Super Bowl Sunday is upon us. Super Bowl LIX between the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans features a grudge match of Super Bowl LVII, a game the Chiefs narrowly escaped with a 38-35 victory.
We’re analyzing the NFL’s title fight from every imaginable angle here at CBSSports.com, and one of those ways is with our tale-of-the-tape-style breakdown. This will highlight which team has the advantage at each and every position group. Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Quarterback
At this moment in time, it’s impossible to take any quarterback over Patrick Mahomes. Yes, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts became the first player with over 300 or more passing yards (304), 70 or more rushing yards (70), and three or more rushing touchdowns (three) in any game in NFL history in the two teams’ first Super Bowl meeting. However, Hurts hasn’t played like the second-team All-Pro and NFL MVP runner-up that he was back in 2022 in the 2024 season. Until Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP before the age of 30, shows signs of decline, he’s the NFL’s best quarterback.
Advantage: Chiefs
Running back
This position is as big of a “duh” in the Eagles’ favor as the quarterback position was in the Chiefs’ favor. Saquon Barkley, the 2024 NFL rushing champion, is far and away the league’s most dynamic running back. He became the ninth player in league history to rush for 2,000 or more yards in a season (2,005), and his seven offensive touchdowns of 60 or more yards are the most in a season in NFL history. Insanely enough, three of them have come in the last two games! Watching Isiah Pacheco run like a cartoon character is fun, and Kareem Hunt has been one of the most efficient runners in football. However, they’re no Barkley.
Advantage: Eagles
Pass catchers
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver G.O.A.T. Jerry Rice are the two best postseason pass catchers in NFL history. Kelce is No. 1 in NFL playoff history in catches (174) and trails only Rice in playoff receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. However, Kelce is now 35-years-old, and he doesn’t have a reliable secondary threat around him. DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown haven’t been able to provide that of late because of age or injury, respectively. Rookie Xavier Worthy had a career-high 101 yards from scrimmage in the AFC Championship game, but he’s been inconsistent this season, as rookies can be.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown remains one of the league’s best with over 1,000 yards receiving in every year in Philadelphia, and No. 2 receiver DeVonta Smith can operate as the Eagles’ No. 1 at times. Tight end Dallas Goedert seems to come up with crucial catch after crucial catch in key moments in the postseason when defenses zero in on Brown and Smith. Philadelphia just has more options to test a defense.
Advantage: Eagles
Super Bowl QBs tale of the tape: Jalen Hurts vs. Patrick Mahomes as Eagles rematch Chiefs in NFL championship
Cody Benjamin
Offensive line
The Philadelphia Eagles have the best offensive line in football. Left tackle Jordan Mailata (95.2 Pro Football Focus offensive grade, best among offensive tackles in 2024) and right tackle Lane Johnson (87.5 PFF offensive grade, the fifth-best among offensive tackles in 2024) were both second-team All-Pros this season. Left guard Landon Dickerson was named to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season and was PFF’s fourth-highest rated offensive guard (82.3 PFF offensive grade). Center Cam Jurgens made his first Pro Bowl in 2024, and was PFF’s 11th-graded center (67.3 PFF offensive grade). Converted guard Mekhi Becton, the 11th overall pick by the New York Jets in the 2020 NFL Draft, is physical marvel at 6-foot-7, 363 pounds as he opens up running lanes for Barkley.
The Kansas City Chiefs have the best center in football in Creed Humphrey, a three-time Pro Bowler and 2024 first-team All-Pro, and Joe Thuney, a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro who has been excellent since being pressed into duty at left tackle. Right guard Trey Smith is the 2025 free agency class’ most coveted offensive lineman. However, right tackle Jawaan Taylor has struggled with both ineffectiveness (76 quarterback pressures allowed since 2023, eighth-most in the NFL in span) and penalty problems (31 accepted offensive penalties against, most in the NFL since 2023) since becoming a Chief. Left guard Mike Caliendo is still learning the ropes as a regular starter after being elevated to the starting left guard spot after was Thuney moved outside to left tackle.
Advantage: Eagles
Defensive line
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, is the best defensive lineman in Super LIX. However, Kansas City’s defensive line just doesn’t have the same dynamic depth as the Eagles. Chiefs edge rusher George Karlaftis is the first player with at least three sacks in consecutive seasons to make the Super Bowl in both of his first two years since former Kansas City edge rusher Frank Clark in 2019 and 2020.
However, the Eagles are stacked along their defense front. Philadelphia has the NFL postseason’s leader in sacks (edge rusher Nolan Smith with 4.0) and quarterback pressures (defensive tackle Jalen Carter with 20). Those two helped the Eagles have the NFL’s No. 2 scoring defense (17.8 points per game allowed) and No. 1 total defense (278.4) in 2024 and wreck their postseason competition. Edge rusher Josh Sweat led the Eagles with eight sacks in the regular season, and defensive tackle Milton Williams has broken out for career highs in sacks (5.0) and quarterback pressures (40, per TruMedia) while ranking fourth in the NFL among interior defensive lineman in pass rush win rate (17.5%), per Pro Football Focus. Oh, and Philadelphia also has a 6-6, 336-pound defensive tackle in Jordan Davis, a 2022 first-round pick, as a space eater in the middle of the line of scrimmage. That type of depth and talent is unfair.
Advantage: Eagles
Linebackers
Eagles 2024 first-team All-Pro Zack Baun (90.2 PFF defensive grade, best among linebackers this season) has been the NFL’s best inside linebacker this season. However after Nakobe Dean’s injury, he now plays alongside Oren Burks in the middle of the field, and he can struggle in coverage. Baun doesn’t have the depth around him to match his Chiefs’ counterparts. Kansas City linebackers Nick Bolton, Leo Chenal and Drue Tranquill would all start over Burks and fifth-round rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. on the Eagles.
Advantage: Chiefs
Secondary
Philadelphia has the No. 1 pass defense (174.2 passing yards per game) in the NFL this season for a reason. Rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell (5.0 pass yards per attempt allowed in coverage, including the postseason) and Cooper DeJean (5.2 pass yards per attempt allowed in coverage, including the postseason) are No. 1 and No. 2 in the NFC this season, including the playoffs, in yards per pass attempt allowed among 74 players targeted at least 50 times. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s six interceptions were tied for the third-most in the NFL this season.
Two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and safety Justin Reid are solid on the back end for Kansas City, but they don’t have the consistency across their defensive backfield that the Eagles do.
Advantage: Eagles
Specialists
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s 88.6 career field goal percentage is the second-highest in NFL history. He’s as reliable as it gets. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott has been nearly automatic on field goals in the postseason (22-23 in his 14 career playoff games), but he has some sort of mental block when it comes to extra points. Elliott is 32 of 37 on playoff extra points with three of those misses occurring within his 12 extra point attempts this postseason. Eagles punter Braden Mann (42.1 net yards per punt this season) has a slight edge over Chiefs punter Matt Araiza (41.8 net yards per punt this season), but the two teams’ return units are about even.
Ultimately, the reliability of the kicker was the deciding factor here, and most would take Butker over Elliott.
Advantage: Chiefs
Overall edge: Eagles 5, Chiefs 3
The Eagles are currently 1.5-point underdogs because of Mahomes’ greatness, but on paper, they’re the more talented roster. They have perhaps an even better chance of making that matter this time around thanks to the juice Barkley, their offensive line, their defensive line and their secondary provide.