Two years since their last shootout in Super Bowl LVII, the Eagles and Chiefs are back once again for the final game of the season.

The upcoming rematch is set to take place on Monday, 10 February, at 10:30 am AEDT, with the Eagles hoping to exact revenge against a dominant Chiefs team on the verge of history.

Kansas City are certainly on the foothills of immortality. Their recent AFC title win against Buffalo is their fourth in five years, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes steering the Chiefs to another Super Bowl finish.

Impressively, a victory against the Eagles would clinch a three-peat for the Chiefs — the first team to do so since the Lombardi Packers teams of the mid-1960s — an unprecedented achievement in the Super Bowl era. Not even the Brady/Belichick Patriots managed a three-peat.

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Back in 2022, the Super Bowl was a complete shootout, with both offences led by Jalen Hurts and Mahomes, combining for 750 yards and eight touchdowns.

However, two years later, things have changed. For as good as Mahomes and the Chiefs have been over the last seven seasons, 2024 was among their least impressive. Although they still managed to achieve a league-best 15-2 record, the Chiefs were noticeably more vulnerable, with 12 one-score games this season.

Mahomes, in particular, has experienced one of his least productive seasons, missing Pro Bowl selection for the first time since 2017. His 67.6 QB rating is the second-worst full-season mark of his career.

Their three-point AFC victory against Buffalo was marred by controversy, with the Chiefs benefiting from a crucial fourth-down call in the fourth quarter.

Conversely, the Eagles enter the Super Bowl after a dominant 55-23 victory over Washington.

Saquon Barkley continues to be a revelation for the Eagles and a nightmare for opposition defences, recording a 60-yard TD run in Philadelphia's first play of the game. Barkley has been the catalyst for the very best running offence in the NFL.

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He is complemented by the Eagles' offensive line, which includes Sydney-born Jordan Mailata, who is hoping to become just the second Australian to win the Super Bowl.

The Eagles' defence continues to be the best in the NFL, and this, coupled with the Chiefs' offensive ranking stagnating to the 16th-best in the league, means this year's contest could be more of a defensive battle than their previous high-scoring encounter.

If the Eagles are to beat the Chiefs, they will certainly need to exploit some of Kansas City's weaknesses on defence.

Obviously, Barkley will expect plenty of attention as he hopes to break Terrell Davis' 26-year rushing record, but the Chiefs' weak tight-end coverage could also be an important factor.

The Eagles' tight end, Dallas Goedert, has been sensational since returning from injury, leading the Eagles in receptions in their win against the Commanders. If the Eagles are to win the Super Bowl, Goedert will need to be productive against a Chiefs defence that gave up the most receiving yards per game to tight ends. 

However, this is the Chiefs we are talking about.

They have not been favoured in each of their last two Super Bowl victories, and it feels foolish to ever doubt them again.

At 66 years old, Andy Reid has continued to coach spectacularly, with a coaching staff that has remained relatively unchanged through their last two Super Bowl appearances. 

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In particular, their strength and experience in close games has been simply staggering. Remarkably, the Chiefs have won 14 consecutive one-score games — a record in NFL history. 

To doubt Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl is to tempt fate, they just feel inevitable. 

The Chiefs just continue to win. Full stop.