Entering the year everyone assumed it would be the Eagles offense that carried them. Who know their defense would turn out to be the best in the league. But don’t let the accomplishments of the D distract from the fact this offense has been pretty dynamic at times. There were times it didn’t look pretty, but it still got the job done. They finished 7th in points per game and 8th in yards per game. But are they better than an offense that has won 2 straight Super Bowls?
The Chiefs offense is not the juggernaut it once was. Yes, they still have Patrick Mahomes, and you still never count him out. They fell to 17th in points per game. for this year, and to be honest, since last year, it has been their defense that carried them. If you thought the Eagles offense sputtered at times, you should have tired watching the Chiefs. At many times the Chiefs felt like the Eagles in 2023. Obviously, things went very differently for them, and they kept winning ugly all the way into the Super Bowl. But it is not the high-powered Chiefs offense we all are used to.
The numbers say the Eagles offense is much better. But does the talent match the results? Which of these offenses sports the stronger cast of players? Before the big game, let’s dive into both rosters position by position, to see which side has the advantage. Eagles or Chiefs.
QB
I am a big supporter of Jalen Hurts. I have defended him all season for people who give him crap for not having a high volume of passing stats. But this one obviously goes to the Chiefs.
We talk a lot about how much winning Hurts has done. Mahomes is the one guy in the league who has done more. He has made it to 5 Super Bowls, won 3, and has a chance to make it 4. Even when he is not at his best, the guy always comes through when it counts. Like Hurts, his overall stats weren’t even that good this year, but you watch him play and you know he is special.
That said, there are a few things Hurts actually does better than Mahomes. And while we are giving Mahomes the edge here, you can read about the advantages Hurts has in this separate article.
Related: Jalen Hurts vs Patrick Mahomes: 3 Big Advantages The Eagles Have
Edge: Chiefs
RB
As obvious as it was to give the edge to Mahomes, it is more obvious to give the edge to Saquon Barkley here. Saquon has had one of the best seasons by a RB ever. He is close to breaking Terrell Davis’ record for rushing yards for Regular-Season + Post-Season. He is the most explosive player in the league. Not the most explosive RB, the most explosive player period. He is an unstoppable force.
In 2 playoff games, the Chiefs RBs have 146 yards. Saquon alone averages 147 per playoff game. The Chiefs RBs have 2 combined TDs in the playoffs. The Eagles RBs have 6, 5 by Saquon. The Chiefs have no runs of over 20 yards in the playoffs. Saquon has 5. Oh, and Saquon just won Offensive Player Of The Year.
Going into this game., the Chiefs running game is a weakness. The Eagles run game is why they might win a Super Bowl. Giving this one to Saquon is easy.
Edge- Eagles
WR
This one is as obvious as RB was. The Eagles have AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. It gets thin after that, but those two are enough to make the Eagles arguably the best WR group in the league. The presence of Saquon keeps them from truly showing how great they are all the time because the Eagles run it more than any other team, but make no mistake, these two are fantastic.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs WRs leave a lot to be desired. Names like DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster would be very exciting several years ago. But none of them have been effective lately. Rashee Rice looked to be on the path to breaking out, but he suffered a season-ending injury early in the season. Leaving rookie Xavier Worthy as the only real threat from this group.
Worthy is a speedster, but don’t think of him as a deep threat. The Chiefs love to throw him short passes or even hand it off to him and let him run. He presents a unique challenge. But while his rookie year went well, he is not a guy you lose sleep over.
The Eagles WRs are much better, even if you get almost nothing from guys not named Brown or Smith.
Edge- Eagles
TE
Dallas Goedert has had a tremendous post-season. 15 catches for 188 yards, including this spectacular TD run where he threw multiple stiff arms on the same defender.
That said, he is going up against Travis Kelce. Kelce had his worst season yet, but we saw vs the Bills he is still dangerous. This is much closer than it was back in 2022. In terms of game-to-game production, they are about even now. But one of these guys is a future Hall of Famer and among the best to ever do it at TE. So I will give that guy the edge.
The Eagles should really like Goedert’s matchup vs the Chiefs though. Their defense is good, but TEs have had some success against them. Kelce will have a much tougher matchup with the Eagles LBs and Safeties playing at a high level.
Edge- Chiefs
OL
Each team has 2 All-Pros. The Chiefs have Joe Thuney and Creed Humphrey, and the Eagles have Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. The difference comes in the other 3 spots.
The Eagles O-Line has no clear weak spot, and Landon Dickerson has played well enough to have gotten All-Pro Consideration, especially in the second half of the season. But the Chiefs have 1 massive weak spot. Mike Caliendo. Injuries forced The Chiefs to move Thuney out to LT, and put Caliendo into the starting lineup, and he has not played well.
The interior of the Chiefs line was top 4 when Joe Thuney was playing LG. Since he moved to LT and Clainedo came in, they have been in the bottom 4. That is not Creed Humphrey, who is the best center in the league, and it is not Trey Smith, who is a top-10 guard. It is Caliendo. And while he won’t have to face Jalen Carter, who spends most of his time on the other side of the line, he will have to face Milton Williams.
The Eagles are meanwhile strong across the board and excel as run blockers, too. The Chiefs O-Line is mostly very good, with that 1 exception. But they pale in comparison to the Eagles.