As two teams walk on to the field, they both know that this is it. After over 20 games across the season for each team, it will finally be decided which of the 32 teams in the NFL will win it all.
This year in New Orleans, the dominant Kansas City Chiefs and equally hot Philadelphia Eagles play to put a cap on a thrilling 2024 football season. In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII at the end of the 2022 season, both teams are hungry to face off and retake the Lombardi Trophy.
Junior Georgia Barton believes that the Kansas City Chiefs will be able to pull off a Super Bowl win.
“I’m feeling great. Third year in a row, couldn’t be happier,” Barton said.
Indeed, this is not only the third time the Chiefs have made it to the Super Bowl in three years, but also the fifth time in the last six. Now they look to win three straight Super Bowls, or “threepeat,” a feat never before achieved by a team in the NFL and sending them into uncharted territory.
While expressing some concern for the locked down Eagles defense, Barton believes that the Chiefs’s mentality will take them to the win.
“We have a lot of star players, who might not be stars by themselves, but when we come together we really have this team culture,” Barton said.
Freshman Jack Greening, a lifelong fan, is also enthusiastic about the Chiefs’s return to the Super Bowl.
“I’m really excited. We’re gonna get three in a row,” Greening said.
Greening also believes the star-studded roster of the Chiefs will bring them a victory.
“We’re really good. We have Pacheco running in the backfield, and we’ve got Mahomes and Kelce,” Greening said.
However, the route hasn’t been easy. Pacheco, who was their lead running back, was out for most of the season, and injuries to receivers such as Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown kept the entire season an uphill battle. The returns of many injured players, however, has helped the Chiefs immensely.
“To be honest, during the regular season when we lost to the Bills, I did not think we were making it to the Super Bowl,” Greening said. “But I still had hope we we’re, and now we’re here.”
On the Eagles’s side, junior Daniel Castillo, who has supported them since birth, believes that they will ultimately win the Super Bowl. This would make it their second in franchise history after their win in Super Bowl LII against the Patriots in 2018.
“It’s amazing. I mean, it doesn’t happen very often. I’ve been very fortunate the Eagles have been good these past few years,” Castillo said.
On paper, the Eagles definitely have an incredibly talented roster that Castillo believes will be able to get the Eagles the Lombardi Trophy.
“We’ve got Saquon Barkley, A.J Brown, the best offensive line in the league, a shut-down defense, and Zach Vaughan,” Castillo said.
The Eagles arguably made the greatest move in the offseason by trading for running back Saquon Barkley from the New York Giants. Barkley has become the focal point for the offense, breaking 2,000 rushing yards during the regular season and proving himself nearly unstoppable.
“At the beginning it was a little rough. But starting at Week 6, we turned it around,” Castillo said.
The Eagles defense has also proved itself a force to be reckoned with. The overall number one in the league, the Eagles have a top ten defense in all categories and the number one passing defense in the entire league, making for a challenge for Patrick Mahomes and the revitalized Chiefs offense.
Castillo also expresses admiration for the Chiefs players and head coach Andy Reid, who has rebuilt the team into the Super Bowl winning dynasty that they now are.
“He [Mahomes] has won several MVPs. You can’t say he’s a bad quarterback. And I have a lot of respect for Andy Reid. He used to be our coach in the 2000s,” Castillo said.
With two powerhouse teams, this Super Bowl is set to be one to stand in history. The Chiefs seek to make history with an unprecedented three-peat, while the Eagles look to avenge their Super Bowl LVII loss and reclaim glory. One team will leave as champions, while the other will face heartbreak. No matter the outcome, the fans are in for an unforgettable showdown.