The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles enjoyed their final practice sessions in Arizona ahead of Super Bowl LVII on Friday.
The Chiefs are in their third Super Bowl in four years under the leadership of dynamic head coach-quarterback tandem in Andy Reid and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. On Thursday, the 27-year-old was named the 2022 MVP following a dominant season as he led the Chiefs to a 14-3 record and he hit the practice field for the final time to fine tune his preparations ahead of facing Philadelphia.
Reid ensured practice was relatively brief, with the session lasting around 66 minutes from first horn to the breakdown huddle. The iconic head coach confirmed all players were ‘full participants’, adding: “They all practiced, everybody practiced. I feel pretty good about them.”
Friday’s practice, which was conducted amid heavy gusts of wind under clear Arizona skies, heavily focused on red zone situations. According to Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, more than 20 Chiefs players stayed on the field after practice to catch extra passes from the machine or to conduct individual work.
Mahomes (ankle), receiver Kadarius Toney (ankle/hamstring) linebacker Willie Gay (shoulder), running back Jerick McKinnon (ankles), running back Isiah Pacheco (wrist), guard Trey Smith (ankle) and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) were all in action. Also, L’Jarius Sneed (knee) took reps, so Reid should enjoy a full and available roster come Sunday.
“He had a lot of snaps today, he had quite a few snaps today, which was good,” Reid said. “And I think he came out good, too.”
Reid also compared the final session of the season to studying for final exams. The Super Bowl is a test Reid has passed and failed in the past, although he believes his Chiefs have ‘exhausted everything’ to ensure they give the best account of themselves when they face the Eagles.
As for Philadelphia, Friday’s practice was far physically lighter than Thursday’s session as they too focused on red zone situations. This should come as no surprise: Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has structured Friday practice sessions this way all season.
Like the Chiefs, the Eagles are healthy with only receiver Britain Covey (hamstring) set to be listed as questionable for the Super Bowl. Everyone else was a full participant in training, and Sirianni is asking his players to maintain focus as they rest their bodies ahead of facing the Chiefs.
Sirianni did make his team simulate the half time show break by having Philadelphia leave the field before returning to go through the motions of stretching and returning to game-speed. Players went through one final low intensity session after that break before star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox broke the team down in the final post-practice huddle of Super Bowl week.
The Eagles will hold a short walk-through session on Saturday before players and coaches will spend with their families. Philadelphia will play Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on Sunday.
