The United States has been familiar with the name Donna Kelce for several weeks. The woman will become the first mom to see two children meet in a Super Bowl this Sunday. Kelce has made a name for herself giving interviews in a split jersey in the colors of the two teams defending her sons: Jason, a 176-game defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Travis, the Kansas City’s star receiver Chiefs Second player with most receptions and yards in the playoffs. The Kelces took advantage of the resulting opportunity to appear in the highest-viewed sports game in the country with a podcast on YouTube. Their story brought a brotherly touch to this year’s NFL Finals in Arizona, a league known for being epic in its toughness.
On paper, Super Bowl LVII is one of the tightest finals in recent years. It is the sixth time in 23 years that the best sides of the season have met. Kansas conquered the American League with 16 wins and 3 losses. Philadelphia had the same record in the national conference. However, this edition will take on two playstyles with their best rosters. Neither side reported injuries or removed players. Kansas City will appear at the Super Bowl for the third time in the past four years. His main weapon is his star Patrick Mahomes, who will tie Tom Brady this Sunday as the first quarterback to play in three finals in his first five years in the league. With Brady retired, the NFL is looking to 27-year-old Mahomes to succeed the title of best player of his generation. This Sunday he will attempt to capture his second championship ring at State Farm Stadium in Glendale in front of around 65,000 spectators.
Under different circumstances, Mahomes, who was named Thursday’s MVP of the season (his second MVP), would be the big favorite of the game. However, football experts have been cautious in their forecasts. The Chiefs face a team that has a record 39 touchdowns on the ground this season. The previous brand stood for almost a century. The team’s top scorer is its pitcher, 24-year-old Jalen Hurts, a 13-touchdown phenom. Running back Miles Sanders has eleven. Boston Scott, one of the ingredients in that attack, described this running style to reporters this week: “It’s very physical. Explosive. Solid. It’s a machine.”
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The bets have the Eagles as favorites by a close margin. Philadelphia won its only NFL title in 2018 against Brady’s Patriots (41-33). This Friday, in the last training session of both teams, coach Nick Sirianni focused on working on closing the game in the hands of Rihanna in the second half and after a long break after the halftime show. Sirianni wants to keep the defensive machinery that has made the organization one of the most balanced running. The Birds’ defenders, as fans call the Eagles, have 78 sacks all season, their third-best total in a season. That’s a latent threat to Mahomes, one of the pitchers who waits the longest, averaging about 2.6 seconds, before throwing the ball.
Andy Reid, the Kansas coach (and former Philadelphia coach from 1999 to 2012), spent the last day of prep working in the red zone, the last 10 yards on offense before the end zone. In this streak, Kansas will need to exploit the variants of their attack. From the receptions of Kelce, one of the best players who went off target, and Marques Valdes-Scantling looking to extend his winning streak to three straight games. Veteran running back Jerick McKinnon also capped a great season, playing six straight games and catching Mahomes balls in the touchdown zone. The offensive had new blood this year. Rookie Isaiah Pacheco ran for more than 85 yards in the postseason and became one of the main guns every time Kansas ran the ball.
Two quarterbacks Black
Jalen Hurt will become the eighth African American player to play in a Super Bowl this Sunday. The LVII edition will mark the first time two black quarterbacks will start their teams in the finals of a league that has a troubled history of racial issues. Mahomes, son of a black father and white mother, became the third black player to win the Lombardi Trophy four years ago. First Doug Williams, quarterback for the Washington Redskins in 1988, and Russell Wilson, the Seattle star who got it by beating Denver (the team he now plays for) in 2014.
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For decades, most of the league’s star pitchers were white players. College talent who came into the NFL as quarterbacks were rotated by coaches or team owners to other attacking positions, such as running backs or receivers. But the times have changed. Today there are a dozen black starters across the 32 teams in the league. And this Sunday the two best will compete against each other. Hurt was second in the league’s most valuable vote to Mahomes. His numbers are impressive: He is the third in history to throw a season with 35,000+ passing yards, 20+ touchdown passes and 10+ rushing touchdowns. Only one of them will make history in Arizona.
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