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Super Bowl LIX: The biggest pre-match storylines ahead of Philadelphia Eagles vs Kansas City Chiefs
Yes, it’s a cliche to say the Super Bowl is more than just a game, but it also happens to be true.
Ultimately, Sunday night will see either the Philadelphia Eagles or the Kansas City Chiefs crowned as world champions. But there’s more to it than that, as history will be made legacies will be formed and lives will be changed forever.
Ahead of the New Orleans showdown, DAZN News takes a look at some of the big storylines to pay attention in the build-up to Super Bowl LIX.
The Chiefs’ pursuit of history
Whatever happens on Sunday, the Chiefs will go down as the best team of the 2020s and the latest NFL dynasty, having already won three titles in the past three years.
But should they land the elusive three-peat, the Chiefs will be in uncharted territory as the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl three years in a row.
It would be a feat comparable with the Miami Dolphins' perfect season in 1972 and Andy Reid knows exactly what it would mean.
"To be put on the Mount Rushmore of greatest teams across any sport, ever, it's a tremendous opportunity to do something that's never been done before,” he said on Monday evening.
"It's something the whole city will be proud of and remember for the rest of their lives."
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Read next | NFL Playoffs: How every ’three-peat’ contender fell short as Kansas City Chiefs look to make history
Patrick Mahomes hunts down Tom Brady
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When Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl ring in 2021, the thought of anyone getting anywhere near his record appeared unlikely.
But if Mahomes gets the job done this weekend, he will have four rings - as many as Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, with Brady the only QB to have more.
A win against the Eagles would also mean he has four rings by the age of 29, one more than Brady did at that age. In fact, Brady had to wait until he was 37 to win his fourth Super Bowl title, with the former New England passer’s longevity the tie-breaker in any conversation about who the greatest of all-time is.
Brady’s presence in the Fox commentary booth on Sunday night adds another fascinating wrinkle to this storyline.
Can Saquon Barkley cap his special year with a Super Bowl ring?
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
At the risk of underplaying the contribution of some vital players, Saquon Barkley’s historic 2,000-yard season has carried the Eagles to the Super Bowl, but will he get his fairytale ending in New Orleans?
The former New York Giant needs just 30 yards in the Super Bowl to break the record for the most rushing yards combined in the regular season and playoffs. Should he tick that off, it would serve as a recomposition for sitting out the final game of the regular season when Eric Dickerson’s 1984 record was up for grabs.
But while records will come and go, Barkley, who had played in only two playoff games before this season, will know that Super Bowl rings will last forever.
WATCH: Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX for 0.99p (check price in your country here).
Will Jalen Hurts silence his critics?
Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
The Jalen Hurts journey has been an odd one over the past few years. The 2020 second round draft pick came of age in the 2022 season, as he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl and was a finalist in that season’s MVP voting. He would throw for 300 yards and rush for three scores against the Chiefs in Arizona, one of the most impressive dual-threat quarterback performances in the big game’s history, only to fall just short of victory.
The Hurts we’ve seen in 2024 has been a different player, as head coach Nic Sirianni has clearly decided that his team’s elite defence and strong running game means his QB needs to only be a game manager.
“I guess he let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today,” Hurts said knowingly following the 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game.
With all the talk of Mahomes looking for his fourth ring and Chiefs three-peat, could the Eagles look to unleash Hurts and spoil the Kansas City narrative?
What will New Orleans and Kendrick Lamar have in store?
The Super Bowl has not been played in New Orleans since 2013, in a contest that has gone down in history as the ‘Blackout Bowl’, due to the power outage that hit the Superdome early in the third quarter, shortly after Beyonce’s half-time show.
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That was the latest in a host of memorable Super Bowls to be held in the Big Easy and fans will be eagerly awaiting to see what gameday festivities the league has in store this time.
Donald Trump will become the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, while Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar is likely to serve up a thrilling half-time show.
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