QUARTERBACK
Advantage: Chiefs
As good as Jalen Hurts has been this season, there shouldn’t be much debate about which quarterback has the edge in this matchup.
Patrick Mahomes is the NFL’s highest-graded quarterback since he was named the Chiefs’ starter in 2018 and is well on his way to taking home his second MVP Award. Even after losing star receiver Tyreek Hill this offseason, Mahomes threw for a career-high 5,251 yards and tossed 41 touchdowns to 11 different players, ending the regular season with a 91.3 PFF grade — the third 90.0-plus grade of his six-year career.
The Chiefs quarterback battled through a high-ankle sprain against the Bengals in the AFC Championship, and outside of a few moments, he was able to fight through the injury and throw for 327 yards and two touchdowns to reach his third Super Bowl in five seasons.
RUNNING BACK
Advantage: Eagles
The Eagles have arguably the best rushing attack in the NFL, and the Chiefs are coming off a game where their running backs ran for 27 yards on 15 carries. Advantage Philly.
Miles Sanders ground out a career-high 1,271 rushing yards this season, while Kenneth Gainwell has led the Eagles in rushing in each of their playoff games.
Although this might be considered cheating, quarterback Jalen Hurts has to be included as a part of the Eagles’ rushing attack. Hurts has found the end zone 15 times on the ground this season, which is now an NFL record when including postseason games.
WIDE RECEIVER
Advantage: Eagles
This one isn’t close. The Eagles possess a top-three wide receiver duo in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, while the Chiefs’ receiver room was depleted versus the Bengals.
Brown and Smith form the first Eagles receiver duo to record 1,000 yards each over a season, and they have each recorded an 80.0-plus PFF grade this year.
TIGHT END
Advantage: Chiefs
The difference between the best tight end and the second-best tight end is probably the biggest gap in the NFL — and that is thanks to the sheer dominance of Travis Kelce.
Kelce ended the regular season with a 91.1 PFF grade, first at the position once again. And the gap between Kelce and the next-closest tight end was 9.1 grading points, the biggest gap in the league.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Advantage: Eagles
The Eagles fielded the NFL’s best offensive line for most of the season, and they aren’t giving it up now.
Playing through a torn groin, Lane Johnson has maintained his elite play throughout the playoffs. He hasn’t allowed a sack for two seasons, a remarkable streak that he’ll want to keep up for at least one more game.
The real strength of Philadelphia’s offensive line is that there is no real weakness. All five of the Eagles’ starting offensive linemen have a 70.0-plus pass-blocking grade this season. As a unit, the Eagles offensive line ranks first in pass-blocking grade, second in pressure rate and third in run-blocking grade.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Advantage: Eagles
The Eagles defensive line is not only led by an elite pass-rusher, but it is a dominant unit that has four players with 12-plus sacks. Haason Reddick is the leader of the group and has been arguably the best free-agent signing from the 2022 offseason — he has generated 21 sacks and 80 pressures this year, including the playoffs.
The Chiefs offensive line and a potentially still-hobbled Mahomes will have their hands full with this deep Eagles defensive line.
LINEBACKER
Advantage: Draw
This matchup is about as even as it can get. Among linebackers in the Super Bowl, Philly’s T.J. Edwards is the highest-graded (81.4), while his teammate Kyzir White ranks fourth at 64.9. The Chiefs linebackers rank second and third, with Nick Bolton at 74.4 and Willie Gay Jr. at 68.1.
SECONDARY
Advantage: Eagles
The Eagles made serious moves this past offseason and were able to add both James Bradberry and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the secondary. Paring these two with former All-Pro Darius Slay made this unit take the next step it needed.
During the regular season, the Eagles secondary ranked first in combined forced incompletions and interceptions (66), third in 15-plus-yard passes allowed (50) and second in open-target percentage (44.4%).
Here is your run down from PFF and it “should be” a hell of a close game.
Philly is favored by 1.5 points. Who Is Your Pick?
