The Super Bowl LVII rematch between the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium (8:15, ABC, ESPN, 94.1-FM) is also a showdown between the Kelce brothers.
Travis Kelce is 5-0 against his brother Jason including the Super Bowl this past February in Glendale, Ariz.
Eagles high profile center Jason Kelce is OK with his younger and higher profile brother’s win streak.
“I’ve beaten him enough in his life that I think I’ll still be happy,” Jason Kelce said. “I’ve gotten a lot of them. But it would be nice to get a win under the Eagles’ belt. There are two teams, not just (the Chiefs). We haven’t beaten the Seahawks, either. We play them later in the season. So those are two teams that I’ve never been fortunate enough to get a victory against. But again, as with every week, even though there’s a lot of familiarity, there’s a lot of personal attachment to this game on my side. You really focus on what do we need to do. I think if you look at that outside noise, you’re really doing yourself and your team a disservice.”
There is plenty of noise surrounding Travis Kelce and the Chiefs (7-2), as his romance with singer Taylor Swift has catapulted Kansas City further into the national limelight. The script this week is for Swift’s and Kelce’s parents to get together in a super box at Arrowhead Stadium.
Swift, who grew up in Wyomissing and has maintained her allegiance to the Eagles, was hoping to attend the contest but has scheduling issues on her Eras Tour.
The weather forecast is much more ominous with temperatures in the low 40s and a 58 percent chance of rain after basically two days of rain.
“Obviously there are things that you do when it rains as an offense, as a defense, as special teams,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “And every rain is a little different. If it’s a downpour, you know, what’s the field condition? And then you do the same thing with wind.
“But we have prepped for it like we do before any rain game. You all saw how (assistant coach) Aaron Moorehead was spraying the bottle up in the air. That’s more to simulate the rain coming down and to hit the ball. The ball was already wet when we put it in the thing.”
The competition marks another showdown between Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, the MVP runner-up last season and Chiefs counterpart Patrick Mahomes, the regular season and Super Bowl MVP.
Mahomes last February rallied the Chiefs from a 10-point halftime deficit to a 38-35 triumph over the Eagles to collect his second Super Bowl title ring. He is 2-0 against Hurts, the other Eagles loss occurring at Lincoln Financial Field in 2021. Hurts is sixth in the league with 11 turnovers, although he’s coming off a clean outing. Mahomes has had his struggles with nine giveaways this season.
“This will be the third year in a row we’ve played them some way, somehow, and they always put up a good challenge,” Hurts said. “They fly to the ball, they have a great D-line, they have a great secondary that’s playing at very high level. Their linebackers regardless of who’s in there, fly to the ball, so it’s a big challenge for us.”
Hurts rarely talks about competitions with other quarterbacks but concedes that taking on Mahomes, who has 17 touchdown passes and eight interceptions to 15 TD passes and eight picks for Hurts, is special.
“It’ll be a battle,” Hurts said.
Factor in Chiefs coach Andy Reid, the winningest head coach in the history of the Eagles, and you have a star-studded event.
No coach knows quarterbacks like Reid, and he appreciates the skills of Hurts.
“I’m a big fan of his, he’s really a good football player,” Reid said. “He can run the ball. He can throw the ball. He’s a smart kid. Looks like a phenomenal teammate. Always seems to be under control.”
The game matches two outstanding offensive and defensive lines, the Eagles holding a slight edge in both categories, at least on paper.
The Chiefs have the advantage at linebacker and defensive back, categories where the Eagles are average, at best, partly due to injuries.
There isn’t a playmaker advantage as Travis Kelce and Eagles MVP candidate A.J. Brown are elite, although the Eagles will be without the services of tight end Dallas Goedert, who lit the Chiefs up in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs have a slight edge in special teams.
With 254 victories, Reid is fourth among all head coaches in wins, trailing only the late Don Shula (328), George Halas (318) and Bill Belichick (300). He’s 28-4 in games after byes, one of those the Super Bowl win over Nick Sirianni. Both teams are coming off byes.
“Andy Reid, no matter how much time you give him, has the (.650) win percentage,” Jason Kelce said. “So, it’s certainly an outlier off the bye. But I think what it probably comes down to is he’s a brilliant football mind, and he gets a little bit more time. Whenever you get to step away from something, and then you come back, there’s a little bit more energy and a little bit more enthusiasm from breaking it up. To step away and also have a little more time to scheme things up, with a guy that’s as good as it gets in that regard, I think that probably factors into a higher win percentage after a bye week.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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