afc Championship Jan 29 0164

This is me shamelessly doing the If Mahomes did this, people wouldn’t shut up about it for a week trope. I’m giving him credit for throws that Kirk Cousins makes routinely. But there seems to be more substance when Mahomes makes those plays, which are really only used as last resort options in this offense. When the Chiefs throw a checkdown, it’s usually because the defense has left that as the most efficient option, and not because Mahomes panicked and couldn’t find a better outlet. No quarterback racked up more EPA on throws to running backs flaring out of the backfield than Mahomes did in 2022, according to TruMedia. The NFL’s undisputed king of checkdowns, Brady, was second on the list. Mahomes is even doing the boring things better than his older peers at this point.

Jonathan Gannon will play Mahomes straight up

(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Jalen Hurts is going deep

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Brown is on deck for a huge performance.

Jordan Mailata has been dominant

(AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Eagles and Chiefs are one in the same

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

X-Plosive

Cincinnati Bengals At Kansas City Chiefs Afc Championship Jan 29 618

Two of the NFL’s most explosive offenses will dual in Super Bowl 57 when the Chiefs and Eagles meet in Glendale, Arizona.

The Chiefs ranked second in explosive play rate at 13.6% during the regular season, according to TruMedia. The Eagles ranked fourth at 12.7%.

A play is deemed explosive if it is a rushing play of 10 yards or more or a passing play of 20 yards or more.

Travis Kelce leads all tight ends and ranks eighth overall with 20 catches over 20 yards this season, while for the Eagles, A.J. Brown led the way with 23, which ranks fifth. DeVonta Smith ranks ninth with 18 catches for 20-plus.

Both defenses prevent explosive plays

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Jonathan Gannon’s defense in Philadelphia is based on limiting explosive plays.

The Eagles were tied for third when it came to limiting big plays with 40 completions allowed for 20-plus yards and sixth in explosive play rate.

The Chiefs gave up 45 completions of greater than 20 yards in the regular season, which was tied for the eighth-lowest total in the NFL. They also ranked eighth in opposing explosive play rate at 9.8%, which measures how frequently a defense gives up a pass over 16 yards or a run over 12 yards.

Chris Jones the MONSTAR

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs’ pass rusher head into the Super Bowl after dominating the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.

Jones led all defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate, which measures how often a pass rusher sheds a block within 2.5 seconds on passing plays. Jones won 21% of the time during the regular season, which was 4% higher than Javon Hargrave, who tied for second in the metric.

Jones had two sacks and five quarterback hits against Cincinnati’s offensive line on Sunday and is a DPOY finalist after logging 15½ sacks in the regular season.

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