Five months of football have finally led up to one game: the matchup for Super Bowl LVII is finally set, with the Kansas City Chiefs set to do battle with the Philadelphia Eagles for the sport’s ultimate crown. For the first time in a while, it almost unanimously feels as if the last teams standing are the two that have been the two best all season long, with both sporting the 1 seeds in their respective conferences. KC boasts the presumptive MVP favorite in Patrick Mahomes, while Philadelphia has arguably the most loaded roster in the NFL on both sides of the ball and rode an 8-0 start to get here after winning their first two playoff games by a combined score of 69-14. Without further ado, let’s compare these teams position by position, starting with the QB:

Quarterback:
KC: Patrick Mahomes

PHI: Jalen Hurts

In a matchup of who will likely be the top 2 finishers in NFL MVP voting, Mahomes takes it by virtue of his track record of past success as well as the fact that he will likely win the award altogether. Jalen Hurts has enjoyed remarkable improvement this season, but needs to show more before he can be considered a Mahomes-level player.

Advantage: KC

Running Back:

KC: Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Ronald Jones

PHI: Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott

While Pacheco, McKinnon, and Jones are all solid contributors in their own right, Sanders rushed for over 1200 yards and 11 TDs this season en route to a first Pro Bowl selection of his career, separating himself as easily the best running back in this matchup. Gainwell and Scott are no slouches either, with Gainwell leading Philly in scrimmage yards this postseason and Scott scoring a TD in both games so far.

Advantage: PHI

Wide Receiver

KC: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney

PHI: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins

This one isn’t close. The Chiefs WR core is depleted compared to years past (although still effective) while Brown and Smith are both arguably top 10 receivers in the NFL, with Watkins being a top 5-10 third option to boot.

Advantage: PHI

Tight End:
KC: Travis Kelce

PHI: Dallas Goedert

Goedert is a top 3 TE in the NFL, while Kelce is arguably a top 3 TE of all time. Goedert’s time will come, but for now Kelce owns this position.

Advantage: KC

Offensive Line:

KC: Orlando Brown Jr., Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Andrew Wylie

PHI: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Issac Seumalo, Lane Johnson

Another easy Philly W. Again, KC’s line is far from awful, in fact very much improved, but few offensive lines in NFL history stack up with this Philly unit who boasts three Pro Bowlers and one alternate.

Advantage: PHI

Defensive Line:

KC: George Karlaftis, Khalen Saunders, Frank Clark, Chris Jones

PHI: Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat

Philadelphia had 70 sacks in the regular season plus 8 in two playoff games thus far, and is the only team in NFL history with four players with double-digit sacks (albeit with one being linebacker Haason Reddick). Enough said.

Advantage: PHI

Linebackers:

KC: Willie Gay, Nick Bolton, Carlos Dunlap

PHI: Kyzir White, T.J. Edwards, Haason Reddick

KC’s unit is surely nothing to sneeze at, but Edwards is one of the league’s top tacklers while Reddick is arguably a DPOY candidate who was second in the NFL in sacks.

Advantage: PHI

Secondary:
KC: Trent McDuffie, Justin Reid, Juan Thornhill, L’Jarius Sneed

PHI: James Bradberry, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Reed Blankenship, Darius Slay

Kansas City’s unit was solid but unspectacular, while Philly claims arguably the top two corners in the NFC in Bradberry and Slay plus the NFL’s interceptions leader in Gardner-Johnson.

Advantage: PHI

Coaching:

KC: Andy Reid

PHI: Nick Sirianni

While Sirianni has done well to lead Philly this far two years after taking over a four-win team, Reid has made twice as many Super Bowls than Sirianni has coached seasons. Clear advantage to Big Red here.

Advantage: KC

Overall: PHI wins 6-3

The Eagles boast a significant overall roster advantage, but you can never count KC out with Mahomes under center. That said, the Eagles’ defense matches up well enough to pressure Mahomes and make KC beatable, while the Birds’ offense should have little trouble with a mediocre defense.

Pick: Eagles 31, Chiefs 21

MVP: Jalen Hurts