With excitement in the air as February 12 rounds the corner, sports fans all over the United States are counting down the days until the fifty-seventh Super Bowl. The commercials, snacks, halftime show, and overall thrills of the game are enough to clear your Sunday calendar, but the bigger question is, who is going to win it all?

This year, the Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the top sporting events of the year. Super Bowl Sunday is a staple in our culture, and whether your team is playing or not, chances are you are going to be glued to the couch like the rest of us at 6:30 p.m. With that being said, let’s take a look at the teams facing off to give you some background on what we are working with this year. 

The Kansas City Chiefs have had a remarkable season to get to the big game; with a 14-3 record and some runaway wins under their belt, it is easy to see how they have made it this far. Despite falling to less than stellar teams such as the Chicago Bears during the preseason, the Chiefs performances are unparalleled to over ¾ of the league, making their talent very visible. Clutch wins over teams like the San Francisco 49ers, where defensive lines were shattered and there was no chance of a comeback, are what makes teams like the Chiefs unique; you don’t just beat a team 44-23 with a little luck on your side. On top of this, the Chiefs scored 408 first downs this season and only gave up 338 to their opponents. To top off this comparison, Kansas City accumulated 5,250 total passing yards compared to its opponents’ 3,756 total for the entire season. If this doesn’t show you how powerful the Chiefs are going into this game, I don’t know what will.

I have a decent amount of faith in the Chiefs this year, and I have a few reasons for that mentality. Skill level aside, the Chiefs aren’t messing around when it comes to stats. The team has appeared in two Super Bowls, one in 1970 and the latest in 2020, and has won both. With a 2-0 record under pressure, it is easy to see why people may put their money on the safest bet, which, call me cheap, they are my pick. I feel like we could have something special here and as the saying goes, “All good things come in threes.” As long as they stick to their game plan and keep themselves healthy, the Chiefs have a solid chance of winning, and I really hope that faith isn’t misplaced. 

As for the Eagles, just like Kansas City, they aren’t showing up to go home empty-handed. The Eagles’ record matches the Chiefs at 14-3, so record-wise this is an equal playing field. Unlike Kansas City, the Eagles’ total first down amount is 385 to their opponents’ 325, which is quite a small ratio of difference compared to the Chiefs. Their total passing yards are 4,364 to 3,057, which is almost 1,000 less than their Sunday night rival. Based on these two stats alone, you may think the Eagles have the lower hand in this game, and for the most part, you would be correct to think so. Aside from this, the Eagles have made three Super Bowl appearances, but only one was victorious in 2018. The team had a difficult time keeping teams like the Chicago Bears out of the end zone, and it’s evident when you look at the fact that they took the win by only 25-20, and somehow lost 20-10 over the Saints, who went 7-9 this year. With this in mind, it may be easy to see how the teams could stack up against each other, but it is still heavily in the Chiefs favor.

These facts and also my own opinion give me a proper standing on why the Chiefs should take it all. With the experience they need on the big field to work well under pressure, as well as a powerhouse stats database, it is easy to see how they could easily take the Eagles out early on and continue to lead as the game goes on. With this also being said, if the Eagles were to pull off a lead, I would be extremely impressed with their performance as well as the hard work it would take to pull ahead over Kansas City. To be honest, at the end of the day, the Chicago Bears fan in me says I don’t care who wins because it’s not the Bears going all the way, but the sports fan in me would love to see a strong game with lots of action. No matter what happens come Sunday, all I can say is if it’s not a good game, not even Rihanna’s halftime show will make up for America’s disappointment.