Take the Eagles and give the 2 points. The Eagles defense proved itself over the last two games by shutting down the Giants and 49ers to 7 points each. I don’t expect them to shut down the Chiefs offense like that, but they are easily capable of doing the one thing that needs to be done to beat the Chiefs, and that is slow Mahomes down, and keep him under pressure all day. If Mahomes is still limited by his high ankle sprain, that just makes the Eagles defense’s job that much easier.
As for the Eagles offense, they had a little bit of a struggle against the 49ers defense, but the Chiefs defense is nowhere near as good. The Eagles offense has looked like a team on a mission during the playoffs, scoring 38 and 31 points. Give Jalen Hurts two weeks of rest for his bum shoulder, and this game could get real ugly real quick.
I wouldn’t bet on that. The Eagles rely on the ground game a lot. And the Chiefs D has gotten a lot better against the run. Last night, they kept the Bengals to 71 yards on the ground, with Joe Burrow being the lead rusher - a QB whose running style reminds of Big Ben.
Mahomes didn’t look as if his ankle slowed him down significantly. He certainly was not at 100%. But neither was Jalen Hurts. And just like him, Mahomes also has 2 weeks to recover now.
The Eagles defense is legit. That they kept the Niners to 7 points doesn’t count too much, but still, the Eagles looked aggressive and determined.
Unless either QB breaks down, I would expect the Super Bowl to be a close game. And in that scenario, the fact that this is the Chiefs’ 3rd Super Bowl appearance in 4 years might just give them the edge.
However, they will have to be better than last night, as I would not expect the Eagles to shower them with penalty gifts, like the Bengals did last night.
Yeah, good thing we have Mahomes instead. He hasn’t failed to host a Conference Championship game as a starter, and has never lost a Conference Championship game in regulation as a starter.
