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The Eagles have had a great season, finishing 14-3 and winning the NFC East. Then the postseason began, and they beat the Packers, Rams, and Commanders, leading to Super Bowl LIX. They now take on the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in a colossal rematch of Super Bowl LVII. Throughout this article, we will look at this matchup from the Eagles’ side and make a player pick for the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles were led this season by a tremendous defense and a strong running game featuring Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley.
The defense had struggled the previous year, and GM Howie Roseman won’t let that happen again. They drafted Jalen Carter and Cooper DeJean in the draft to add to veteran Darius Slay. They also signed C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency, who has played a great free safety for them.
Their young defensive linemen took massive leaps as well. Jalen Carter has become a game-wrecker with the pressure he adds up the middle to opposing offenses. Then, you have Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat on the outside, who combined for 14.5 sacks.
On the offensive side of things, everything started with Saquon Barkley this season. He had a career year, rushing behind a great offensive line. Barkley rushed for over 2,000 yards and had 15 total touchdowns.
With the emergence of Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith had to take a backseat. Hurts threw for under 3,000 yards in just 15 games due to injury. While A.J. Brown did get to 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns, it was a bit of a rollercoaster because of him voicing his frustrations to the media.
Everything seems to have cooled down since then as this team prepares to play in their second Super Bowl in three years.
This is a fun matchup, and to me, it all hinges on whether the Kansas City Chiefs can slow down Saquon Barkley. Barkley has been on a crazy run since the postseason started. In the Wild Card round, he rushed for 119 yards against the Packers. Then, against the Rams, he rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Finally, against their division-rival Washington Commanders, he went for 118 yards and three touchdowns.
They have been riding Barkley to the finish line, and I do not expect that to change against the Chiefs. The Chiefs have been pretty solid against opposing running backs this season. They rank in the top 10 in opponents’ yards per rush, opponents’ rushing yards per game, and opponents’ rushes per game.
We’re not sure that will matter much with how hot Saquon is right now. We believe the Eagles’ defense will slow down a Chiefs defense that has been underwhelming this season, allowing the Eagles to establish the run game. They could grab an early lead and keep riding Saquon to the finish line. However, that is hard to do against a Patrick Mahomes-led team.
With that said, our first Eagles player pick is for Saquon Barkley to record more than 22 rushing attempts. Then, our second pick is on Jalen Hurts to score a rushing touchdown.
This Eagles team is known for the ‘Tush Push’ as they run it better than anyone else in the league. Jalen Hurts is a powerful rusher and had 14 rushing touchdowns in the regular season and has rushed for three more during the postseason. If the Eagles want any chance to win this game, they will do it on the legs of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.