The 57th installment of the Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona had a wide range of narratives and anticipations. The NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) took on the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs (14-3). Philadelphia looked to win their 2nd championship in the last 6 seasons, while Kansas City looked to win their 2nd championship in the last 4 seasons. 

Super Bowl 57 was the first super bowl in history where 2 brothers played against each other. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce and Eagles C Jason Kelce are both all-pros, and the best at their position. Both had previously been Super Bowl Champions. This put their mother Donna Kelce, in a tough position. Does she root for Jason or Travis? Well, it was both. When asked about it during media week, she said, “The offense”. On Super Bowl Media day, Jason and Travis took the stage at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. Donna Kelce snuck up right behind them to give them homemade cookies.The brothers have been running their “New Heights” podcast every week, occasionally having guests such as Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. Jason and Travis have climbed their way to #1 on Spotify’s list for the top sports podcast.  

Philadelphia came into the game off an NFC   Championship win against the wounded 49ers. The Eagles had outscored NFC opponents 69-14 throughout the playoffs. Daniel Jones and the red-hot New York Giants were no match for the Eagles, Philadelphia was firing on all cylinders on the way to a destruction of the Giants. Despite the Eagles winning by 24 against the 49ers, they looked substantially worse. San Francisco’s #1 overall defense stifled Philadelphia, despite 31 points which were largely brought about by turnovers forced by Philadelphia’s pass rush. 

Kansas City came into the game off an AFC Championship win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The likely league MVP Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain in their divisional round win over Jaguars. Mahomes finished the game agains despite backup Chad Henne coming in for a singular drive. The Super Bowl 54 MVP played the next week against Cincinnati and looked like his normal self despite the pain. 

The game was a classic, offensive shootout, as Donna Kelce wished for. Kansas City won 38-35, as Philadelphia’s top defense failing on the biggest stage was the biggest reason they lost the game. Kansas City scored on every drive of the 2nd half after being down 24-14 at halftime. Many believed Philadelphia’s top defense, headlined by their #1 pass rush, would slow down Kansas City. The voice of Quakertown football, Rocco Pellegrino, believed in Philadelphia’s defense, “I think the Eagles defense has beaten up on some weak offensive lines and quarterbacks, but that pass rush definitely has an advantage over KC. Patrick Mahomes is also Patrick Mahomes, and that’s why people (including myself) believe it will be a close game. I’m going to go with the better overall roster in the Eagles, but I can see it going both ways.” He noted that the Eagles defense has beaten up on some weak QBs and offensive lines, which is true. Philadelphia had not faced a particularly “elite” QB until the super bowl. The best offense they faced, the Dallas Cowboys (with Dak Prescott), put 40 on their defense. Their defense was great all year long, but it was flawed, and inflated by easy competition. 

QB Jalen Hurts played the game of his life in Super Bowl 57. He went 27/38 with 304 yards 4 Total TDs and 70 rushing yards. Hurts led the team back from an 8 point hole late in the 4th. His 2pt conversion run where Hurts ran over multiple Chiefs on his way to the end zone was a testament to his ability to put the team on his back and lead. Unfortunately for Hurts, he never got a real chance with the football again. A controversial 3rd down holding call against CB James Bradberry in the red zone allowed the cheifs to run down the clock and kick the game winning field goal with 8 seconds left. Jalen Hurts earned the second highest PFF grade for a QB in the super bowl since 2006 (92.2), only behind Nick Foles who earned a 92.3 in 2017. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce had this on New Heights to say about Jalen’s performance, “He arguably could’ve won MVP even with the loss. The way he just.. With how many touchdown, he was just lights. With his feet, with his arm, you name it. He was playing his tail off. Hell of a game, Jalen.” Super Bowl 57 MVP Patrick Mahomes said, “If there’s any doubters, there shouldn’t be now.” 

So what’s next for the Eagles? They have the best overall roster in the league currently, however they have many pending free agents and just lost offensive coordinator Shane Stiechen to the Colts and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to the Cardinals. DT Javon Hargrave, CB James Bradberry, S Chauncey Garder-Johnson, LB TJ Edwards, LB Kyzir White, RB Miles Sanders are all going to be free agents this March. C Jason Kelce could also retire. With many players set to depart, and QB Jalen Hurts set to receive a $50+ million/year extension, the Eagles will likely have a worse roster in the coming years. 

The 2022-23 season was a success for the Eagles. They set many records and accomplished many things. But it is worth it to question, was this there best chance at a ring with this core?