Super Bowl LIX pick: 3-peat or Go Birds?

The Chiefs might feel inevitable, but this is a better Eagles team that almost beat them two years ago.

The NFL has never had a three-peat Super Bowl champion. Some people are excited about the possibility. Even more people are desperately hoping it doesn’t happen.

The NFL is designed to have parity, but if you look back at the last 25 years, two franchises have won a combined nine Super Bowls and appeared in a combined 13, soon to be 14.

Super Bowl LIX is a retread, too, of the matchup we saw following the 2022 regular season.

Two years ago, I picked the Chiefs to win, and they did.

One year ago, I picked the Chiefs to win, and they did.

I had resigned myself to watching them complete the three-peat. I know all the reasons they can win. Patrick Mahomes has the kind of clutch gene we’ve never really seen before, not even with Tom Brady. Andy Reid knows how to cook up just the right play at just the right time. The same is true when Kansas City is on defense and Steve Spagnuolo is bringing pressure when the opponent least expects it. The, like, fourth-best receiver on the Chiefs will somehow have the game of his life.

Everything my brain is telling me says to pick the Chiefs.

And yet …

Let me take you a little further back in time. Seven years ago, the Eagles were the only ones standing in the way of yet another Patriots championship.

They were the biggest Super Bowl underdogs in nearly a decade and were starting backup Nick Foles, while the Patriots had that Brady guy.

There wasn’t much reason to have hope in the Eagles, a loud and brash and kinda messy team. The Uncle Buck of the NFL, if you will. But like John Candy’s titular ne’er-do-well character, the Eagles came through when we needed them the most.

Who’s to say they can’t do it again?

The Chiefs are only a slight favorite — 1.5 points, per DraftKings — and like Vegas, I think this will be another close Super Bowl.

And just like Christian, I’m taking the Eagles to win. Go Birds.

Super Bowl LIX pick: Eagles over Chiefs

I don’t know how much I truly believe it, or whether I just want to, but here are three brief reasons why I picked the Eagles.

1. The Eagles have the better overall roster. Their weapons are more dynamic, with at least four players capable of breaking off a 70+yard play at a moment’s notice. Their defense is nastier and forces more turnovers. The Chiefs might have the advantage at the most important spots (QB, coach), but so did the Patriots when they lost to the Eagles.

Besides, Jalen Hurts can deliver big moments too. He’s improved from two years ago, and he played well enough then to beat the Chiefs — and seems like he really wants to prove himself in the rematch.

I don’t think Nick Sirianni is a great coach or anything; he could’ve been fired last season and I would’ve shrugged and said, “eh, I understand.” But I do think he’ll be ready to bring out the big guns in this one. Similar to how Doug Pederson didn’t play it safe in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the Patriots, I believe Sirianni will spring something unexpected on the Chiefs, whether it’s a fake Tush Push or the Philly Special Part 2.

2. Saquon Barkley, who became just the ninth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, has been on a tear. As good as Kansas City’s defense — and defensive line in particular —has been, it hasn’t faced a rushing attack like the Eagles’. (Yes, the Chiefs played the Ravens this year, but that was in Week 1, before Baltimore’s offense had really jelled.)

Barkley, after toiling away on so many bad Giants teams and dealing with injury setbacks, reminded everyone what he could do when he’s healthy and playing for a competent team. He’s waited for this moment. Plus, Sunday is his birthday!

3. Jalen Carter, when he’s dialed in and if he’s not sick, could be the biggest disruptor in the entire game. The Eagles didn’t have him two years ago to get after Mahomes. They have him to do that this time around, though. And as we saw in Mahomes’ only Super Bowl loss, pressuring him is the best way to beat the Chiefs.

The last time most of the country rallied around the Eagles, they stepped up to the plate. And just like Uncle Buck making a giant pancake while using a snow shovel, it might not be conventional or pretty, but they can get the job done.

My pick: Eagles 28, Chiefs 25