Super Bowl Records Set to be Broken?
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia wide receiver DeVonta Smith could both add their names to the Super Bowl record books after Sunday’s 59th edition of the game.
Kelce has 31 Super Bowl receptions, which is currently second to Jerry Rice’s 33. So three receptions, Sunday, and he’s the all-time leader.
While that might seem like a lock, Kelce had just two receptions in the AFC Championship Game win against Buffalo. That was his lowest total in any playoff game in which he’s played.
Kelce, with 350, is fifth on the all-time Super Bowl receiving yards list. Rice is the leader with 589, but Kelce needs just 15 yards to move past Lynn Swann and Rob Gronkowski, who are tied with 364.
As far as overall playoff records go, Kelce is already the leader in receptions with 174. He’s second in yards, with 2,039 to Rice’s 2,245. He’s also second in touchdowns with 20, but needs just two to tie Rice (22) for the all-time lead.
Smith, the Eagles first-round draft pick in 2021, can add his name to a special list of players to have won a Heisman Trophy, a National Title in college and a Super Bowl.
That current list stands at four players: Tony Dorsett (Pitt/Cowboys), Marcus Allen (Southern Cal/Raiders), Charles Woodson (Michigan/Packers) and Reggie Bush (Southern Cal/Saints).
Who’s Still Here?
Kansas City and Philadelphia met in the Super Bowl just two years ago. The teams that take the field Sunday won’t look the same as that one from 2023.
The Chiefs have 32 new players on their roster from the Super Bowl 57 win, while the Eagles have 35 new players from their Super Bowl 57 loss.
Kansas City has almost an entirely new group of wide receivers with rookie Xavier Worthy and veterans Hollywood Brown and DeAndre Hopkins.
Five of Philadelphia’s key defensive players — defensive tackle Jalen Carter, rookie defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, linebacker Zach Braun and edge rusher Nolan Smith were not around two years ago.
Rematches
This is the ninth Super Bowl rematch. Of the first eight the team that won the first one is 6-2 in the second one.
That’s bad news for Eagles fans.
The good news for Eagles fans is one of the two teams to lose the first game and win the second one was the Eagles when they beat New England in Super Bowl 52 (they lost 39).
Washington is the other team to win a rematch when it beat Miami in Super Bowl 17 and losing to the undefeated Dolphins in Super Bowl 7.
More Rematches
This is the fifth time there is a rematch between head coaches in a Super Bowl as Andy Reid faces Nick Sirianni. In the first four the winner of the first also won the second.
Reid beat San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan twice.
New York’s Tom Coughlin beat New England’s Bill Belichick twice.
Dallas’ Jimmy Johnson beat Buffalo’s Marv Levy twice.
Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll beat Dallas’ Tom Landry twice.
No Picks Allowed
Both quarterbacks KC’s Patrick Mahomes and Philly’s Jalen Hurts have been very protective of the football through the playoffs and at the end of the regular season.
Mahomes has thrown 288 passes without an interception, while Hurts has gone 209 passes without a pick.
Head or Tails?
How important in winning the coin toss? Not very.
The team that wins the toss is 26-32 all-time in Super Bowls, although the Chiefs, who will call the toss as the visitors, are 2-for-2 the past two years.
What is important is scoring first. The team that scores first is 37-21 all-time in the Super Bowl.
3-Peats
Kansas City is trying to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls and the first team to win three consecutive NFL Championships since the 1965-67 Green Bay Packers.
The last team in any of the four major sports to win three straight titles are the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers (1999-02). The last time it happened in Major League Baseball it was the Yankees (1998-00) and the last NHL team was the New York Islanders (1981-83).
